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Statement submitted to the Linguistic Provinces Commission
Published: 1948
Printed from the edition of 1948
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Contents
Note
Part I : The Problem of Linguistic Provinces
PART II : Will Maharashtra be a Viable Province ?
PART III : Should the Maharashtra Province be Federal or Unitary ?
PART IV : Maharashtra and the City of Bombay
The figures quoted in this memorandum have been taken
from various books and pamphlets written by various
writers on the subject of reconstituting
Maharashtra
on a linguistic basis.
I rely upon the writers
for their accuracy. Similarly,
the map of Maharashtra
attached to this Memorandum need not be taken as accurate or complete. The idea is merely to give a
picture of how the Province when reconstituted will look like.
14-10-48
THE PROBLEM OF LINGUISTIC
PROVINCES
1.The question of Linguistic Provinces has not only
led to a great deal of controversy born out of party prejudices and party
interests but it has led to a difference of opinion as to the merits thereof.
The points of controversy relate to claims and counter-claims as between
contiguous Provinces to territories as well as to the terms of their inclusion.
I shall deal with them at a later stage in so far as they
relate to the creation of the Maharashtra
Province. I shall first take up the question of the merits of the proposal for
Linguistic Provinces.
2. What is the purpose which lies behind the demand
for Linguistic Provinces? The generality of those who advocate the creation of
Linguistic Provinces do so because they believe that the Provinces have
different languages and cultures. They should therefore have the fullest scope
to develop their languages and their
cultures. In other words, the Provinces have all the elements of a distinct
nationality and they should be allowed the freedom to grow to their fullest in
nationhood.
3. In discussing the question of creating such
Linguistic Provinces it would be very short-sighted to omit from one's consideration
the fact that the structure of Government of India of the future is to be cast
in a dual form: (a) a Central Government and (b) a number of Provincial
Governments inextricably inter-linked
and inter-woven
in the discharge of their respective Legislative,
Executive and Administrative functions. Before one could agree to the creation
of Linguistic Provinces, one must, therefore,
consider the effects which Linguistic Provinces would have on the working of the Central Government.
4. Among the many effects that may be envisaged, the
following are obvious:
(1) Linguistic Provinces
will result in creating as many nations as there are groups with pride in their
race, language arid literature.
The Central Legislature will be a League of Nations and the Central Executive
may become a meeting of separate and solidified nations filled with the
consciousness of their being separate
in culture and therefore in interests. They may develop the mentality of
political insubordination, i.e., refusal to obey the majority or of staging
walk-outs. The development of such a mentality is not to be altogether
discounted. If such a mentality grows it may easily make the working of the
Central Government impossible.
(2) The creation of Linguistic Provinces would be
fatal to the maintenance of the necessary administrative relations between the
Centre and the Provinces. If each Province adopts its own language as its
official language the Central Government will have to correspond in as many
official languages as there are Linguistic Provinces. This must be accepted as
an impossible task. How great a deadlock
Linguistic Provinces will create in the working of the Governmental machine can
be better understood by studying the effects of Linguistic Provinces on the
Judiciary. In the new set-up, each Province will have a High Court with a
series of subordinate courts below it. At the apex of these High Courts will be
the Supreme Court with the right to
hear appeals against the decisions of the High Courts. On the basis of
Linguistic Provinces, Courts of each Province including its High Court will
conduct their proceedings in the language of
the Province. What is the Supreme Court to do when its jurisdiction is invoked
for rectifying a wrong done by the High Court ?
The Supreme Court will have to close down. For, if it is to function — every
judge of the Supreme Court — I am omitting for the moment (he lawyers
practising therein — must know the language of every Province—which it is
impossible to provide for.
No one
can contemplate such a situation with equanimity.
It may lead to a break-up of India. Instead
of remaining united, India may end in becoming Europe — faced with the prospect of chaos and disorder.
Advantages from Linguistic Provinces
5. While it is true
that the proposal of Linguistic Provinces creates a problem which goes to the
very root of the matter — inasmuch as it affects the unity of India—there can
be no doubt that the reconstruction of Provinces on linguistic basis has
certain definite political advantages.
6. The main advantage of the scheme of Linguistic
Provinces which appeals to me quite strongly is that Linguistic Provinces would
make democracy work better than it would in mixed
Provinces. A Linguistic Province produces what democracy needs, namely, social
homogeneity. Now the homogeneity of a people depends upon their having a belief
in a common origin, in the possession of a common language and literature, in
their pride in a common historic tradition,
community of social customs, etc. is a proposition which no student of
sociology can dispute. The absence of a social homogeneity in a State creates a
dangerous situation especially where such a State is raised on a democratic
structure. History shows that democracy cannot work in a State where the
population is not homogeneous. In
a heterogeneous population divided into groups which are hostile and
anti-social towards one another the working of democracy is bound to give rise
to cases of discrimination, neglect, partiality, suppression of the interests
of one group at the hands of another group which happens to capture political
power. The reason why in an heterogeneous society, democracy cannot succeed is
because power instead of being used impartially and on merits and
for the benefit of all is used for the aggrandisement of one group and to the detriment of another. On the
other hand, a state which is homogeneous in its population can work for the
true ends of democracy, for there are no
artificial barriers or social antipathies which lead to the misuse of political
power.
7. It follows that if democracy is to function
properly the subjects of the State must be so distributed as to form a single
homogeneous group. The constitution for the Provinces of India which is on the
anvil is designed for a democratic form of Government. It follows that each
Province must be homogeneous in its population if democracy in the Province is
to be successful. This is simply another way of saying that each Province must
be a linguistic unit
if it is to be fitted to work a democratic constitution. Herein lies the
justification for Linguistic Provinces.
8. Can the solution of this problem be postponed ? In this connection, I would like to place before the
Commission the following considerations :
(i) There is nothing
new in the demand for Linguistic Provinces. Six Provinces (1) East Punjab, (2)
United Provinces, (3) Bihar,
(4) West Bengal, (5) Assam and (6) Orissa
already exist as Linguistic Provinces. The Provinces which are clamouring for
being reconstituted on linguistic basis are: (1) Bombay, (2) Madras and (3)
Central Provinces. When the principle of Linguistic Provinces is accepted in
the case of six Provinces, the other Provinces which are asking the same
principle to be applied to them, cannot be asked to wait indefinitely:
(ii) The situation in
the Non-Linguistic Provinces has become exasperating if not dangerous and is in
no way different from the situation as it
existed in the old Turkish Empire or in the old Austro-Hungarian
Empire.
(iii) The demand for
Linguistic Provinces is an explosive force of the same character which was
responsible for blowing up the old Turkish Empire or Austro-Hungarian
Empire. It is better not to allow it to get too hot when it may become
difficult to prevent an explosion.
(iv) So long as the Provinces were not democratic in their
constitutions and so long as they did not possess the widest sovereign powers
which the new constitution gives them the urgency of Linguistic Provinces was
not very great. But with the new constitution, the problem has become very
urgent.
The solution of the difficulties
9. If the problem must be dealt with immediately what
is to be the solution ?
As has already been pointed out, the solution
must satisfy two conditions. While accepting the principle of Linguistic
Provinces it must provide against the break-up of India's unity. My solution of
the problem therefore is that, while accepting
the demand for the re-constitution of Provinces on linguistic basis, the
constitution should provide that the official language of every Province shall
be the same as the official language of the Central Government. It is only on
that footing that I am prepared to accept the demand for Linguistic Provinces.
10. l am aware of the fact that my suggestion runs
counter to the conception of Linguistic Provinces which is in vogue. It is that
the language of the Province shall be
its official language. I have no objection to Linguistic Provinces.
But I have the strongest objection to the language of the Province being made its official language where it
happens to be different
from the official language
of the Centre. My objection is based on the following considerations:
(1) The idea of having
a Linguistic Province has nothing to do with the question of what should be its
official language. By a Linguistic Province, I mean a Province which by the
social composition of its population is homogeneous and therefore more suited
for the realisation of those social ends which a democratic Government must
fulfil. In my view, a Linguistic Province has nothing to do with the language
of the Province. In the scheme of Linguistic Provinces, language has necessarily
to play its part. But its part
can be limited to the creation of the Province, i.e., for demarcation of the
boundaries of the
Province. There is no categorical imperative in the scheme of Linguistic
Provinces which compels
us to make the language of the Province its official language. Nor is it
necessary, for sustaining the
cultural unity of the Province, to make the language of the Province its
official language.
For, the cultural unity
of the Province, which already exists, is capable of being
sustained by factors other than language such as common historic tradition,
community of social customs, etc. To sustain Provincial cultural unity which
already exists it does not require the use of the Provincial language for
official purposes. Fortunately for the Provincialists
there is no fear of
a Maharashtrian
not remaining a Maharashtrian
because he spoke any other language. So also there
is no fear of a Tamilian or an Andhra
or a Bengali ceasing to be a Tamilian, Andhra
or Bengali if he spoke any other language than his own mother-tongue.
(2) The out-and-out
advocates of Linguistic Provinces would
no doubt protest that they have no intention of converting the Provinces into
separate nations. Their bona
fides
need not be doubted. At the same time, it often happens that things do take a
shape which their authors never intended. It is therefore absolutely necessary to take from the very
beginning every step to prevent things taking an evil shape in course of time.
There is therefore nothing wrong if the loosening
of the ties in one
direction is accompanied by their being tightened up in another direction.
(3) We must not allow the Provincial
language to become
its official language eve" if it was natural
that the Provincial language should be the official language of the Province. There is no
danger in creating Linguistic Provinces. Danger lies in creating
Linguistic Provinces with the language of each Province as its official
language. The latter
would lead to the creation of Provincial nationalities. For the use of the
Provincial languages as official
languages would lead Provincial cultures to be isolated crystallised,
hardened and solidified. It would be fatal to allow this to happen. To allow this is to
allow the Provinces to become independent nations, separate in everything and
thus open the road to the ruination
of United India. In Linguistic Provinces without
the language of the Province being
made its official language the Provincial culture
would remain fluid with a channel
open for give and take. Under no circumstances, we must allow the Linguistic
Provinces to make their Provincial languages
their official languages.
11. The imposition of an All-India official language on a Linguistic Province
which may happen to be different from the language of the Province cannot come
in the way of maintaining Provincial culture. Official language will be used
only in the field occupied by Government. The nonofficial field or what may be
the purely cultural field will still remain open to the Provincial language to
play its part. There may be a healthy competition between the official and
non-official language. One may try to 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.
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