BharatNotes Provisional
adjective; also noun (chiefly in political contexts, e.g. a member of a provisional body or force)Usage in a UPSC answer
In the immediate aftermath of independence, the framers vested authority in a provisional government, conferring on it the limited mandate of administering the State only until a duly elected legislature could be convened and a permanent constitutional order established.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
provision (n/v), provisionally (adv), provisionary (adj), improvision (n)
Root
Latin prōvīsiō = foresight/preparation; prōvidēre = to foresee/provide; prō- = before; vidēre = to see
Etymology
From Middle French provisionnal, from Latin prōvīsiō ("foresight, preparation"), from prōvidēre ("to foresee, to provide for"); the political usage refers to a government formed as an interim authority.
Memory Hook
Linked to "provide/provision" - a provisional arrangement merely "provides for" the moment, looking ahead (pro- + videre, 'to see ahead') until something permanent arrives. Think of a "provision" packed for the journey: it is meant to tide you over temporarily, not forever.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Temporary, pending a permanent arrangement. The Provisional Government of Free India, the Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind, was proclaimed by Bose in Japanese-occupied Singapore on 21 October 1943, and its significance lies in the claim it advanced rather than in any territory it held. It declared war on Britain and the United States, issued its own currency, established courts and a civil code, was recognised by Japan, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Thailand, Burma, the Philippines and Manchukuo, and was given nominal jurisdiction over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which Bose renamed Shaheed and Swaraj. The constitutional assertion embedded in all this was that sovereignty had already passed to Indians before any British transfer of power. Its afterlife proved more consequential than its campaigns, since the Red Fort trials of INA officers from late 1945 converted prosecution into a nationalist cause and fed the unrest that culminated in the naval mutiny of 1946.
Don’t Confuse It With
A provisional government is an interim authority claiming to govern until a permanent one can be constituted, while a government in exile is one operating from outside the territory it claims, and Azad Hind was described as both. A puppet state is one controlled by an occupying power, which is the charge levelled against it and the substance of the historiographical debate. De facto recognition acknowledges effective control while de jure recognition accepts legal legitimacy, a distinction that matters given how little territory it actually administered.
Hindi Meaning
अस्थायी (asthāyī) or अंतरिम; आजाद हिंद सरकार for the Azad Hind government.
Common Questions
- When and where was the Provisional Government of Free India proclaimed?
- By Subhas Chandra Bose in Japanese-occupied Singapore on 21 October 1943.
- Why did the INA matter after the war ended?
- The Red Fort trials of INA officers from late 1945 turned the prosecution into a nationalist cause, generating agitation that contributed to the naval mutiny of 1946.
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