Mr. Somnath Lahiri (Bengal: General) : Mr. Chairman, The Right Hon'ble Dr. Jayakar, grown grey in the service of interpreting British Imperialist laws, has probably interpreted the limitations of the Cabinet Mission Plan correctly. The limitations. as he says, are probably correct. But we need not be frightened by them. Dr. Jayakar wants to wait for their Highnesses, the Princes, to come in and have a hand in distorting our future freedom. We need not have that. We do not want the Princes, the autocratic Princes, to come in and have a hand in distorting our future. Of course, so far as the Muslim League is concerned, that is on a different footing altogether. But I am not sorry that the Muslim League is not here; I am only sorry that the Congress also has not gone out of the British Plan and left the British Plan to itself, to stew in its own juice. Agreement with the Muslim League for gaining independence of our country and for drafting a really free constitution of our country, is essential. But if you think that by waiting for the Muslim League, or by the Congress remaining here and the Muslim League remaining outside, you will be able to have a properly framed constitution, I am afraid you are sadly mistakes and you are counting without your host, the British imperialist, who have made this Plan. You have seen the example of the Interim Government.
Both the League and the Congress are there, but that has not solved the problem of our quarrels and internecine warfare in this country. it has happened there just as the British wanted it to happen, that is, they wanted the parties to fight against each other with the prospect of the British giving support in one party's favour against the other with the result that in between these quarrels the British become more firmly entrenched.
Well, the Interim Government has not brought peace nor freedom to our ,country. Similarly, whether the Congress is inside this British-made. Constituent Assembly and the Muslim League is out or whether ,he Congress and the Muslim League are both inside this British-made Constituent Assembly and working the British plans as the British should like it to be worked out, then also the same thing will follow, viz., the quarrelling that is there to-day in the country, will only get more intensified inside this Assembly also. That is all and nothing else Therefore, Sir, I am not sorry that the League is not here but I am only sorry that the Congress also has not gone out leaving the plan to stew in its own juice.
Well, Sir, I must congratulate Pandit Nehru for the fine expression lie gave to the spirit of the Indian people when he said that no imposition from the British will be accepted by the Indian people. Imposition would be resented and objected to, he said and he addeed that if need be we will walk the valley of struggle. That is very good, Sir--bold word,,, noble words.
But the point is to see when and how are you going to apply that challenge. Well, Sir, the point is that the imposition is here right now. Not only has the British Plan made any future Constitution-provided you are able to evolve out something which I-very much doubt-even if you were able to evolve out something, not only is it dependent on a treaty satisfactory to the Britisher but it suggests that for every little difference you will have to run to the Federal Court or dance attendance there in England ;or to call on Attlee or someone else. Not only is it a fact that this Constituent Assembly, whatever plans we may be hatching, we, are under the shadow of British guns, British Army, their economic and financial strengethold-which means that the final power is still in the British hands and the question of power has not yet been finally decided, which means the future is not yet completely in our hands. Not only that, but the statements made by Attlee and others recently, have made it clear that if need be, they will even threaten you with division entirely. This means, Sir, there is no freedom in this country. As Sardar Villabhbhai Patel put it some days ago, we have freedom only to flight among ourselves. That is the only freedom we have got and the only other freedom that I noticed is on the order paper of the day where Pandit Nehru is the Hon'ble Pandit Nehru and I suppose Pandit Nehru has not even the freedom to drop that honour. Therefore I say it is no use your thinking that from within the limitations of this British Plan, one part of which is the Interim Government and the other part of which is the Constitution-making procedure, I don't think you will be able to get any independence out of it. The insolence of the Britishers, as you have recently seen, and to which expression has been given by various Members of the House, why is this insolence so growing, it is for the patriots to see., The insolence is growing because they find that the great parties of our country, the Congress and the Muslim League, go on thinking that in getting our parties, may party's claim as against the other party, I will be able to get the help of the British. They want you to go on quarrelling with the only result, that fatricidal fights follow, as it has happened to-day throughout the country as it is bapotnin.g (everyday before your very eyes. Our strength against the British gets decimated and nothing of freedom comes our way. only we kill each other as if we are enemies instead of being brothers and Mr. Alexander gets the cheek to say in this month of 1946 in the House of Commons that the use of the Special powers of the Viceroy has not been changed and whatever power is available there, it is there to back it. Therefore, our humble suggestion is that it is not a question of getting something by working out this Plan but to declare independence here and now and call upon the Interim Government, call upon the people of India to stop fratricidal warfare and look out against its enemy, which still has the whip hand, the British Imperialism-and go together to fight it and then resolve our claims afterwards when we will be free. As a matter of fact, Sir, we have found in the long history of our struggle for the freedom, of the country that, when we are faced to the British, even though we might disagree very much among Ourselves, quarrels are generally resolved, no obstacles are put to the man who Is fighting the British. It is a way out of the present fratricidal impasse. Mr. Chairman, Sir, and the Mover of this Resolution, I would address him also, that Doctor Jayakar, the fine logician and a cruel logical that he is, has placed before you the only alternatives when he has told you that either we have to work through the limitations of the British Plan or you have to go forward to the seizure of power, revolutionary seizure of power. These are the alternatives and good old constitutional liberal that 'he is, he has rightly grasped it and playing upon the fear of revolution that some of you might have got, he has asked you to follow his constitutional path and told you I know Congress also is not going to revolutionary seize power'. Yes, Sir, these are the only alternatives before Indian people today and before this Constituent Assembly today, that Father you try to follow the British Plan, put one party's claim against the other and get sunk into the morass of fratricidal warfare everyday with the result that finally the British may be as strong over you as before. or you go forward to the revolutionary seizure of power. I say, you go forward first of all to drive out the British, holding their guns even now over our heads
Sri Raj Krushna Bose (Orissa: General): We have a right to know whether the speaker is supporting the Resolution or opposing it. I am afraid all that he is saying at this time is not relevant.
Mr. Somnath Lahiri: That is for the Chairman to decide. I hope I represent a political party which is the third largest in the country....(Laughter from Back Benches). Mr. Chairman, I hope you will let me continue without interruption. Our party got 7 lakhs of votes....(Interruption) . ... in the last General Election. It is true that it is not a big party but it is the third largest party surely (Renewed laughter).
Mr. Chairman: I hope the House will allow the Speaker to proceed. (To Mr. Lahiri) But I would remind you of the time-limit and also of the fact that you should confine yourself to the subject in question.
Mr. Somnath Lahiri: Yes, Sir. I am coming to the point. I hope you will allow me, Sir, the same facilities as you allowed to Dr. Ambedkar or other party leaders. (Laughter from Back Benches).
Mr. Chairman: It is true that I did show some leniency to them., but the House was in a mood to listen to them, but it does not seem to be in that mood now. I have to be guided by the mood of the House.
Mr. Somnath Lahiri: Whether the House likes what I say or not, it is for you to let me, as the representative of an independent view-point, to express my views in full.
Mr. Chairman: You may go ahead.
Shri Vishwambhar Dayal Tripathi (United Provinces : General): Sir, we must know whether he is supporting the Resolution or he is supporting the amendment.
Mr. Somnath Lahiri: The more interruptions there are....
Mr. Chairman: Members will draw their own inferences as to whether he is supporting the Resolution or opposing it or doing neither.
Mr. Somnath Lahiri: I will make it quite clear. You will know it when you listen to my Speech. Sir, coming to the third para of the original Resolution, I understand that you desire the unity of India. It is out of that desire you have given this right of autonomy and residuary power in paragraph three but refused right of session to linguistic, etc., units. I am also as much eager for the unity of India as you are, but the point is: can you get that unity by means of force or by compulsion? I come from Bengal. Look at Bengal. In Bengal the overwhelming majority of the population who are peasants and amongst whom the overwhelming majority is Muslim, are ground down under the double slavery of British Imperialism and the Hindu Upper Class. Now, Sir, in the image of freedom that the Bengal peasants and the Bengali Muslim has before his mind's eye, if he wants that neither British Imperialists nor Hindu Upper Class can exploit him, if he wants that his land-the Bengali speaking territory--should be free and sovereign, free from the control of any other part of India-can you deny that right of freedom to him? You cannot. And if the Muslim League-the reactionary section of the leadership of the Muslim League-are able to distort this freedom urge of the Bengali Muslim into religious separatism, or into demanding the Assamese speaking territory, I should say the responsibility for this is on the Congress leadership. Why? Because the Congress has never unequivocally recognised this right of separation of the nationalities on national,-linguistic basis and whatever recognition there was in the ruling of the Congress President that no territorial unit of India will be compelled against its wish to come into the Indian Union, You have given the final good-bye to that in this Resolution. You have said here that no unit however strong its wish might be to go out of India, can go out. The utmost it can hope for is residuary powers and autonomy. Well, Sir, this is not the way by which you would hope to win over the Muslim population of Bengal. This is not the way you would hope to win over the other nationalities which will come into the forefront as time goes by. So you cannot achieve the unity of India by forcing a unitary constitution on them and if you look at the constitutions of recent days in the world you will find as in Yugoslavia, in Czechoslovakia, etc. that the; recognise the rights of self-determination including that of separation. For instance, in Yugoslavia the very first article of their new Constitution gives the right of self-determination and separation to the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Montenegrins , etc., to the full. 'That is why today in Europe you find that though Yugoslavia is a small ,country, yet it is the most united and advancing most rapidly.
Now, Sir, I have heard some Congressmen say that "Well, this right of separation and self-determination we will give, but only later, if the Muslim League presses for it". Now, Sir, would it not be worst political opportunism to higgle with the rights of peoples across the bargaining counter if the bargain was pressed? Is it not better that you put it clearly and in unequivocal terms not for the leaders but for the people the Muslim people to see for themselves and have some faith, Some guarantee that they may safely come into the Indian Union?
The next point that I would deal with is paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of Original Resolution. Well, Sir, here you have formulated certain fundamental principles on which the equality and the rights of the people of India would be based. Good, Good intention. Nobody denies the good intention. But the path to hell is often paved with good intentions and the intentions here may mean everything or may mean nothing. It all depends on how you interpret those Principles, in the light of the-past and the future. You have said everybody will be equal before law. You have said that full legal rights will be given to everybody. At the same time history tells you there are popular Ministries in this country, the Congress has got Ministers, and even then you find in Bombay people being externed, even women being externed as good as without bringing them into court. At the same time, you find in U.P. a law being framed whereby detentions can take place without trial. At the same time, you find in Bengal a law being framed under the name of communalism which takes out the liberty of every newspaper and everybody. Now, Sir, people will look at your formulations here in the light of their past experience and if you want these things to be really what you wanted them to be, you ought to have been more explicit and stated clearly what you want. Similarly about the Depressed Classes. You have said that adequate safeguards will be provided. Good. But who is going to determine and when are they going to determine whether the safeguards are adequate or not? Everybody deplores the religious separatism that obtains today in our country. Everybody deplores that, but what is the political provision that you have been in your Resolution to them and to their aspirations?
An Hon'ble Member: What do you suggest ?
Mr. Somnath Lahiri: Well, I would suggest proportional representation with adult suffrage and joint electorates in any election that might take place in the future and thereby each party., whether it be a communal party or a political party, on the basis of the total votes gained by it, will get its representation assured and then the parties. the communal parties like Muslim League and the Scheduled Castes Federation, who would have been assured of their proper representation, could not have any complaint. At the same time, it would give a fillip to the political parties also to get their proper representation, so that we can gradually cut across the religious separatism that has grown in our country, and healthy politics on the basis of political division and political struggle would develop. But you have not made the point clear. I hope you will make it clear when you draw up the fundamentals of the Constitution. You must remember that the people will judge you by your past,-by your immediate past which I am sorry to say, in spite of the good programme of the Congress, in spite of the hard struggle of the Congress, has not been up to its professions. I hope that they will be remedied when you are drawing up the future Constitution.
Mr. H. V. Kamath (C. P. and Berar: General): I submit, Sir, that Mr. Lahiri when speaking on his own amendment was ruled out of order by you, and is he in order now in doing the same?
Mr. Somnath Lahiri: I have every right to develop my argument However, I have almost finished and I will take only a minute or two. This Resolution, apart from the generality and the good thing that is in it--I should have liked that you had made the proclamation here and now of our independence. Every Indian would agree with the first paragraph that India should be a sovereign independent power. Apart from these things, your Resolution, to sum up politically, is a resolution of pressure. Part of the pressure is against the British. It tells the British, "Look here. If you think we are going to listen to you, to whatever you dictate, you are very much mistaken.' We are going to evolve a constitution of our own for India." Good. Put that more strongly if you like, but the other part of the Resolution is against the Muslim League, "Look here, if you think that there is separation waiting for you, you are mistaken.
We are going to evolve out a unitary constitution for India and there is no scope in it for separation." That is pressure against the Muslim League. I do not think the second pressure helps you to increase the first pressure. The more we press against our brothers, the more we fight against the Mussalmans, the more the British are able to deny us what we want. You increase the pressure as much as you can against the British, but do not increase this pressure against your own brothers. Well, Sir, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru has spoken of the magic of the moment. Yes, magic. But it is the magic of the British witch which lulls patriots to sleep, the magic of the British witch from whose bloody talons the blood of countless martyrs is dripping and yet she is able to make the patriot think that he will get his claim against the other party by working her magic Plan. I hope that the Congress patriot will remember that and go forward in his struggle against the witch's plan, against British imperialism and not against the Mussalmans.
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/478226/
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