Break for better governance, rule of law and economic freedom II

There are interesting confrontation on breaking larger states into smaller one in India. I am not taking about the current confrontation which is surely at the misplaced one, I am referring the confrontations prevailed between and among the founding fathers of this nation. Some excerpts from the B R Ambedkar's views on Rajaji.


From Linguism trap by A G Noorani.

• The other disclosure is far more startling. C. Rajagopalachari, better known as Rajaji, had, in a press statement issued on November 26, 1955, said, “If it is impossible to put the States Reorganisation Schemes in cold storage for the next 15 years, the only alternative is for the Centre to govern India as a unitary State and deal with district officers and district boards directly, with regional Commissioner’s supervision. It would be utterly wrong to fritter away national energy in dispute over boundaries and divisions conceived in the drawing room and not on the background of conditions that have resulted historically.

• “Apart from the general convictions of mine, I feel that a large southern State is absolutely essential for preserving the political significance of that part of the country. To cut the South up into Tamil, Malayalam, and other small States will result only in complete insignificance of everybody and, in the net result, India as a whole will be the power.”

• Commenting on this, Ambedkar wrote “Mr. Rajagopalachari has not expressed himself fully. He did so fully and openly to me when he was the Head of the State and I was the Law Minister in charge of drafting the Constitution. I went to Mr. Rajagopalachari for my usual interview which was the practice of the day. At one such interview Mr. Rajagopalachari, referring to the sort of constitution which the Constituent Assembly was making, said to me, ‘You are committing a great mistake. One federation for the whole of India with equal representation for all areas will not work. In such a federation the Prime Minister and President of India will always be from the Hindi speaking area. You should have two Federations, one Federation of the North and one Federation of the South and a Confederation of the North and the South with three subjects for the Confederation to legislate upon and equal representation for both the federations.’

• “These are the real thoughts of Mr. Rajagopalachari. They came to me as a revelation coming as they did from the innermost heart of a Congressman. I now regard Mr. Rajagopalachari as a prophet predicting the break-up of India into the North and the South. We must do everything to falsify Mr. Rajagopalachari’s prophecy.” That has been accomplished by Indian nationalism.

Also read "why is everyone one scared of small states?"