Permit me to add, Sir, that in this demand it is not that I am becoming self contradictory, because just a moment before I said that a person who has settled in India should be guarded against as much as we can by our Constitution, lest the privilege of such acquired citizenship be used to our prejudice. I am not debarred from making the suggestion. I am now putting forward. I repeat, I am not becoming inconsistent, because, according to the information I have received, there are 8 lakhs of Indians in the Federated Malay States. Under the new Constitution of the Federated Malay States, they permit such Indians settled there, to acquire the fullest rights of local citizenship, without losing their Indian nationality by birth. On the other hand, in Ceylon and Burma, according to the information I have, the position of Indians is very much more invidious. Burma for example, I have been informed by people who should know provides that an Indian can acquire Burmese citizenship according to certain formalities prescribed by the Burmese, legislation. But before a certificate of naturalisation can be delivered to him, be will have to make, an express declaration that he renounces his Indian citizenship. Speaking for myself, I would say that this is not fair. But even if it be taken as fair dealing with good neighbours we can make an exception in the case of those Indian citizens, who leave to live their lives there, and who cannot remain Indians under the Municipal law, if they wish to remain in that country where their own life work lies. In that case, I would make an exception and not insist on Indian nationality being retained by one who has had to renounce it. But there is another case, that of Ceylon. Again I am speaking from the information that I have gathered–in Ceylon the local legislation for acquiring Ceylonese citizenship automatically denies or destroys the citizenship of the previous origin by birth or otherwise if once a person acquires by naturalization the citizenship of Ceylon. The obligations of citizenship are plenty,–and none would be more aware of them than I am of such obligations,–and would require allegiance to one’s country of adoption, without however there being any necessity automatically to forego the nationality by birth. That I think is asking a little too much. But even so, I recognise that Ceylon is an independent dominion and is entitled, to make its own laws, On that basis, we must allow those Indians, who are settled there, to follow the local legislation without any objection on our side as to their retaining their nationality by birth, even after acquiring Sinhalese citizenship. We need not insist that they shall continue to remain Indian nationals.
