BOOK REVIEW The Road to Partition M V Pylee An Outline of Indian Constitutional History by V P Menem; Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. 1965; pp 84, Rs 3.50
"A N Outline of Indian Constitutional the League. "We may at this distance thought many times before voluntarily History" is the book-form of the of time", he says, "feel that it was abandoning such an advantage." One Birla Endowment Lectures for 1963 irrational, but it is an indubitable of the more serious consequences of delivered by V P Menon under the fact that this period of Provincial au this monumental error was the later auspices of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. tonomy which in most provinces lasted partition of the country. It is a kaleidoscopic account of con barely two years, was an important From that time, a conviction grew stitutional developments in India un turning-point in communal relations." among the British that the Hindus der the British culminating in the (P.42) Among the other factors he were their irreconcilable enemies, and transfer of power in August 1917. The lists the Nehru (Motilal) Report this feeling was only intensified by first part of the book deals with the (1928) which adopted "the straight all that happened later the Indivi British conquest of India, its consoli secular attitude"; it virtually ignored dual Civil Disobedience in 1940-41, dation and the events leading up to the Muslims' fears and proceeded as the rejection of the Cripps Offer in the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms; the if the communal question did not March 1942, the Quit India campaign second part with the constitutional de exist. Then in the thirties, the grow in August 1942, and the formation of velopments up to the second World ing Congress movement in the Indian the Indian National Army by Netaji War; and the last part with the trans States, which were largely Hindu in Subhas Chandra Bose. fer of power in 1947. population, began to suggest that the On the other hand, the Muslims V P Menon was not just an onlooker idea of the States as a third force, took advantage of the Congress being or a witness of some of the most mo which would hold the balance between in the wilderness, supported the War mentous scenes of the constitutional Hindus and Muslims in the federa effort, and made the British feel that drama. Nor was he merely an acade tion, would- eventually prove to have they were reliable friends. Of course, mic interested in the subject. He was no validity. if Germany had won the war, things indeed one of the actors or, more ap With all its grave defects, the cen would have turned out differently. propriately, one who had an import tral provisions of the Constitution Act In a sense both the Congress and ant job to do in the green-room. Na of 1935, the author feels, had the the League were gambling on the out turally, the account that he-renders is merit that they ensured the unity of come of the war, and the League not only authoritative but most fasci India, and would sooner than later backed the winner. Not that the Con nating. Students of India's Constitu have ensured full democracy through gress leadership ever wished for or tional history are already familiar with out India. It is regrettable that the banked on British defeat and framed Menon's magnum opus, 'The Trans all-India federation envisaged under its policy accordingly, though no fer of Power in India", and its com the Act was not brought into being. doubt Subhas Chandra Bose did so. panion volume, "The Story of the In The unification of India was the great The Congress leadership held an ex tegration of the Indian States." They est achievement of the British regime. aggerated notion of the efficacy of ne arc both voluminous. In comparison If the all-India federation had mate gative policies, and what it did would this is a brief essay. Yet it is a signi rialised, it would have been the cop have been realistic and justifiable only ficant contribution to the literature on ing-stone in this achievement, and it on the assumption that Britain was the subject. would have made partition impossible. going to be defeated. The survey of constitutional deve In the fateful years during the se In a brief but most remarkable lopments up to the second World War, cond World War and the years imme manner the author discusses the birth a very brief sketch, is full of observa diately following its termination, and the growth of the two-nations tions, interesting and valuable. For Menon's role as constitutional adviser theory, how Jinnah capitalised on the example, Menon throws much light on to the Governor General gave him the blunders of the Congress and how the calibre of the early administrators rare opportunity to watch political de the British pampered the Muslim Lea of the East India Company who built velopments from a position of excep gue. The doctrine of the two-nations up the British empire in India, men tional vantage. Hence his observations and the demand for partition were, like Robert Clive, Warren Hastings on the happenings of that period merit according to him, mere political slo and Cornwallis; Metcalfe, Munro and even greater attention. He is firmly of gans advanced for tactical purposes, Elphinstone. He has interesting obser the view that the Congress committed but they proved to have such fasci vations on Diarchy under the Act of a "monumental error" in 1939 with nation that, in the end, they dominated 1919, Also he has traced the growth the resignation of the Provincial Min their author, jinnah, as well as the of the Muslim League and its de istries. It is a supreme example oi emotions of the Muslim masses. The mands for partition of the country. that unrealistic, negative politics in Congress was incapable of graping Aajordins to Menon, the Congress- which we are all too prone to indulge what was going on in the minds of dominated governments in most of the and the outcome of which is, some the Muslims and of the British and Provinces between 1937 and 1939 re times, very disconcerting, and ever this naturally helped the transforma minded the Muslim Community in a disastrous. The control of eight Pro tion of finnan's dream into reality. forcible way of its minority status vincial Governments, covering half the While the Congress was busy with under swaraj, which could not now country, had put the Congress in a the Quit-India movement, the League be long delayed, and led to a great position of great strength and bargain succeeded in gathering under its ban change of Muslim feeling in favour of ing power. The Congress should have ner the Governments of Assam, Sind, 1657