Petitions
S.A. Wahid - 'Why India should leave British Empire'
17 May 1949.
S.A. Wahid, writing from Hotel Windsor, Bombay, addressed the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly on 17 May 1949, urging that India leave the British Empire.
Wahid argued that staying within the Empire would keep India as a source of raw materials and a market for British manufactured goods. He pointed to what he called the huge waste of India’s sterling balances, about Rs 1750 crores, spent on importing food, manufactured goods, naval ships, and armaments. India had been a creditor nation at the end of the Second World War but was being turned into a debtor through foreign loans. Had the sterling balances been used for planned national economy and nationalisation of production and distribution, India would already have been economically self-sufficient. He warned against joining the Anglo-American bloc, arguing that the Marshall Plan was eliminating even European industries and that India would be reduced to a military base, its people turned into cannon fodder through mass unemployment. The alternative he proposed was alignment with the Eastern European democracies, Communist China, and the Soviet Union for industrial and agricultural development.
The document is a short, bluntly worded letter, more political pamphlet than constitutional submission, written from a firmly socialist and anti-imperialist position.
To
The chairman “Indian Constituent Assembly” New Delhi
Dear Sir,
Why India should leave British Empire”
By staying within the British Empire, India will remain a source of raw material and market of their manifactured goods, as the leadership of Asia is not competent enough to chekmate the intrigues of Anglo-American Imperialism. There is a clear evidence of weakness of Indian leadership, regarding the huge waste of Sterling balances of about Rs I750 Crorers or about $5000 millions, for importing the food, manifactured goods, buying naval ships, armaments and huge military waste. The imports of food, manifactured goods and armaments is still kept up and through foreign loans, India will become a debtor nation as ususual, however at the end of the second world war India was a creditor nation. If these sterling balances[unclear] were used for the ecnomic developments of the nation through the planned national economy, nationalization of means of production and distribution, India by this time would have become ecnomically self sufficient, gainfully employing all of her peoples.
I would advise India not to join Anglo-American Imperialist block for one main reason. Anglo-American Imperialists fought the last 2 world wars, to dominate the whole world both ecnomically and politically, that is maintaining themselves as industrial nations, and keeping the rest of the world as their market of manifactured goods, we notice even European industries being eliminated through the Marshall plan, how India would be encouraged to be industrialised by them. Through mass unemployment, India will be made a military base of Anglo-American Imperialism and make the peoples of this country as their cannon fodder..
The best course for India and whole of Asia is to join, Eastern European Democracies, Communist China and Soviet Union, for the immediate development of their industries and agriculture and thus gainfully employing all the peoples of this nation and so providing living security to them all.
Truly Yours
S.A.Wahid Hotel Windsor Bombay May I7-49