Petitions
All India Dharma Sangh - 'Constitutional Framework of Swarajya for India'
19 June 1946.
The All India Dharma Sangh’s Indian Constitution Committee, chaired by Prof. J.B. Durkal and with V.R. Dholakia of Ahmedabad as Secretary, published a draft scheme for the Indian Constitution on 19 June 1946. The Committee had been appointed by the All India Dharma Sangh Conference held at Delhi on 7 February 1946.
The scheme rejected secular democracy as a basis for the Indian state. In its place it proposed a ‘Dharma Rajya’: a theocratic state rooted in religious principles, with a constitutional monarchy modelled on Ram Rajya. The document argued that democracy had divided the Indian people, enabled dictatorial tendencies, allowed loose doctrines to gain ground, and left religious Hindus unwelcome in mixed secular electorates. Conservative Hindu, Muslim, and British opinion, it claimed, were all against the working of mere democracy in India. Forcing foreign political theories on the country would amount to intellectual and cultural subjugation.
The scheme laid out a three-stage transition. In the first stage, the existing machinery of government would continue with progressive Indianisation, provincial governors would be drawn from Indian princes, and a policy of religious non-interference would be enforced. In the second, provinces would be redistributed on a linguistic basis, supreme authority would rest with an enlarged Chamber of Princes, and Communal Boards would be established to protect the rights of different religious communities. In the third, a detailed constitution would be formulated with laws based on religion, permanent committees of religious scholars would guard against the abuse of political power, and popular assemblies would exist but with recommendatory powers only.
Throughout, elected assemblies were given a consultative role, not a governing one. The document proposed a ‘voluntary system of representation’ to replace standard voting, and called for cheaper government, the abolition of direct taxation below a certain income level, justice aligned with sacred books and established customs, and religious education in place of secular instruction. The British connection was to be maintained through the Viceroy during the transition and made voluntary thereafter.
ALL-INDIA DHARMA SANGH.
Indian Constitution Committee.
From Summary of the Chairman Prof. J.B. Durkal’s Report on
the Constitutional Frame-Work of Swarajya in India.
The All-India Dharma Sangh Indian Constitution Committee was appointed by the All India Dharma Sangh Conference at Delhi on 7-2-46. It has published the Draft Scheme for Indian Constitution. The Scheme is based on the following Fundamentals:-
(1) Dharma Rajya: Theocratic basis of the State as distinguished from the secular “Will of the People” basis.
(2) Ram Rajya: Monarchic Responsibility instead of party dictatorship; rule of Principles instead of Numbers.
(3) Bharteeya Swaraj: Indian India all over: Supreme power to enlarged Chamber of Princes, in United States of India.
(4) Large Advisory Assemblies for popular expression of opinion on secular matters.
(5) Communal Boards: For communal interests, rights and references.
(6) Religious Education, for cultural integrity and righteous life instead of secular libertinism.
(7) Easier living, cheaper princes, less stateinterference instead of the Totalitarian powers of the State.
All things considered, it seems desirable, necessary and expedient to present, at present, specially the Principles and Lines of Constitutional Frame-Work of Swaraj in India, leaving the details and colours of the picture to be filled up after the proposed lines receive sufficient recognition. It may be frankly pointed out that in the present condition of divergent opinions in India on political matters, it is more feasible to point out and insist upon what is most in consonance with the ideals, traditions and well-being of the people than to find out what all equally approbate and approve. Nor is it proper, from the wider perspective of History, to allow Constitution to be formed by the casual human likes and dislikes of an induced and improvised Constituent Assembly.
All things considered, it seems desirable, necessary and expedient to present, at present, specially the Principles and Lines of Constitutional Frame-Work of Swaraj in India, leaving the details and colours of the picture to be filled up after the proposed lines receive sufficient recognition. It may be frankly pointed out that in the present condition of divergent opinions in India on political matters, it is more feasible to point out and insist upon what is most in consonance with the ideals, traditions and well-being of the people than to find out what all equally approbate and approve. Nor is it proper, from the wider perspective of History, to allow Constitution to be formed by the casual human likes and dislikes of an induced and improvised Constituent Assembly.
It may also be pointed out that the general demand is for the transfer of power to Indians, but as to the alocation of the power interest, there is and will remain a wide divergence of interests and opinions. Forcing of foreign political theories and ideology on India would be to impose and intellectual, social and cultural thraldom of the first order. At the same time, we have to remember that India is a Sub-Continent with diverse cultures, races religions and communities, it is pertinent to note that not only the conservative Hindu opinion and experience, but also the conservative British opinion and the Muslim opinion is against the working of mere Democracy in India. Nor has it remained hidden what are the reactions of this Democracy on the Indian States, and its working on the religious assets of the Hindus. It is also notorious how dictatorial and totalitarian tendencies have grown in strength under such a regime, how easy it has been for looser and self-centred doctrines to make headway and how impossible it has been for the “Straight and Narrow Path” of religious people to find place in the bigger Assemblies of Political India. We may note that for the fundamental object of full expression of public views on necessary matters, large People’s Assemblies.* are given a statutory place in the present scheme, and they are given recommendatory powers in order that the lure of totalitarian authority may not, as it usually does, bring in the rule of strong Cliques and Dictators, and defeat the very purpose of general well-being. It may not be overlooked that the democratic basis for Constitution has been the most potent means of dividing the Indian people in the very initiation, and the Hindu with his special Achaar Dharma and Cultural demarcation has not met with much welcome in mixed, secular, democratic electorates. The foundations of the people’s religious Protection should be laid in the Fundamentals of the State and consolidated by Reference to established principles and bodies rather than to hap-hazard or induce majorities of persons.
It may also be noted that the Principles and Lines may advisedly be such as may make the transfer of power from British hands easy but not revolutionary, and leave scope for the future Evolution of the Constitution. These lines should further be well-founded in justice, cultural reverence and long range welfare of all the communities residing in India. The Draft herewith presented is prepared to suit the aim of representation of our say with sufficient comprehensiveness, co-herence, consistency and mobility, without the load of details. It has been the aim to evolve a scheme not for the Hindus only but for all-India, not only for British India but for the whole of India, in accordance with the ideology of Hindustan, whose mentality, unity, assets and functions are recognized to be principally spiritual and religious. These ideals have to be consolidated in a Constitution for India to-day and they can be sacrificed only to the lasting harm unto India and the world.
AKASHETH ST. V.R.DHOLAKIA
AHMEDABAD. Secretary, I.C.C.
* A note on the Systems of Representation may be made. The present System of Voting eliminate votes and public opinion by opposition.
The Voluntary system of Representation here suggested sets to work the option-principle in five ways, viz. (1) in exercising or claiming the vote, (2) in grouping for voting, (3) in selecting the Representative (4) in timings for polling and (5) in the method of voting. Thus, under the system, any hundred adults in a constituency join and register their votes for a person before a Magistrate in a prescribed form on any day in a prescribed month and elect him their Representative. Ten such Representatives, three months later, similarly elect a delegate; and ten such Delegates, later on elect a Deputy who would be a member of the Assembly. A Representative may submit a written representation and a Delegate may be empowered to speak after due notice once in a session of the Assembly. (For details vide “Conservative India” p.p.103-109.)
Another method would be to admit, for the whole field, not persons but only parties, in nominations and to assign the available seats to the parties in proportion to the votes polled. Thus if there are 150 seats and the parties A,B,C, D,E, score 12,8,5,4,& 1 lacs of votes they would receive
Constitutional Frame work of Swarajya for India.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT.
Whereas (a) it is necessary to form a constitution, above dictators and parties, and firmly rooted in religious principles consolidating the higher values of life, and (b) Monarchy, ruling constitutionally according to religious principles for the good of the people, is in Indian Political tradition and desirable and (c) the rights of the Hindus as the basic nation of India to religious non-interference and progress without alien hinderances should be adequately implemented and proper protection be given to other religious communities, the following fundamental Faith and Rights be declared as the Basic Principles of Government:-
(1) Religious faiths shall be honoured as fundamentally the expression of the Divine, and be duly safeguarded, and Monarchy, Religious and Constitutional shall be conserved and continued as its time-honoured embodiment for the State.
(2) The State is for the protection of the people in righteous life, what is righteous or otherwise being determinable by the Sacred Books of the Community or Religious Brotherhood concerned. This protection is to be provided for, inside and outside the State, and the State cannot rightly do anything in violation of the same.
(3) All persons shall have the liberty to act, associate and speak righteously and may be disallowed to act, associate or speak unrighteously or to the detriment of Law and Order.
State 1. COOPERATION. (Transition Period Adjoining War).
(1) Machinery of Government, to remain the same. Personnel to be progressively Indianized.
(2) Policy of Religious Non-interference to be enforced.
(3) Defence to be shared by the British Indian Government and the Chamber of Princes.
(4) Provincial Governors to be from amongst Indian Princes (Rajkumars) suitable for the purpose.
(5) Recognition of all religious communities and guarantee of their religious and cultural integrity.
(6) Institution of properly representative Local Bodies with recommendatory powers.
(7) These to be firstly nominated and then replaced by Deputies by Voluntary-Representative System.*
STAGE II. CONSTRUCTION. (About two Years).
(8) Redistribution of Provinces as autonomous and self-supporting units on mainly Linguistic basis, to be considered as States.
(9) A Confederacy of All Indian State i.e. HIND RAJYA MANDAL on a voluntary basis with recommendatory powers to be constituted.
(10) Transition Stage Arts, 4-5-6-7 to continue.
(11) Rights to be declared as in the accompanying Declaration of Basic Principles.
(12) Provincial Assemblies on lines similar to Local Bodies of Arts. 6 & 7 to be formed.
(13) Supreme Authority to rest with the Chamber of Provinces reconstituted and enlarged to needs, with Heads of Province-States in it.
(14) Viceroy to act as Secretary of State in Council in India, with recommendatory powers and to be President of the Chamber of Princes.
(15) Indian Govt., to provide for all British-Indian Pensions and normal debts.
(16) Respective Communal Boards to be established to protect and adjudicate upon Communal Rights to the different Communities.
(17) All public salaries (excluding allowances) to be limited by a definite proportion of the average individual income.
(18) All direct taxation to be abolished on incomes below a certain proportion of the average individual income.
(19) Govt. to provide for the sale of basic corn at cheap, standard prices and thus cheapen the people’s living and promote their economic comfort and welfare.
(20) Justice to be made cheap, rapid and in line with the respective sacred books and established customs.
(21) The British Connection to be maintained through the Viceroy and the Emperorship of the British Sovereign with recommendatory powers.
STAGE III. CONSOLIDATION. (About Two years).
(22) Art. (21) of Construction Period re British connection to continue till the end of this period after which it will be voluntary.
(23) Detailed Constitution to be formulated with Laws on the basis of religion, with Princes as chief administrators of the New States.
(24) Institution of permanent Committees of Religious Learned persons in every State to guard and adjudicate upon abuse of political or constitutional powers.
(25) Popular Assemblies in all States with large membership as mentioned in Arts. 7 & 12, with recommendatory powers.
(26) Heads of all States of the Confiderated States of India to form the Senate of The Indian Confideracy with powers in spheres of All-Indian concern.
(27) Art. 15 to continue till the end of the period after which normal pensions to continue and debts to be adjusted by a treaty in favour of India betokening the sympathy of British Government.