Now, referring to the question which was raised by the honourable Member from Alwar about Bhopal, I do not wish to say anything about questions which are not yet settled and which are under discussion as any discussion of all that if the people of any State want merger or want to join the Union, there will hardly be any strong objection from any rules because I do not conceive the possibility of the existence of smaller units against the wishes of the people. So, if the people of Bhopal want union or merger with any adjoining area, I have no doubt that the Ruler or the Nawab of Bhopal will not come in the way, because after all in this age no Ruler can safely defy the wishes of his people. That is really the idea of democracy; and when we are now beginning a democratic form of Government all over India, smaller units cannot stand if there is such a severe conflict between the Ruler and the ruled. The fault lies not with the Ruler but with the people themselves. You know that wherever ministries are formed even in the smaller units, ministries create a sort of vested interest and the ministers are not willing to merge and the stronger in their will to remain separate than the Ruler himself. So a general discussion about the question of merger of the States that remain now is not very advisable. It is better to work among the people of the States than to raise the question here, but can trust us to do all that is possible to bring about uniformity all over India with the consent of the Rulers as well as the ruled. There will be no obstacle if all people consider the interests of the people concerned instead of their own personal short-sighted interests of office or vested interests.
