Vol. 1 · pages 341–345

326 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES is supreme. This supremacy of the Executive may be maintained in various ways. It may be maintained by curtailing the powers of the Legislature or it may be maintained by planning the composition of the Legislature in such a way that the Legislature will always be at the beck and call of the Executive. The Federal Scheme adopts both these means. In the first place, it limits the powers of the Federal Legislature. I have already described how greatly the Federal Scheme curtails the financial powers of the Federal Legislature. The Federal Legislature has no right to refuse supplies to any expenditure which is declared to be a charge on the revenues. The Federal Scheme also curtails the Legislative powers of the Federal Legislature. These restraints are specified in section 108 which reads as follows : “108. (1) Unless the Governor-General in his discretion thinks fit to give his previous sanction, there shall not be introduced into, or moved in, either Chamber of the Federal Legislature, any Bill or amendment which— ( a) repeals, amends or is repugnant to any provisions of any Act of Parliament extending to British India ; or ( b) repeals, amends or is repugnant to any Governor-General’s or Governor’s Act, or any ordinance promulgated in his discretion by the Governor-General or a Governor; or ( c) affects matters as respects which the Governor-General is, by or under this Act, required to act in his discretion; or ( d) repeals, amends or affects any Act relating to any police force ; or ( e) affects the procedure for criminal proceedings in which European British subjects are concerned ; or ( f) subjects-persons not resident in British India to greater taxation than persons resident in British India or subjects companies not wholly controlled and managed in British India to greater taxation than companies wholly controlled and managed therein ; or ( g) affects the grant of relief from any Federal tax on income in respect of income taxed or taxable in the United Kingdom. (2) Unless the Governor-General in his discretion thinks fit to give his previous sanction, there shall not be introduced into, or moved in a Chamber of a Provincial Legislature any Bill or amendment which— ( a) repeals, amends or is repugnant to any provisions of any Act of Parliament extending to British India ; or ( b) repeals, amends or is repugnant to any Governor-General’s Act, or any ordinance promulgated in his discretion by the Governor-General; or ( c) affects matters as respects which the Governor-General is by or under this Act, required to act in his discretion ; or

327 FEDERATION VERSUS FREEDOM ( d) affects the procedure for criminal proceedings in which European British subjects are concerned ; and unless the Governor of Province in his discretion thinks fit to give his previous sanction, there shall not be introduced or moved any Bill or amendment which— (i) repeals, amends or is repugnant to any Governor’s Act, or any ordinance promulgated in his discretion by the Governor; or (ii) repeals, amends or affects any Act relating to any police force. (3) Nothing in this section affects the operation of any other provision in this Act which requires the previous sanction of the Governor-General or of a Governor to the introduction of any Bill or the moving of any amendment.” The Federal Scheme does not stop with merely curtailing the power of the Federal Legislature as a means of maintaining the supremacy of the Executive. Under it the composition of the Federal Legislature is so arranged that the Legislature will always be at the beck and call of the Executive. In this connection it is necessary to bear in mind what the actual composition of the Federal Legislature is. As has already been pointed out there are 375 members in the Legislative Assembly and of them 125 have been assigned to the Indian States and 250 to British India. In the Council of State the total is 260 and of them 104 are assigned to the States and 156 are alloted to British India. The seals assigned to the States are to be filled by the Princes by nomination. The scats assigned to British India are to be filled by election. The Federal Legislature is therefore an heterogeneous legislature partly elected and partly nominated. The first question to be considered is how the Princes’ nominees in the Federal Legislature will behave. Will they be independent of the Federal Executive or will they be subservient to it ? It is difficult to prophesy. But certain influences which are likely to play a part in the making of these nominations may be noted- It is an indisputable fact that the British Government claims what are called rights of paramountcy over the States “Paramountcy” is an omnibus term to denote the rights which the Crown can exercise through the Political Department of the Government of India over the States. Among these rights is the right claimed by the Political Department to advise the Indian Princes in the matter of making certain appointments. It is well known that what is called “advice” is a diplomatic term for dictation. There is no doubt that the Political Department will claim the right to advise the Princes in the matter of filling up these places. Should this happen, what would be the result ? The result would be this that the Princes’ representatives would be simply another name for an official block owing allegiance, not to the people and not even to the Princes, but to the Political Department of the Government of India. Two things must be further noted. First is that Paramountcy is outside the Federal Government.

328 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES That means that the Ministers, will have no right to give any advice in the matter of the nomination of the Princes’ Representatives and the Legislature will have no right to criticise it. They will be under the control of the Viceroy as distinct from the Governor-General. Secondly, this official block of the Princes is not a small block. In the Lower House a party which has 187 seats can command a majority. In the Upper Chamber a party which has 130 seats can command a majority. In the Lower House the Princes have 125 seats. All that they need is a group of 62 to make a majority. In the Upper Chamber they have 104 ; all that they need is 26. All this vast strength the Executive can command. How can such a Legislature be independent ? The Reserved half can control the Transferred half with this strength in its possession. How will the representatives of British India behave ? I cannot make any positive statement. But I like it to be borne in mind that in some States there is no such thing as a regular budget and there is no such thing as independent audit and accounts. It would not be difficult for the Princes to purchase support from British India representatives. Politics is a dirty game and British India politicians cannot all be presumed to be beyond corruption and when purchases can be made without discovery the danger is very real. Look at the Federal Scheme any way you like and analyze it as you may its provisions relating to responsibility, you will see that of real responsibility there is none. VII THE BANE OF THE FEDERAL SCHEME There is no one who does not recognize that this Scheme for an All Indian Federation is full of defects. A difference of opinion arises only when the question is asked what shall we do about it. The answers given to this question by prominent Indians from time to time disclose that broadly speaking, there are two quite different attitudes to this Federation. There is the attitude of those who think that bad as it is, we should accept the Federation and work it so as to derive whatever good it can yield. On the other hand, there is the attitude of those who think that certain changes must be made in the Constitution of the Federation before it can be accepted and worked. It is agreeable to find that both the Congress as well as the Liberal Federation are one on this issue. Both have declared that certain changes must be made before they will accept to work the Federation. That this Federation is not acceptable to a large majority of the Indian people is beyond question. The question is in what respects should we require the Constitution to be amended ? What are the changes which we should demand ? We may take as our starting point the resolutions passed by the Congress and the Liberal Federation relating to this question.

329 FEDERATION VERSUS FREEDOM The Congress at its session held at Haripura in 1938 passed the following resolution: “The Congress has rejected the new Constitution and declared that a Constitution for India, which can be accepted by the people, must be based on independence and can only be framed by the people themselves by means of a Constituent Assembly, without interference by any foreign authority. Adhering to this policy of rejection, the Congress has, however, permitted the formation in provinces of Congress Ministries with a view to strengthen the nation in its struggle for independence. In regard to the proposed Federation, no such considerations apply even provisionally or for a period, and the imposition of this Federation will do grave injury to India and tighten the bonds which hold her in subjection to imperialist domination. This scheme of Federation excludes from the sphere of responsibility vital functions of Government. The Congress is not opposed to the idea of Federation ; but a real Federation must, even apart from the question of responsibility consist of free units enjoying more or less the same measure of freedom and civil liberty, and representation by the democratic process of election. The Indian States participating in the Federation should approximate to the provinces in the establishment of representative institutions and responsible Government, civil liberties and method of election to the Federal Houses. Otherwise the Federation as it is now contemplated, will, instead of building up Indian unity, encourage separatist tendencies and involve the States in internal and external conflicts. The Congress therefore reiterates its condemnation of the proposed Federal Scheme and calls upon the Provincial and Local Congress Committees and the people generally, as well as the Provincial Governments and Ministries, to prevent its inauguration. In the event of an attempt being made to impose it, despite the declared will of the people, such an attempt must be combated in every way and the Provincial Governments and Ministries must refuse to co-operate with it. In case such a contingenncy arises, the All India Congress Committee is authorised and directed to determine the line of action to be pursued in this regard.”. The resolution passed by the National Liberal Federation at its last session held in Bombay was in the following terms: “The National Liberal Federation reiterates its opinion that the Constitution, especially as regards the Centre as embodied in the Government of India Act, 1935, is utterly unsatisfactory and in several respects retrogade. While the National Liberal Federation accepts a federal form of Government for India as the only natural ideal for our country, the Federation considers that vital changes are required in the form of the Federation as laid down in the Act

330 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES especially in the direction of ( a) clearing up the position of the Princes and securing the subjects of States the right of election of States’ representatives, (b) doing away with the safeguards regarding the monetary policy and commercial discrimination, ( c) introducing direct elections for the members of the Federal Assembly by the Provinces and ( d) making Constitution sufficiently elastic so as to enable India to attain Dominion Status within a reasonable period of time. The National Liberal Federation considers that the present position when there is an irresponsible Government in the Centre coupled with responsible Governments in the Provinces is altogether untenable and earnestly urges on Parliament to make immediate changes in the Federal part of the Constitution so as to make it generally acceptable. The Federation is further of opinion that these modifications are essential for the successful working of the Federal Constitution.” Should these changes demanded by the Congress or by the Liberal Federation suffice to alter the present attitude of rejection into one of acceptance of Federation? Speaking for myself I have no hesitation in saying that the changes asked for in these Resolutions even if they are made will not convert me. To my mind whether the British Parliament is prepared to alter this, that or the other detail of the Federal Scheme immediately is a very unimportant consideration. In the view I take of the matter the objections to the Federal Scheme will not be removed in the least even if the British Parliament will be ready to grant every one of the demands contained in these Resolutions. To me the fundamental question is whether this Federal Scheme is capable of so evolving that in the end India will reach her goal and it is from this point of view that I want you and every one interested to examine the Federal Scheme. What is the goal of India’s political evolution? There does not seem to any fixity or definiteness about it. The Congress which claims to voice the political aspirations of the Indian people began with good Government as its goal. It moved from good Government to Self-Government or Responsible Government ; from Responsible Government to Dominion Status and from Dominion Status it advanced to Independence. There the Congress stopped for some time in a mood of self-examination. Then there was period of vaccilation. Now it seems to have come back to Dominion Status and we shall not be very wrong if we take that to be the goal of India according to the Congress. Now the question is, can the Federal Scheme blossom in due course into Dominion Status ? Many Indians seem to think that the question of Dominion Status is a matter of gift which lies in the hands of the British Parliament. If the British Parliament were to make up its mind to grant it, nothing can stand