Vol. 1 · pages 121–125

106 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES oust the other. If the official language succeeds in ousting the non-official language from the cultural field, nothing like it. If it fails, there cannot be much harm. Such a position cannot be said to be intolerable. It is no more intolerable than the present position in which we have English as the official language and the Provincial language as its non-official language. The only difference is that the official language will not be English but some other. The requirements of a satisfactory solution 12. I am aware of the fact that my solution is not an ideal solution. It makes working of the constitution in the Provinces on democratic lines possible. But it does not make possible the democratic working of the constitution at the Centre. That is because mere linguistic unity, i.e., the facility to speak a common language does not ensure homogeneity which is the result of many other factors. As stated before, the representatives selected by the Provinces to the Central Legislature will remain what they are, namely, Bengalis, Tamilians, Andhras, Maharashtrians, etc., even though they may be speaking the official language of the Centre and not their mother-tongue. But an ideal solution which can be put into effect immediately, I cannot see. We must be content with the next best. The only thing we must be sure about is that the solution we adopt immediately must satisfy two conditions : (i) It must be the very next best to the ideal; and (ii) It must be capable of developing itself into the ideal. Judged in the light of these considerations, I venture to say that the solution which I have suggested satisfies these two conditions. PART II WILL MAHARASHTRA BE A VIABLE PROVINCE ? Tests of Viability 13. Coming to the specific question of Maharashtra Province it is necessary to be satisfied that it will be a viable Province. For being declared a viable Province, a Province must satisfy certain tests. It must be of a certain size, it must have a certain volume of population and a commensurate amount of revenue. A Province must not only be self-supporting — which any Province can be by choosing to live on a lower plane — but it must have sufficient revenue to provide for a minimum standard of administration required by efficiency and the needs of social welfare. Is Maharashtra Viable ? 14. Does the Province of Maharashtra satisfy these tests ? The following are the figures which show the size and population of the Maharashtra Province as constituted on a linguistic basis :

MAHARASHTRA AS A LINGUISTIC PROVINCE 107 Territory Area in square miles Total population of the territory Total Marathi-speaking population of the territory Percentage of Marathispeaking population to total population Twelve Districts of the Bombay Presidency .. .. 47,284 1,29,13,544 1,00,45,100 77.8 Eight Districts of C. P. and Berar .. .. 36,865 70,20,694 53,88,300 76.7 Total .. 84,151 1,99,34,238 1,54,33,400 77.4 States within Bombay Presidency .. .. 11,314 27,20,207 21,20,700 77.9 Marathi-speaking Districts of Hyderabad State .. 22,766 42,49,272 32,99,300 77.6 Goa .. .. .. .. 1,534 5,80,000 5,20,000 89.6 State of Bastar .. .. .. .. 13,701 6,33,888 2,12,300 33.5 Total .. 49,315 81,83,367 61,42,300 …. Grand Total .. 1,33,466 2,81,17,605 2,15,85,700 76.8

108 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Area and population of Maharashtra 15. The above table gives figures for the Maharashtra Province in its two forms (1) abridged and (2) unabridged. In its unabridged form which means if all the area occupied by the Marathi-speaking people was constituted in one single Province the area and the population of Maharashtra will be 1,33,466 square miles with a population of 2,15,85,700. In its abridged form which means that if the area and population of the Marathi-speaking people comprised within the States was for the moment omitted, even then the proposed Maharashtra Province would comprise an area of 84,151 square miles with a population of 1,54,33,400. Revenue of Maharashtra 16. Turning to the revenue side of the Province, it has been estimated that the total annual revenue at the existing rate of taxation which will accrue to the abridged Maharashtra Province will be approximately Rs. 25,61,51,000. Comparison of Maharashtra with other Provinces 17. Some comparisons are necessary to get an idea if a Province of this size, with this population and with so much revenue will be viable. For this, I give below figures of the first or the biggest and the forty-seventh or the smallest states within the U.S.A. in order of their size and population : States Area in square miles 1st Texas .. .. .. .. 2,67,339 47th Delaware .. .. .. .. 2,057 States Population 1st New York .. .. .. .. 1,26,32,890 47th Wyoming .. .. .. .. 2,57,108 18. It is obvious that Maharashtra whether one takes its abridged edition or the unabridged edition of it will be several times bigger than Delaware which is the smallest State in U.S.A. in point of area and also several times bigger than New York which is the biggest state in U.S.A. in point of population.

MAHARASHTRA AS A LINGUISTIC PROVINCE 109 19. Comparison of Maharashtra with the existing and prospective Linguistic Provinces of India may also be useful. Their position in point of area, population and revenue is as follows : Province Area in sq. miles Population Annual Revenue Rs. Existing Linguistic Province — United Provinces .. 106,247 5,50,20,617 32,65,08,000 Bihar .. .. 69,745 3,63,40,151 16,26,78,000 Orissa .. .. 32,198 82,28,544 4,60,62,000 New Linguistic Provinces — Andhra .. .. 70,000 1,90,00,000 …. Karnatak .. .. 25,000 45,00,000 …. Kerala .. .. 6,000 35,00,000 …. These figures when compared with the figures for Maharashtra leave no doubt that Maharashtra will not merely be a viable Province but a strong Province in point of area, population and revenue. PART III SHOULD THE MAHARASHTRA PROVINCE BE FEDERAL OR UNITARY ? 20. I will now turn to what are known to be points on which there is controversy. There is no controversy regarding the unification of Maharashtra into one Province. The controversy relates to the way it should be brought about. One view is that the new Maharashtra Province should be a unitary Province, with a single legislature and a single executive. The other view is that Maharashtra should be a Federation of two sub-Provinces, one sub-Province to consist of the Marathi-speaking districts of the Bombay Presidency and the other of the Marathi-speaking districts of the present Province of the Central Provinces and Berar. The idea of creating subProvinces has originated from the spokesmen of the Marathi-speaking districts of Central Provinces and Berar. I am satisfied that it is only the wish of a few high-caste politicians who feel that in a unified Maharashtra their political careers will come to an end. It has no backing from the people of Central Provinces and Berar. I would not have referred to this point but for the fact that it gives me an opportunity to enunciate what I regard as a very vital principal. When it is decided to create a Linguistic Province, I am definitely of opinion that all areas which are contiguous and which speak the same language should be forced to come into it. There should be no room for choice nor for self-determination. Every attempt must be

110 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES made to create larger provincial units. Smaller provincial units will be a perpetual burden in normal times and a source of weakness in an emergency. Such a situation must be avoided. That is why I insist that all parts of Maharashtra should be merged together in a single province. PART IV MAHARASHTRA AND THE CITY OF BOMBAY Controversy over Bombay 21. Should the City of Bombay be included in Maharashtra or not is another point over which there has been a controversy. A meeting was held in Bombay in the building of the Indian Merchants Chamber. The meeting was attended by no more than sixty. With the exception of one Indian-Christian it was attended by only Gujarathi-speaking merchants and industrialists. Although it was small and sectional meeting, its proceedings were flashed on the front page of every important newspaper in India and the Times of India was so impressed by its importance that it wrote an editorial which while mildly castigating the vituperative tone which the speakers at the meeting adopted against the Maharashtrians, supported the resolutions passed at the meeting regarding the future of Bombay. This proves what truth there is in the reply given by Lord Birkenhead to the Irish Leader, Mr. Redmond, in the course of the Irish controversy when he said that there are cases where a minority is a majority. My memorandum would be woefully incomplete if I omitted to deal with the pros and cons of this controversy. This is because of two reasons : In the first place, the meeting has been recognized to be very important and secondly because the resolutions of the meeting have been supported by eminent University Professors. Proposals regarding Bombay 22. The meeting passed the following resolutions : (1) That the question of the creation of Linguistic Provinces should be postponed ; or (2) That if it is not postponed, Bombay City should be constituted into a separate Province. There is a third suggestion, namely, that Konkan should be constituted into a separate Province with Bombay as its capital. There is hardly any support to this plan. There is therefore no necessity to discuss it. Decision regarding Bombay must be made now 23. I have no complaint against that part of the Resolution which says the question of Linguistic Provinces be postponed provided the main question namely whether Bombay should or should not be included in Maharashtra is settled. If this question was settled it did not matter if it