Which of the following prefix President Pranab Mukherjee desires to be…
2012
Which of the following prefix President Pranab Mukherjee desires to be discontinued while interacting with Indian dignitaries as well as in official notings ?
1. His Excellency
2. Mahamahim
3. Hon’ble
4. Shri/Smt.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below :
Codes :
Answer: C. 1 and 2 — Concept — Forms of address used for a constitutional office-holder in India fall into two distinct families. One family consists of vice-regal and diplomatic…
- A.
1 and 3
- B.
2 and 3
- C.
1 and 2
- D.
1, 2 and 3
Attempted by 4 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept — Forms of address used for a constitutional office-holder in India fall into two distinct families. One family consists of vice-regal and diplomatic salutations: "His Excellency", the English form inherited from Viceregal and inter-state diplomatic protocol, and "Mahamahim", its Sanskritised Hindi counterpart meaning roughly "the greatest among the great". Both carry the sense of an exalted personage placed above ordinary citizens.
The other family consists of the ordinary courtesy prefixes of Indian parliamentary and civil usage: "Hon’ble" (Honourable), used alike for ministers, legislators and judges, and "Shri/Smt.", the plain civil honorific. Protocol reform in a republic works on the first family, because the head of State is a citizen holding an office rather than a personage above citizens; the second family is plain courtesy and is what such a reform prescribes in place of the withdrawn salutations.
Applying it here — On 9 October 2012 the President’s Secretariat communicated that the salutation "His Excellency" would no longer be used for President Pranab Mukherjee at domestic functions and while interacting with Indian dignitaries, and that its Hindi counterpart "Mahamahim" would no longer be used in official notings and correspondence. The same communication prescribed what should be used instead: "Hon’ble" before the office, and the ordinary civil prefix "Shri/Smt.". "His Excellency" was kept only where international protocol requires it, that is, for foreign dignitaries and diplomatic correspondence.
Cross-check — taking the four listed prefixes one by one against that communication:
"His Excellency" (item 1) — a vice-regal and diplomatic salutation; withdrawn from domestic use.
"Mahamahim" (item 2) — the Hindi counterpart of the same salutation; withdrawn from official notings and Hindi usage.
"Hon’ble" (item 3) — prescribed by the same communication as a replacement form of address, so it was retained rather than discontinued.
"Shri/Smt." (item 4) — the plain civil prefix, also prescribed as a replacement, and it appears in none of the codes offered.
The prefixes discontinued for domestic use were therefore "His Excellency" and "Mahamahim" — that is, items 1 and 2.