द इण्डियन स्ट्रगल / भारतीय स्वाधीनता संग्राम (नेताजी सुभाष चन्द्र बोस - ऐतिहासिक विश्लेषण)

304 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE existing Constitution are due in November. The withdrawal of the Congress Party from the Assembly in January 1930, made it possible for the Government to get the Ottawa Agreement ratified by the Assembly for three years and to have the Ordinances for suppressing the civil-disobedience movement placed on the Statute Book. The presence of Congressmen in the Assembly once again will cause embar- rassment to the Government, but the Government will then have no law-breaking campaign in the country to keep them pre-occupied. So far as the ensuing Congress session is concerned, a lively fight is expected on two issues. Firstly, the Congress Nationalist Party will appeal to the All-India Congress Committee and to the plenary session of the Con- gress to reject the Communal Award. Secondly, the Congress Socialist Party will press for the adoption of a Socialist programme. Both these attempts are sure to be defeated. On both these questions the Mahatma will get the support of the majority of his erstwhile opponents—the Swarajists. If they were to oppose him to a man, then he would run the risk of being defeated on either of the above two issues. But by sponsoring their proposal of entering the Legislatures, the Mahatma has won the majority of them over to his side and has thereby ensured his position within the Congress. The present intention of the Mahatma to retire¹ from active politics and strengthen his own Satyagrahi organisation, or in the alternative to alter the Congress constitution accord- ing to his own ideas, will not come as a surprise to those who know him well. It is reminiscent of his attitude after his release from prison in 1924 and at the Belgaum Congress that year, when he left the field to his opponents, allowing them to stew in their own juice. The ultimate challenge to his leader- ship will, however, arise from the side of the Congress Socialist Party but not from that of the Congress Nationalist Party.² ¹ After the above was written, the Mahatma announced his retirement to the plenary session of the Congress which met in Bombay on October 26th, 1934. This so-called retirement has been referred to in Chapter XVIII. ² A message from India dated the 1st October, 1934, said that a Con- ference of the Congress Socialist Party was recently held at Benares. It was decided not to assist in the election campaign of the Congress nor to accept office in any Congress organisation which did not carry out the economic policy of the Party. Both the official Congress Party and the Congress Nationalist Party were condemned by the Socialist Party.

DEFEAT AND SURRENDER 305 During the period of 1933-34 while the Congress proceeded from step to step in the direction of surrender, the Govern- ment was able to strengthen its position in other directions as well. In January 1933, judgment was finally delivered in the long-drawn Meerut Conspiracy Case, and out of thirty-one accused, twenty-seven were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. About this time the leader of the Chittagong revolutionaries, Mr. Surjya Sen, who had successfully evaded arrest for three years, was captured, and after a trial before a special tribunal, was hanged together with another comrade. In February and March, there was trouble with some of the independent frontier tribes. But with the assistance of the friendly Afghan Government of King Nadir Shah and with the help of aerial bombing, the Government were able to cope successfully with the menace. After the publication of the White Paper in March, the Assembly passed the following resolution moved by Sir Abdur Rahim, the leader of the opposition: 'Unless the proposals for constitutional reform are substantially amended in the direction of conceding greater responsibility and freedom of action to the people's representatives in the central and provincial spheres of government, it will not be possible to ensure peace, content- ment and progress of the country.' The Government, it is hardly necessary to add, had no need to feel embarrassed at this milk-and-water resolution. There was some amount of public agitation over the ill- treatment of political prisoners. For instance, in the Nasik Jail on October 27th, 1932, Mr. Amritlal Morarji, a political prisoner who had been given bar-fetters, was taken to a cell, beaten by five jail-officials with batons and lifted up and dashed down till he became unconscious. There was intense indignation, when the news saw the light of day and Govern- ment had to order the prosecution of the jail-officials respon- sible for the incident. Likewise, in the Amraoti Jail in the Central Provinces some political prisoners had been severely assaulted on April 22nd, 1932. Agitation and inquiry went on for about a year. Ultimately, on March 1st, 1933, the U

306 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE Government issued a white-washing report, which, however, admitted the use of physical force on the occasion and pro- mised a modification of the rules applying to civil-disobedience prisoners. Following the publication of the White Paper in March 1933, early in April, the British Parliament appointed a Joint Select Committee consisting of sixteen members from each House. There were debates in both Houses on the occasion. In the House of Commons, the Opposition was led by Mr. Winston Churchill and Sir Henry Page-Croft and in the Lords by Lord Lloyd and Lord Halsbury. The Committee on April 12th, elected Lord Linlithgow as Chairman and approved of a list of 'assessors' from India who would sit with them, but would not be entitled to vote on any issue nor submit any report to Parliament. The sittings of the Joint Select Committee, with the collaboration of the Indian assessors, commenced on May 10th, and continued for an unusually long period. The Secretary of State for India took the unusual step of appearing as a witness with a view to acquainting the Committee and the Indian assessors with the intentions of Government. His examination lasted several weeks and he answered about 16,000 questions. In view of the agitation against constitutional advance in India carried on by the diehards in England led by Mr. Winston Churchill since 1929, and especially since the publication of the White Paper, in March 1933, it is likely that the Joint Parliamentary Committee will further whittle down the provisions of the White Paper.¹ The report of the Committee is expected to be out in November 1934. During the year 1933, the country suffered a serious loss through the death of two of her worthiest sons. Mr. J. M. Sengupta, who had been the Mayor of Calcutta for five years and had been a member of the Congress Working Committee since 1925, suddenly died of apoplexy on July 26th, while he was in internment in Ranchi under Regulation III of 1818. On October 22nd, Mr. Vithalbhai J. Patel, ¹ Since the above was written, the Report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee has been published and the apprehensions of the writer have proved to be true.

DEFEAT AND SURRENDER 307 former President of the Indian Assembly, and one of the outstanding leaders of the Congress, died of heart trouble in a Swiss clinic near Geneva. In accordance with his last wishes his mortal remains were brought to Bombay for crema- tion, where they were received by a procession of 200,000 people. He left all his assets (more than Rs. 100,000) for national work. Towards the end of 1933, the second Burma Round Table Conference was held in London. The first Conference had been held in November 1931, and the representatives from Burma were not therefore invited to the second and third session of the Indian Round Table Conference. As the composition of the first Burma Round Table Conference had been strongly criticised on the ground that the anti-separa- tionists had been poorly represented, the Government had agreed to a General Election in Burma on the issue of separa- tion from India. This election held in November 1932, gave a majority to the anti-separationists but taking advantage of the fact that the Burma Legislative Council did not vote for unconditional federation with India, the Government pro- ceeded with their pet scheme of separation from India. The second Burma Round Table Conference was therefore called in 1933 and the anti-separationists, though in a majority in Burma, were given less seats than the separationists. It is now certain that Burma will be separated from India¹ and will be given a bi-cameral legislature for dealing with both 'pro- vincial' and 'central' subjects. In December, important conferences were held as usual. The Liberal Federation met at Madras with Mr. J. N. Basu in the chair and condemned the White Paper. The All- India's Women Conference had a successful session in Cal- cutta and great enthusiasm was evinced by women represen- tatives from all parts of India in the matter of educational and social reform as well as in the matter of representation in International Committees in Geneva. The Trade Union Congress met at Cawnpore and among the resolutions passed ¹ The Report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee published on November 22nd, 1934, has provided 'for the separation of Burma from India.

308 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE was one dealing with the grievances of the textile workers in Bombay Presidency and the necessity of a general strike of textile workers for enforcing their demands. Following this decision, in the early part of 1934, a strike of textile workers was declared in Bombay. There was enthusiastic response to the strike-call in Bombay and there were sympathetic strikes in other parts of the country as well. To break the strike, the bogey of Communism was raised once again and on that pretext, a large number of influential labour leaders in Bombay were thrown into prison. Following Bombay, other provinces like Punjab also saw the spectre of Communism stalking over the land and the Kirti (Workers), Kishan (Peasant) Party of Punjab was therefore declared illegal as being a Communist body. While strengthening the grip over the radical wing of the Worker's movement, the Government also took further measures in Bengal to crush the terrorist campaign of the revolutionaries. While the year before, mere attempt to murder had been made punishable with death, in 1934, possession of arms, explosives, etc., was similarly made punishable with death. The recent attempt to assassinate the Governor of Bengal, Sir John Anderson, which is reminiscent of a similar attempt made two years ago¹ —shows, however, that the terrorist campaign is unfortunately not dead as yet—though public opinion has been expressing itself more and more against it. The favourable situation created for the British Govern- ment through the surrender of the Congress and the official policy of ruthless repression, was utilised for promoting the trade interests of Great Britain in India. Reference has already been made to the ratification of the Ottawa Agree- ment, whereby the principle of Empire Preference was forced on India, in spite of her opposition and to her detriment. During the period under consideration, two other measures were adopted in connection with the textile trade of India ¹ In February 1932, a young woman graduate, Miss Bina Das, attempted to shoot the Governor of Bengal, Sir Stanley Jackson, at the convocation of the University of Calcutta. The Governor had a providential escape and Miss Das was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment. The latest news is to the effect that some of the would-be assassins of Sir John Anderson have been sentenced to death.

DEFEAT AND SURRENDER 309 —the Indo-Japanese Agreement and the Indo-British Agree- ment. In spite of all the specious arguments urged in favour of the two Agreements, Indian public opinion regards the first agreement as a conspiracy between British and Japanese industrialists to exploit the Indian market and the second agreement as an unholy alliance between the British capitalists and a section of the Indian capitalists to get the most out of the poor Indian consumer. Till the Nationalist Party is once again installed inside the Legislatures, it will not be possible to undo the harm done to India by these two measures. The elections to the Indian Legislative Assembly are at present (November, 1934) in progress. During 1935, public attention in India will be directed towards the tactics of the Congress Party in the Assembly. It is extremely unlikely that there will be any startling developments between now and the inauguration of the new constitutional reforms.

CHAPTER XV THE WHITE PAPER AND THE COMMUNAL AWARD¹ THE proposals contained in the White Paper issued in March, 1933, represented the tentative conclusions arrived at by the British Government after three sessions of the Round Table Conference. According to this scheme, India is no longer to be divided into British India ruled directly by the British Government, and the Indian States ruled by Indian Princes, or Rulers or Maharajahs under the suzerainty of the British Crown. India is to be a federation composed of the provinces of British India, eleven in number including Sindh and Orissa, and such of the Indian States as would voluntarily join the Federation. Those Rulers who signify their desire to join the Federation will have to execute a formal Instrument of Accession transferring to the British Crown for the pur- poses of the Federation their powers and jurisdiction in respect of those matters which they are willing to recognise as Federal matters. The powers and jurisdiction so trans- ferred will be exercised by the appropriate Federal organs created by the new Constitution Act. The Federation will be brought into existence by the issue of a Proclamation by His Majesty, the King-Emperor, but the proclamation will not be issued until: I. His Majesty has received intimation that the Rulers of States representing not less than half the aggregate population of the Indian States and entitled to not less than half the seats to be allotted to the States in the Federal Upper Chamber have signified their desire to accede to the Federation. and ¹ This chapter gives only a rough idea of the provisions of the White Paper and the Communal Award. For further details which are uninter- esting to the general reader, one should refer to—Proposals for Indian Constitutional Reform 1933. printed and published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, Adastral House, Kingsway London, W.C.2. Price 2s. nett. 310

THE WHITE PAPER 311 2. Both Houses of the British Parliament have presented an address to His Majesty praying that such a Pro- clamation may be issued. It is further provided that before the first Federal Ministry comes into being, a Federal Reserve Bank,¹ free from political influence, will have been set up by Indian legislation and be already successfully operating. The White Paper also states, that ‘it is probable that it will be found convenient or even necessary that the new Provincial Government should be brought into being in advance of the changes in the Central Government and the entry of the States.’ It is therefore clear that the inaugura- tion of the Federation may be indefinitely postponed even after the new Constitution Act is passed by the British Parliament. The idea of bringing in the Princes into the constitutional machinery is to provide a Conservative element in the Federal Legislature which will counteract the radical forces in British India. With this object in view, while the representatives from British India in the Federal Legislature will be returned through a director (or indirect) election² with the help of a popular franchise, however restricted, the representatives from the States will be nominated by the Indian Rulers. The subjects of the Indian States comprising about one-fourth of the total population of India³ will have no representation what- soever in the Federal Parliament. The support of the Indian Rulers (or their nominees) to the British Government in the working of the Federal Constitution will be secured because the British Government in its turn undertakes not to interfere in the internal autocratic administration of the Indian States. Thus, if the Federation is ultimately set up according to the White Paper proposal, the Princes will retain their sovereignty ¹ The Reserve Bank Bill has been already passed by the Indian Legis- lative Assembly. ² The White Paper recommended direct election in the case of the Federal Assembly (Lower House) and indirect election in the case of the Council of State (Upper House). The Joint Parliamentary Committee, however, have recommended indirect election in both cases. ³ In the 1931 Census, the total population of India including Burma is about 352 millions. British India excluding Burma has a population of about 257 millions. The total population of the Indian states is about 81 millions.

312 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE over their internal affairs and will have a further hand in working the Federal machinery. There will be no provision in the new Constitution for a democratic or popular or con- stitutional government in the Indian States. Moreover, the Indian States will enjoy special concessions or exemptions in the matter of Federal taxation and in the Federal Legislature they will have representation far in excess of their population. In spite of these baits thrown out by the British Government, many of the Indian rulers are fighting shy of the constitutional innovation. According to the White Paper, the offices of the Viceroy and the Governor-General will be separated, though the two offices will be held by the same person. The Governor- General will be the executive head of the Federation and will have the supreme command of the military, naval and air forces of India as well, while the Viceroy will be the represen- tative of the British Crown and will exercise the powers of the Crown in relation to the Indian States and all other matters outside the scope of the Federal Constitution. The Governor- General will himself direct and control the administration of certain Reserved Departments—namely, Defence, External Affairs and Ecclesiastical Affairs. In this administration he will be assisted by not more than three Counsellors, who will be appointed by himself and will be ex-officio members of both the Legislatures, without the right to vote. For the purpose of aiding and advising the Governor-General in the exercise of other powers, there will be a Council of Ministers. The Ministers will be appointed by the Governor-General, will hold office during his pleasure and must be members of one or other Chamber of the Federal Legislature. The Counsellors will be responsible to the Governor-General alone—but the Ministers will be responsible to the Legis- lature, subject to such control as the Governor-General will exercise over their departments. In regard to administration, the Governor-General will make, in his discretion, any rules which he regards as requisite to regulate the disposal of Government business and the procedure to be observed in its conduct. He will also be empowered in his discretion to appoint a Financial Adviser to assist him in his special

THE WHITE PAPER 313 responsibility for financial matters. The salary of the Financial Adviser will be fixed by the Governor-General and will not be subject to the vote of the Legislature, nor will he be responsible to the Legislature. Apart from his exclusive responsibility for the reserved departments, the Governor-General will be declared to have a 'special responsibility' in respect of the following matters: (a) The prevention of any grave menace to the peace and tranquillity of India or any part thereof. (b) The safeguarding of the financial stability and credit of the Federation. (c) The safeguarding of the legitimate interests of minorities. (d) The securing to the members of the public services of any rights provided for them by the Constitution Act and the safeguarding of their legitimate interests. (e) The prevention to commercial discrimination. (f) The protection of the rights of any Indian State. (g) Any matter which affects the administration of any department under the direction and control of the Governor-General. It will be for the Governor-General to determine in his discretion whether any of the 'special responsibilities' here described are involved by any given circumstances. In the Instrument of Instructions which will be issued to the Governor-General by the King-Emperor, it will be provided that in the administration of the departments under the direction and control of the Governor-General on his own responsibility and of matters committed to his discretion —he will be under the control of the Secretary of State for India. Though in other matters the Governor-General should ordinarily be guided by the advice of his Ministers, he may not accept their advice if it is considered by him as inconsistent with the fulfilment of a special responsibility entrusted to him by law and in such a case the Governor- General may take such action as he will judge requisite, subject to the directions of the Secretary of State for India. It will

314 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE be clear that in such matters the responsibility of the Ministers to the Legislature is non-existent. The Governor-General will have the power to make and promulgate Ordinances for a period of six months and renew them for a second period if at any time he is satisfied that it is necessary for the requirements of the reserved departments or any of his 'special responsibilities.' He will also have the power of making and promulgating Ordinances for the good Government of British India or any part thereof, if at a time, when the Federal Legislature is not in session, his Ministers are satisfied that an emergency exists. Both kinds of Ordinances while in operation will have the force and effect of Acts of the Legislature. Further, in the event of a breakdown of the Constitution, the Governor-General will be empowered at his discretion, by Proclamation, to assume to himself all such powers vested by law in any federal authority as appear to him to be necessary for the purpose of securing that the Government of the Federation shall be carried on effectively. The Federal Legislature will consist of two Chambers to be styled the Council of State (Upper House) and the House of Assembly (Lower House). Each Council of State will continue for seven years and each House of Assembly for five years, unless sooner dissolved. The Council of State will consist of no more than 260 members, of whom 150 will be elected from British India, not more than 100 will be appointed by the Rulers of the Indian States and not more than ten will be nominated by the Governor-General in his discretion. Out of 150 British Indian seats, 136 will be filled by election by means of the single transferable vote by the members of the Provincial Legislatures, the bigger provinces being entitled to 18 seats and the smaller to 5 seats each. Out of the remain- ing 14, Europeans, Indian Christians and Anglo Indians will be entitled to 7, 2 and 1 seats respectively—while Coorg, Ajmer, Delhi and Beluchistan will be entitled to one seat each. One-third of the British-Indian seats in the Council of State will be reserved for the Moslem community, though their population is approximately only one-fourth of the entire population of British India. The House of Assembly will

THE WHITE PAPER 315 consist of not more than 375 members of whom 250 will be elected from British India and not more than 125¹ will be appointed by the Rulers of Indian States. The number earmarked for British India will be allocated to the several communities and interests as follows: Depressed Classes (Hindus), 19; Sikh, 6; Moslem, 82; Indian Christian, 8; Anglo-Indian, 4: European, 8; Women, 9; Commerce and Industry, 11 (of whom approximately 6 will be Europeans²); Landholders, 7; Labour, 10; General (Hindus and others), 105. The Depressed Classes seats will be filled up in the manner prescribed in the Poona Pact adopted after the fast of Mahatma Gandhi in September 1932. Bills will be introduced in either Chamber, but Money Bills and Votes of Supply will be initiated only in the Assembly. No Bill will become law until it has been agreed to by both Chambers and has been assented to by the Governor-General, or in the case of a Reserved Bill until His Majesty in Council has signified his assent. Any Act assented to by the Governor-General will within twelve months be subject to disallowance by His Majesty in Council. The Governor-General will, however, have the power to enact at his discretion as a Governor-General's Act any Bill which is not passed by the Chambers within a specified date in spite of a message from the Governor-General that that Bill should become law by that date. A Governor-General's Act will have the same force and effect as an Act of the Legislature. The Governor-General will be further empowered in his discretion, in any case in which he considers that a Bill introduced or proposed for introduction or any clause thereof or any amendment to a Bill moved or proposed, would affect the discharge of his responsibility, to direct that the said Bill, Clause or Amendment shall not be further pro- ceeded with. It will thus be seen that the Governor-General has been vested with extraordinarily wide powers in the matter of modifying any legislation under consideration, ¹ With a population less than one-fourth of India, the Indian States will have 33⅓ per cent. of the seats in the assembly and more than 38 per cent. of the seats in the Council of State. ² The European population in India is 168,134 out of a population of about 352 millions. Nevertheless, they are to have 14 seats in the Assembly and 7 seats in the Council of State.

316 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE withholding legislation completely and enacting fresh legis- lation. Such powers he does not possess even to-day. The White Paper further says: 'Apart from the Reserved Departments and the 'special responsibilities' of the Governor- General outside the sphere of those departments, there is a third category of matters in which the Governor-General will not be under any constitutional obligation to seek or having sought, to be guided by ministerial advice. For this purpose certain specified powers will be conferred by the Constitution on the Governor-General and will be expressed as being exercisable 'at his discretion.' In this category of 'dis- cretionary powers' . . . His Majesty's Government anticipate that the following matters will be included: (a) The power to dissolve, prorogue and summon the Legislature. (b) The power to assent to, or withhold assent from Bills or to reserve them for signification of His Majesty's pleasure. (c) The grant of previous sanction to the introduction of certain classes of Legislative measures. (d) The power to summon forthwith a joint session of the Legislature in cases of emergency where postponement till the expiration of the period to be prescribed by the Constitution Act might have serious consequences. With regard to Legislative procedure the Governor- General will be empowered to make rules: (a) Regulating the procedure of and the conduct of business in the Chamber in relation to matters arising out of, or affecting, the Administration of the Reserved Departments or any other special responsibilities with which he is charged. (b) Prohibiting, save with the prior consent of the Governor-General given at his discretion, the dis- cussion of or the asking of questions on:

1. Matters connected with any Indian State other than matters accepted by the Ruler of the State in his Instrument of Accession as being Federal subjects, or
2. Any action of the Governor-General taken in his discretion in his relationship with a Governor.

THE WHITE PAPER : 317 3. Any matter affecting relations between His Majesty or the Governor-General and any foreign Prince or State. In the event of conflict between a rule so made by the Governor-General and any rule made by the Chamber, the former will prevail and the latter will, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void. From the above it will be clear that in order to nullify the effect of ‘responsibility of the executive to the Legislature’ —not only have numerous reservations been made in the matter of responsibility, but the powers of the Legislature have been severely curtailed. The net result is that the Federal Legislature will be more helpless than the Indian Legislature of to-day and the Governor-General of the future will be more powerful than the Governor-General of to-day. The Governor-General will cause a statement of the estimated revenue and expenditure of the Federation, together with a statement of all proposals for the appropriation of those revenues, to be laid, in respect of every financial year, before both Chambers of the Legislature. Proposals for appropriation of revenues will not be submitted to the vote of either Chamber of the Legislature if they relate to heads of expenditure like—Interests, Sinking Fund Charges, Expenditure fixed by the Constitution Act, etc., salary and allowances of the Governor-General, of Ministers, of Coun- sellors, of the Financial Adviser, etc., expenditure required for the Reserved Departments, etc., salaries and pensions of the Judges of the Federal or Supreme Court, etc., salaries and pensions payable to, or to the departments of, certain members of the Public Services, etc.¹ The statement of proposals for appropriation will specify those additional proposals whether votable or non-votable, which the Governor- General regards as necessary for the discharge of any of his special responsibilities. The proposals for the appropriation ¹ In the light of legislative experience, the expectation or rather ap- prehension is that the non-votable items will cover about 80 per cent. of the total expenditure. The White Paper provides that the Governor-General will decide which item is non-votable as falling under one of these heads.

318 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE of revenues, other than proposals relating to heads of expen- diture enumerated above and proposals made by the Governor-General in discharge of his special responsibilities, will be submitted to the vote of the Assembly. The Council of State, by a motion duly passed, may require that any demand which is reduced or rejected by the Assembly shall be brought before a joint session of both Chambers for final determination. At the conclusion of the budget proceedings, the Governor-General will authenticate by his signature all appropriations, whether voted or non-votable. In the appropriation so authenticated, the Governor-General will be empowered to include any additional amounts which he regards as necessary for the discharge of any of his special responsibilities—provided that the total amount authenticated under any head is not in excess of the amount originally laid before the Legislature under that head in the statement of pro- posals for appropriation. Thus if any grant is refused by the Legislature, the Governor-General will be empowered to re- store it. The respective legislative fields of the Centre and of the provinces will be defined in terms of the subjects which will be scheduled in the Constitution Act. It is proposed further to include in the provincial list a general power to legislate on any matter of a purely local and private nature in the province. But in order to provide for the possibility that a subject which in its inception of a purely local or private character may subsequently become of All-India interest, it is proposed to make that power subject to a right of the Governor-General in his discretion to sanction general legislation by the Federal Legislature on the same subject-matter. With regard to the position of the Federal Ministers, the White Paper says that 'the number of ministers and the amounts of their respective salaries, will be regulated by Act of the Federal Legislature.’¹ Nevertheless, there is a further provision that the salary and allowances of the Federal Ministers will not be submitted to the vote of either Chamber of the Federal Legislature.² (There are similar provisions with regard to the Provincial Ministers.) ¹ Paragraph 15 of the White Paper Proposals. ² Paragraph 49 of the Proposals.

THE WHITE PAPER 319 With regard to the Federal Judiciary, the White Paper provides for a Federal Court and a Supreme Court. The Federal Court will have an original and an appellate juris- diction and will deal with all disputes involving the inter- pretation of the Constitution Act or any rights or obligations arising thereunder. An appeal will lie to His Majesty in Council from a decision of the Federal Court in any matter involving the interpretation of the Constitution Act. There will also be a Supreme Court for India, which will be a Court of Appeal from High Courts in British India. An appeal from the Supreme Court to His Majesty in Council will be allowed in civil cases only by leave of the Supreme Court. In criminal cases no such appeal will be allowed. After the publication of the White Paper, while giving evidence before the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Sir Samuel Hoare stated that the idea of having a separate Supreme Court might be abandoned and provision might be made enabling the Legislature, if and when it was thought desirable, to extend the jurisdiction of the Federal Court—so as to make it the one final Court of Appeal, subject always to the right of appeal to His Majesty in Council. According to the White Paper, the Chief Justice and the Judges of the Federal Court (as also of the Supreme Court if it comes into being) will be appointed by His Majesty and will hold office during good behaviour. Their salaries, pensions, etc., will be fixed by Order in Council and will not be subject to the vote of the Legislature. After the commencement of the Constitution Act, the present Council of the Secretary of State for India will be dissolved. The Secretary of State will then appoint not less than three and not more than six persons, who will form his Advisory Council. Persons appointed by the Secretary of State to any of the Services before the commencement of the Constitution Act will continue to enjoy all Service rights possessed by them at that date. After the commencement of the Constitution Act, the Secretary of State will continue to make appointments to the Indian Civil Service, the Indian Police and the Ecclesiastical Department and the conditions as to pay and allowances, pensions, discipline and conduct of

320 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE such persons will be regulated by rules, made by the Secretary of State. Every person appointed by the Secretary of State will continue to enjoy all service rights existing at the date of his appointment. 'At the expiration of five years from the commencement of the Constitution Act, a statutory inquiry will be held into the question of the future recruitment for those services except the Foreign Department and the Eccle- siastical Department. The decision on the results of this inquiry, with which the Governments in India concerned will be associated, will rest with His Majesty's Government and be subject to the approval of both Houses of Parliament.'¹ Thus the important services will continue to be under the control of the Secretary of State for India in London, in spite of the so-called responsibility granted to India. The Federal and Provincial Ministers will have as subordinates, officials over whose destiny they will have no control and against whom they will not be able to take any disciplinary measures. As for the other services, the Federal and Provincial Govern- ments respectively will appoint and determine the conditions of service of all persons in the Federal and Provincial services respectively. For conducting competitive examinations for appointments to the Federal and Provincial services respec- tively, there will be a Federal Public Service Commission and Provincial Public Service Commissions. The members of the Federal Public Service Commission will be appointed by the Secretary of State and of the Provincial Public Commission by the Governor. The emoluments of the members of all Public Service Commissions will not be subject to the vote of the Legislatures. Thus the Public Service Commissions will be quite independent of the popular will. Some other provisions have been made to safeguard the interests of Britishers. The Indian Reserve Bank² already ¹ White Paper Proposals, para. 189. ² An announcement has been made by the India Office, London, on 4th October, 1934 saying that the Indian Reserve Bank Bill will be con- stituted early in 1935. The Governor, Deputy-Governors and the Central Board of the Bank will of course be appointed by His Majesty's Govern- ment. As a matter of fact, some appointments have already been made. Sir Osborne Smith has been appointed Governor of the Bank; Mr. J. B. Taylor, first Deputy Governor and Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan (some time Acting Governor of the Punjab) second Deputy Governor.

THE WHITE PAPER 321 referred to, which is a condition precedent to the inauguration of the Federation—will manage currency and exchange according to the dictation of London. To administer the Indian railways with their vast resources, there will be a Statutory Railway Board which will be so composed, as 'to perform its duties on business principles and without being subject to political interference.' In the composition of the Railway Board, the people will have no voice whatsoever. Lastly, there is a very important provision meant to preserve intact the vested interests of the British Mercantile com- munity. The Federal Legislature or the Provincial Legis- lature will have no power to make laws subjecting any British subject domiciled in (or company incorporated in) the United Kingdom to any disability or discrimination in the exercise of certain specified rights—for instance—the right to enter, travel and reside in any part of British India; to hold property of any kind, to carry on any trade or business in, or with the inhabitants of, British India and to appoint and employ at discretion agents and servants for any of the above purposes. Such restrictions on legislation do not exist even to-day. The Indian Legislative Assembly to-day, for instance, can enact laws giving Indians special advantages in the matter of business and trade though they could be subsequently vetoed by the Governor-General. It appears that the British Government want to prohibit altogether legislation like the Indian Coastal Shipping Bill, which sought to reserve the coastal trade of India for Indian Shipping Com- panies. With regard to the 'fundamental rights' which Indian public opinion so strongly demanded, the White Paper says: 'His Majesty's Government see serious objections to giving statutory expression to any large range of declarations of this character, but they are satisfied that certain provisions of this kind such for instance as the respect due to personal liberty and rights of property and the eligibility of all for public office, regardless of differences of caste, religion, etc., can appropriately, and should, find a place in the Constitution Act.' There is no mention in this connection of such elemen- tary rights as freedom of speech, freedom of association, etc. X

322 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE —nor is there any assurance given that the scanty rights to be conceded will be made altogether inviolable.¹ According to the White Paper the powers of the Governor in relation to his ministers, to the Provincial Legislature and to the Provincial Administration will be an exact replica of those enjoyed by the Governor-General at the centre. Hence it is not necessary to repeat all those provisions. The only difference will be that in the Provinces there will be no 'reserved departments' managed by 'Counsellors' but cor- responding to them there may be 'Excluded Areas' or 'Par- tially Excluded Areas' the administration of which will be beyond the control of the Legislature. Most of the provinces will have only one Chamber—but in Bengal, the United Provinces and Bihar there will be two Chambers. The term of the Lower House—the Legislative Assembly—will be five years, and that of the Upper House—Provincial Council —will be seven years. The Provincial Council will be con- stituted partly by nomination by the Governor and partly by direct election from constituencies for Moslem and for non- Moslem voters. In Bengal and Bihar a certain number will also be elected by the Provincial Assembly by the method of the single transferable vote. And in Bengal one member will be elected by qualified European voters. The constitution of the Provincial Legislative Assembly has been explained below. The Franchise Scheme embodied in the White Paper is based on the Lothian Committee's Report, the Prime Minister's Communal Award and the Poona Pact. Talking, generally, the present provincial franchise has been made the franchise for the Lower House of the Federal Legislature. The present ratio of women to male voters will remain unchanged. The existing franchise in all the provinces is essentially based on property. The White Paper proposes to supplement property qualification by an educational qualification common to men and women. There will be a differential franchise in the case of the Depressed Classes in order to enfranchise about 2 per cent. of their population. The White Paper proposes to ¹ For instance, it is not clear that imprisonment without trial will be be rendered impossible in India as has been done in Great Britain owing to the Habeas Corpus Act.

THE BENGAL SITUATION 335 people to say that the revolutionary movement is the result of unemployment among middle-class youths. At the outset it should be pointed out that the revolutionary movement is not an anarchist movement, nor is it merely a terrorist movement. The revolutionaries do not aim at creating anarchy or chaos. While it is a fact that they do occasionally resort to terrorism, their ultimate object is not terrorism but revolution and the purpose of the revolution is to install a National Government. Though the earliest revolutionaries studied something about revolutionary methods in other countries, it would not be correct to say that the inspiration came from abroad. The movement was born out of a conviction that to a Western people physical force alone makes an appeal. It is not generally realised by Britishers, that it is they who have been primarily responsible for teaching the Indian people the efficacy of physical force. Two or three decades ago (and even till to-day in some cases) the average Britisher in India, especially when he was a member of the army, or of the police, was so haughty in his general behaviour towards Indians, that no Indian with a grain of self-respect could help feeling the humiliation of being under a foreign government. In the street, in the railways, in the tram-cars, in public places and in public functions, in fact everywhere, the Britisher expected the Indian to make way for him and if he refused to do so, the Indian would be assaulted. In such cases of friction, the forces of the Government were always on the side of the Britisher. Cases frequently happened in which Indians of the highest position and rank—even Judges of the High Court— would be insulted in this way. Even during the Great War, when India was fighting on the side of England, such cases of friction between Indians and Britishers would constantly occur in the tram-cars in Calcutta,¹ No legal or constitutional remedy could be found for such insults for neither the police nor the subordinate Law Courts would venture to do justice. Then the time came when Indians began to hit back and when they did so, the effect was immediate and remarkable. Ever since then, in proportion as they have been able to hit ¹ The writer has had personal experience of many such cases.