Vol. 1 · pages 351–355

336 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES The Solicitor-General said: “The States will not agree to federate in a structure which within limits, is definite and certain and obviously we could not completely alter the structure afterwards. The purpose of this clause is to lay down those matters which can be altered without being regarded as fundamental or as impinging on the Instrument of Accession.” ...... “If the structure were to be altered in fundamental respects, of course the States would clearly have the right to say “This is not the Federation to which we have acceded.” The Secretary of State said : “If you amend the parts of the Bill which affect the States, obviously you would be altering the conditions on which they have acceded and that would certainly create a situation in which the Princes could rightly claim that their Instrument of Accession had been altered. It certainly means that we cannot amend any part of the Bill which affects what is virtually the treaties under which the Princes come in. If we make a change in the Bill as to strike at the basis of their Instrument of Accession then obviously, the agreement has been broken between the Princes and Parliament and the Princes are free.” “It will be accepted by every one that under the general scheme of the Bill the States, when they are asked to federate are entitled to know with certainty certain aspects at any rate, of the Federation to which they are to accede. It would be an absurd position if having said to a State this month, “Will you accede to a Federation,” it was possible next month for this House to alter in some fundamental respects the provisions of the Federation to which the State was held to have acceded. Therefore, some schedule of this kind is necessary. It is a sorting out of the various parts of the Bill which should be capable of amendment without in any sense altering from the point of view of the States the constitutional machinery to which they have acceded. The scheme of the Schedule is to set out the provisions of the Act, the amendment whereof is not to affect the validity of the Instrument of Accession of a State.” “One sees set out those parts of the Bill the amendment of which is not to affect the validity of the Instrument of Accession of a State, and on the opposite side there are set out those subjects the amendment of which, would affect the validity of accession. In drawing up a schedule of this kind one has to proceed with great care in defining what are the legitimate matters on which the Rulers of a State are entitled to ask that there shall be no amendment without their consent. Of course there will be border-line cases. There could be minor amendments, which would not really make any great difference to the existing position, and it would be very unreasonable

337 FEDERATION VERSUS FREEDOM if the States took objection to such amendments and said, “We are going to stand on our rights on this point as affecting the validity of our Instrument of Accession.” It is right that any matter which really affects what I may call the general balance of powers, the questions of the reservation of subjects of executive control and of matters which can be dealt with by the GovernorGeneral in his discretion, matters which are vital to the architecture of the Federation to which the States are asked to accede, should not be amended without their assent. “The whole area of the special powers vested in the Governor-General is one of the essential features of the Federation. That is one part where the States are entitled to say ‘That is a change’ or ‘That is altered’. But this does not in any way check for all time the development of India. These are to be the subjectmatter of negotiations with the States, because, in effect, they will produce a Federation of a different kind from that to which the State has acceded.” Therefore to the question what would happen if Parliament did make such changes which by virtue of Schedule II are treated as changes which will affect the Instrument of Accession the answer is that the Princes will get a right to walk out of the Federation. In other words, the consequence of any such change would be to break up the Federation. What are the changes which cannot be made without affecting the Instrument of Accession ? I will draw your attention to some of the provisions which Schedule II says cannot be amended by Parliament without affecting the Instrument of Accession. According to Schedule II no changes in the Constitution can be made which relate to (1) the exercise by the GovernorGeneral of the executive authority of the Federation ; (2) the definition of the functions of the Governor-General ; (3) the executive authority of the Federation ; (4) the functions of the Council of Ministers and the choosing and summoning of ministers and their tenure of office ; (5) the power of the Governor-General to decide whether he is entitled to act in his discretion or exercise his individual judgment ; (6) the functions of the Governor-General with respect to external affairs and defence ; (7) the special responsibilities of the Governor-General relating to the peace and tranquility of India or any part thereof ; (8) the financial stability and credit of the Federal Government; (9) the rights of the Indian States and the rights and dignity of their Rulers; (10) the discharge of his functions by or under the Act in his discretion or in the exercise of his individual judgment ; (11) His Majesty’s Instrument of Instructions to the Governor-General ; and (12) the superintendence of the Secretary of State in the making of the rules for the Governor-General in his discretion for the transaction of and the securing of transmission to him of information with respect to, the business of the Federal Government.

338 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Schedule II is a very extensive collection of constitutional don’ts. I have given just a few of them. They will however be sufficient to show how limited is the authority of Parliament to make changes in the Constitution. Why is the authority of Parliament limited ? To understand this it is necessary to note the exact limits of the authority of Parliament. According to law the authority of the Parliament to legislate extends only to countries which are the Dominions of the King. The States did not form part of the Dominions of the King and none of them not even the finest of them was subject to the legislative authority of Parliament. The Government of India Act makes no change in this status of the States. The States remain foreign territories inspite of the Federation, and as they were before Federation. This is the most extraordinary state about the Indian Federation, namely that the different units are as between themselves foreign states. As the Act does not make the States Dominions of the King, Parliament gets no right to legislate about them. Parliament derives its authority over the States from the Instrument of Accession. That being so, the authority of Parliament cannot but be limited to what is transferred to it by the States through their instruments. To use the language of the Privy Council itself, as the stream can rise no higher than its source, similarly, Parliament cannot have powers over the States greater than those given to them by the Instrument of Accession. This explains why the authority of Parliament to amend the Constitution is limited. The analysis made so far shows that the authority of Parliament 10 change is limited by the Instrument of Accession and that for any excess of authority, there must be prior consent given by the Princes. As a legal effect of the provisions of the Act it may not be shocking. But consider the fact that the provisions in regard to which Parliament has no power to change include those that relate to the transposition of such subjects as Defence and External affairs from the category of Reserved to that of the Transferred and that it will not have that power unless the Princes consent expressly to confer that authority on Parliament and permit it to do so. You will be in a position to realize how grave are going to be the consequences of this Federation. The establishment of the Federation means that the mastery has gone from the hands of Parliament into the hands of Princes. This Federation makes the Princes the arbiters of destiny. Without their consent India cannot politically advance. Other consequences of this Federation might also be noted. I will just refer to one. It is that this federation, if accepted will weaken the position of British Indians in their struggle for change. Hitherto, in the struggle between the Indian people and the British Parliament the latter was always the weaker party. It had nothing to oppose the right of the people to change except its will. After the Federation the position is bound to be reversed. The Indian people would be in a weaker position and Parliament

339 FEDERATION VERSUS FREEDOM would be in a stronger position. After the Federation, Parliament would be in a position to say that it is willing to grant the demand for change but that its authority to change is limited and that before making any demand for change. Indians should obtain the consent of the Princes. There is nothing to prevent Parliament from taking this stand. What reply would Indians be able to give if they once accept the Federation and thereby admit the implications underlying it ? VIII THE FATALITY OF FEDERATION What shall we do with the Indian States ? That is a question that is often asked. Some people with Republican faith in them desire their total abolition. Those who do not care for forms of Government will reject this view. But even they must abide by the consideration that what works best is best. Can the Indian States be said to work best ? I do not know that there is anybody, who will be prepared to give an affirmative answer, at any rate an affirmative answer which will apply to all States. The internal administration of the States is a bye-word for mismanagement and maladministration. Very few States will escape this charge. The people are always asking as to why there should be this mismanagement and maladministration in the States. The usual answer is that it is the consequence of Personal Rule. Everywhere the demand made is that Personal Rule should be replaced by Popular Government. I have grave doubts about the efficacy of this demand. I do not think that in a large majority of cases the substitution of Popular Government will be any cure for the ills of the State subjects. For, I am sure that the evils arise as much from the misrule of the Ruler as they arise from want of resources. Few have any idea as to how scanty are the resources of the Indian States. Let me give you a few facts. Out of the total of 627 States there are only ten with an annual revenue above 1 crore. Of these ten, five have just about a crore, three have between 2 and 2¼ crores. One has just about 3¼ crores and only one has a revenue just about 8 crores. There are nine with a revenue ranging between 1 crore and 50 lakhs. About twelve have a revenue ranging between 50 to 25 lakhs. Thirty have a revenue varying between 25 lakhs and 10 lakhs. The rest of the 566 have an annual revenue which is less than 10 lakhs. This does not, however, give an idea of how small are some of the States which fall below 10 lakhs. A few illustrations may therefore be given. Among these 565 States there is one with a revenue of Rs. 500 and a population of 206 souls. Another with a revenue of Rs. 165 and a population of 125 : another with a revenue of Rs. 136 and a population of 239, another with a revenue of 128 and a population of 147 and another

340 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES with a revenue of Rs. 80 and a population of 27. Each one of these is an Autonomous State, even the one with a revenue of Rs. 80 and a population of 27 ! The Autonomy of these States means that each one must take upon itself the responsibility to supply to its subjects all the services which relate to matters falling under law and order such as revenue, executive and judicial and all the services which affect public welfare such as education, sanitation, roads etc. We in Bombay with our 12 crores of revenue are finding it difficult to maintain a civilized standard of administration. Other Provinces with equally large revenue are finding the same difficulty. How then can these small tiny states with a revenue of few hundreds and a population of few thousands cater to any of the wants which a civilized man must have his Government satisfy in full measure ? With the best of motives and given an ideal Prince the task is hopeless. The only way out is to reorganize the whole area occupied by the Indian States. The proper solution would be to fix an area of a certain size and of certain revenue and to constitute it into a New Province and to pension off the rulers now holding any territory in that area. Only such States should be retained in whose case by measure of area and revenue it can be said that they by reason of their resources are in a position to provide a decent standard of administration. Those which cannot satisfy the test must go. There is no other way. This is not merely what might be done. I say, to do this is our duty and a sacred duty. I know some will think of the hereditary right of the Prince to rule over his territory. But I ask, what is more important, the right of the Prince or the welfare of the people ? I am sure that even the best friends of the States will not say that the rights of the Prince are more important than the welfare of the people. Which should give way, if the two are in conflict ? There again, I am sure that even the best friends of the States will not say that the welfare of the people should be sacrificed for the sake of maintaining the rights of the Prince. The question of the reorganization of the Indian States is not a political question. As I look at it, is a purely administrative question. It is also an inevitable question. Because, not to tackle it is to condemn the people of the States—and there are millions of them—perpetually to a life of misery and security. The way I suggest is not a revolutionary way. To pension off a Prince and to annex his territory is a legal way and can fall under the principles with which we are familiar under the Land Acquisition Act which allows private rights and properties to be acquired for public purposes. Unfortunately, the question of the Indian States has not been tackled from this point of view so far. The question that I want to place before