Vol. 17, Part II · pages 526–530

501THE CABINET MISSION possible. The most satisfactory method obviously would be by election based on adult franchise, but any attempt to introduce such a step now would lead to a wholly unacceptable delay in the formation of the new constitution. The only practicable course was to utilise the recently elected Provincial Legislative Assemblies as electing bodies. There were, however, two factors in their composition which made it difficult. First, the numerical strengths of Provincial Legislative Assemblies did not bear the same proporation to the total population in each Province. Secondly, owing to the weightage given to minorities by the Communal Award, the strengths of the several communities in each Provincial Legislative Assembly were not in proportion to their numbers in the Province. After a most careful consideration of the various methods by which these points might be corrected, the fairest and most practicable plan would be (a) to allot to each Province a total number of Castes proportional to its population, roughly in the ratio of one to a million, as the nearest substitute for representation by adult suffrage ; (b) to divide this Provincial allocation of seats between the main communities in each Province in proportion to their population ; (c) to provide that the representatives allocated to each community in a Province should be elected by members of that community in its Legislative Assembly. For these purposes it was sufficient to recognise only three main communities in India—General, Muslim and Sikh, the General community including all persons who were not Muslims and Sikhs. As smaller minorities would upon a population basis, have little or no representation, since they would lose the weightage assuring them seats in Provincial Legislatures, some arrangements, were suggested to give them a full representation upon all matters of special interest to minorities. The Mission, therefore, proposed that there should be elected by each Provincial Legislative Assembly the following numbers of

502 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES representatives, each part of the Legislative Assembly (General, Muslim or Sikh) electing its own representatives by the method of proportional representation with single transferable vote. Table of Representation Section A Province General Muslim Total Madras 45 4 49 Bombay 19 2 21 United Provinces 47 8 55 Bihar 31 5 36 Central Provinces 16 1 17 Orissa 9 0 9 Total 167 20 187 Section B Province General Muslim Sikh Total Punjab 8 16 4 28 North-West Frontier 0 3 0 3 Sind 1 3 0 4 Total 9 22 4 35 Section C Province General Muslim Total Bengal 27 33 60 Assam 7 3 10 Total 34 36 70 Total for British India 292 Maximum for Indian States 93 Total 385

503THE CABINET MISSION In order to represent the Chief Commissioners’ Provinces, there would be added to Section A the member representing Delhi in the Central Legislative Assembly, the member representing Ajmer-Merwara in the Central Legislative Assembly and a representative to be elected by the Coorg Legislative Council. To Section B would be added a representative of British Baluchistan. The States would be given in the financial Constituent Assembly appropriate representation which would not, on the basis of the calculation of population adopted for British India, exceed 93, but the method of selection would have to be determined by consultation. The States would in the preliminary stage be represented by a Negotiating Committee. The Cabinet Mission then proposed that representatives thus chosen should meet at New Delhi as soon as possible. A preliminary meeting would be held at which the general order of business would be decided, a chairman and other officers elected and an Advisory Committee on rights of citizens, minorities and tribal and excluded areas set up. Thereafter the Provincial representatives would divide up into Sections A, B and C, as indicated in the Table. These Sections would proceed to settle Provincial constitutions for the Provinces included in each Section and decide whether any group constitution should be set up for those Provinces and if so what Provincial subjects the group should deal with. Provinces should have power to opt out of groups. As soon as the new constitutional arrangements would come into operation, any Province might elect to come out of any group in which it was placed. Such a decision should be taken by the Legislature of the Province after the first general election under the new constitution. The representatives of the Sections and the Indian States should reassemble for the purpose of settling the

504 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Union constitution. In the Union Constituent Assembly resolutions varying the provisions relating to the basic form of the constitution indicated above or raising any major communal issue would require a majority of the representatives present and voting of each of the two major communities. The Chairman of the Assembly would decide which resolutions raised major communal issue and, if so requested by a majority of the representatives of either of the major communities, consult the Federal Court before giving his decision. The Cabinet Mission further proposed that the Advisory Committee on the rights of citizens, minorities and tribal and excluded areas would contain due representation of the interests affected and their function would be to report to the Union Constituent Assembly upon the list of fundamental rights, clauses for protecting minorities, and a scheme for the administration of tribal and excluded areas, and to advise whether these rights should be incorporated in the Provincial, the Group or the Union constitution. The Cabinet Mission lastly proposed that the GovernorGeneral would forthwith request the Provincial Legislature to proceed with the election of their representatives and the States to set up a Negotiating Committee. It would be necessary to negotiate a treaty between the Union Constituent Assembly and the United Kingdom to provide for certain matters arising out of the transfer of power.” 1 zz 1 : Mittal J. K., Pp. 119-123.

APPENDIX—IV INTERVIEWS OF JAGJIWAN RAM, RADHANATH DAS AND PRITHVI SINGH BEFORE CABINET MISSION “Jagjivan Ram, Radhanath Das and Prithvi Singh Azad attended together as representatives of the All India Depressed Classes’ League. They said that the League was opposed to any proposal which would impain the integrity of the country ; that, in its view, the division of India into Pakistan and Hindustan would not provide a solution to the minority problem but would produce fresh problems; that it was also opposed to the setting up of more than one constituent assembly. The new consitution should contain provisions for the safeguarding of the language, culture, etc., of the minorities and the rights and interests of the Scheduled Castes. With regard to the interim Government, the Depressed Classes’ League was opposed to weightage being given to any community by depriving another community of its legitimate shares; but if it were decided to give weightage, the Scheduled Castes should also be given weightage. The interim Government should be responsible to the legislature the defence, finance, and foreign affairs should be handed over to the Cabinet, whose members should be elected by the various provincial legislatures. Special provision should be made for the representation of the minority communities, and Scheduled Castes members of the provincial assemblies should form an electoral college to select persons for inclusion in the Central Government. Jagjivan Ram said that the difference between the Scheduled Castes Federation (led by Dr. Ambedkar) and the Depressed Classes’ league was that, whereas the Federation held that the Scheduled Castes were not Hindus but a religious minority of their own, the League held that the Scheduled Castes masses considered themselves Hindus and that they had sacrificed much for the cause of Hinduism. The Depressed Classes League pressed for special representation in the legislature and in the services in order to enable the Scheduled Castes to raise themselves to the level of the rest of the country.” 1 (The transfer of Power in India, pp. 244-45). zz 1: Quoted, Khairmode, Vol. 8, Pp. 64-65.