Mr. President, it is with some hesitation that I venture to intervene in this debate. I should not be understood to speak purely on behalf of the States though that primarily is my responsibility. I hope the Assembly will permit me to speak on behalf of all units of the Federation and give my frank views on the subject that is now under discussion. Let me first state that as far as I have understood the sentiments of every member of this Assembly, there is no one in this House who has a feeling that the Centre should not be strong. It is not a ‘tug of war’ between the Centre and the Provinces. It is not a question of not appreciating the necessity of a Centre which is strong, firm, knows its mind and has no fear of executing its policy. We want such a Centre. Those of the States who have acceded to this Dominion have acceded with no mental reservation whatsoever. (Applause). It is with the desire to make this Federation a success, it is with the anxiety, that this Federation shall have as far as possible a dignified place among the comity of nations, that its representatives shall rise to the full stature of manhood, that in their speeches and in their, contributions at International gatherings they will speak with a voice second in authority to none at that gathering that we have acceded to the Dominion. (Loud applause). Therefore, Mr. President, let there be no doubt whatsoever that there is anyone in this House representing a State or speaking on behalf of a State or representing a Unit and speaking on its behalf, who has the slightest desire in any way to minimise the work of this Centre, the powers of the Centre or the authority which that Centre should exercise. If in spite of that there have been occasional voices raised regarding provincial autonomy–which for instance is a misnomer because there is no such thing as Provincial Autonomy; the powers are shared between the Centre and the Provinces–if in spite of that there have been occasional voices raised, hushed voices sometimes, clamant voices, greatly daring at times perhaphs, it is only because there is another aspect of the question which has also to be appreciated by this august assembly. The obverse and reverse of the coin should both be studied before one has a full and comprehensive idea of what this scheme means and what it is intended to serve. Let me tell you, Mr. President, and I hope You will agree with me as President of the Assembly if not as a Member of the Central Government, that the headaches of Administrators of the units are at least as great as the headaches of Administrators at the Centre. There are problems facing them which in their own sphere are acute, grave, difficult, economic problems of the first magnitude, grievances which it is hard to satisfy, ambitions, hopes, aspirations which it is very difficult to fulfil. Remember, Sir, that much of this sphere of activity which makes for the happiness of the individual man lies with the Province or the unit of administration and not with the Central administration. You in the province have the responsibility for free and compulsory education, a goal which you have put before yourself. You have the responsibility for proper medical aid for sanitation, for promoting health, making the man live a little longer than the average life of 25 or 27 years which has been so far our lot in this country. You have the responsibility of seeing that proper conditions of housing accommodation and other amenities are provided. All that responsibility is on the Provincial administration. It is because of the weight of that responsibility that the administrators of units feel that in the separation of powers and particularly in the sphere of taxation they have not got enough resources to satisfy those responsibilities. Let us not lay the flattering unction to our soul that we are better patriots if we propose a strong Centre and that those who advocate a more vigorous examination of these resources are people with not enough of ‘national’ spirit or patriotism. Therefore, I would echo the sentiments that were given expression to both by my friend Sri Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar and by the last speaker and my friend Mr. G. L. Mehta, that what is to be discussed and thoroughly analysed is not the general proposition of a strong Centre and a weak Centre, or the division of responsibility and Sovereignty between the Centre, the Federation and the Provinces but the actual resources that are provided in this report of the Union Powers Committee. Let me say also this. I was glad to note that in the final and concluding remarks of my friend Sri Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar he threw aside the theoretical precedents that may be quoted from text books or Constitutions regarding Federation and asked us to apply our minds to the actual proposal in this paper and to analyse that proposal. I think that is a salutary thing to do. It is from that point of view that I venture to examine these proposals.
