THE TRIPLE STREAM

By K. Ramakotiswara Rau

The New Rajastan

THE inauguration of the United States of Rajastan by Sardar Patel is an event of historic significance, Compared with the great medieval kingdoms of Udaipur and Jaipur, the other Indian States which have formed themselves into Unions are of but yesterday. The Maratha chieftains battled with the later Mughals and achieved the partial emancipation of India before her submission to British rule. But the fight of the Rajputs against foreign invaders covers a thousand years of our history. Enshrined in the bardic tales of the charans and retold by the good Colonel Tod, the saga of Rajput heroism has nourished generations of Indians and brought them hope in the recent struggles for freedom, Samarsi and Pratap continue to light the nation’s path, and it was splendid of Sardar Patel to have recalled the dream of Rana Pratap and announced the fulfilment of that dream under the aegis of his descendant, the present Maharana of Udaipur who becomes Maharajpramukh.

In a democratic age, the rulers of the Rajput States, as indeed of all Indian States, must adapt themselves to the conditions arising out of the new freedom, and function as the servants of the people and as the custodians of an age-long culture. Along with other talented citizens, the members of the ancient ruling houses can hold positions in the Defence and Diplomatic services or become constitutional Heads of Provinces. In these spheres, they start with an initial advantage in the shape of intellectual equipment and administrative experience. Whatever gifts the scions of these families may possess must be placed at the service of the nation, even as the wealth and resources of the States are being utilised for the benefit of All-India, The States’ people who were obliged to lead an isolated existence are rapidly taking their place in great stream of Indian humanity. And Jaipur, which held the first session of the National Congress after the achievement of independence, will play a notable part as the capital of a new and glorious Rajastan.

The London Conference

When the Prime Ministers of the Dominions meet in London, the relationship of the independent Republic of India to the Commonwealth have to be decided. There is no longer any doubt about the nature of the declaration by the Indian Constituent Assembly regarding India’s Constitutional position. A sovereign democratic republic, free from all outside interference, has been the dream of Indian patriots. But association for certain limited purposes is different from interference, and independent nations have always found it an advantage to establish friendly relations with each other. Such relations are usually economic, but they might also be political. With the attainment of freedom, India, Ceylon, and Pakistan have taken their places alongside of Canada or Australia as autonomous units of a political organisation, in which the only visible link between the units is the King of England. Since owing allegiance to a monarch is inconsistent with the conception of a Republic, the sponsors of the London Conference are, from all accounts, devising formula by which even Republics like India and Eire might continue to be members of the Commonwealth, occupying a position different from that of the older member whose loyalty to the Crown is based on genuine sentiment and whose ties with England are in the nature of cousinhood. Certain details like the acceptance of the King of England as the first citizen of the Commonwealth and the notion of ‘mutual citizenship’ as between one Commonwealth country and another, do not seem to have commended themselves to the Indian leaders.

It is difficult, but not altogether impossible, to evolve a formula on the basis of “association, but no entanglement”. The Western Union, the Atlantic Pact, and the Commonwealth seem to be steps towards a massing of forces on the side of Democracy as against the onrush of Communist totalitarianism. The anxiety of Pandit Nehru not to plunge India into the vortex of Big power politics is evident. He has repeatedly assured his countrymen that India’s weight will be thrown in favour of peace between warring groups. But in a world fast aligning itself into rival camps, the will to peace on the part of India is not enough. Even the maintenance of formal neutrality may be conditioned by the provision of military bases within our borders. When Gandhiji wanted the British to ‘quit India’, he was prepared, for the period of the war, to give all facilities to the Anglo-American forces to combat Japan. It would then have been, according to him, a free India voluntarily conceding a privilege to a friendly power. But Gandhiji was thinking of conditions already in existence: the Allied troops in were in India, utilising Indian resources for war purposes. He would not turn them out and make their task of winning the war more difficult. But can India, in a different context, submit to the occupation of her soil, by powers, however friendly, and the utilisation of her resources for the purposes of a war in which she is a neutral?

These and other implications of association with the Commonwealth must be examined in detail before India can commit herself to such association. It is clear that England and Canada are anxious to India within the Commonwealth on the least onerous terms. Even as a factor in favour of peace, India’s position is unique. She has no previous record of exploitation of other peoples, no ambition to spread herself beyond her borders, no desire to play the role of a dictator. Her hands are clean, her aims lofty and humane. This must give her a chance to become a peace-maker.

The Three-man Report

The three-man committee appointed by the Jaipur Congress has reported to the Working Committee, and the latter has endorsed the recommendations. There is an air of finality about the report: obviously, there can be no appeal against the unanimous decision of three exalted individuals like the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the President of the Congress. In their approach to the problem of linguistic Provinces, these leaders are in general agreement with the Dhar Committee. They seem to feel that the claim to linguistic Provinces is a disintegrating factor, running counter to the movement for integration in the shape of the merger and union of the States. They desire to postpone the issue for a few years, until more pressing problems are tackled. Karnataka and Kerala can become separate units if the States of Mysore, Travancore, and Cochin agree to merge with the Provinces. On no account, says the Report, will areas of Indian Union territory be handed over to the States. The men of Poona, and the men of Nagpur and Amraoti must settle between themselves whether they will come together in a united Maharashtra or remain separate. The Andhras can have their Province earlier than others, provided they ‘abandon’ their claims to the city of Madras. Whereas the Dhar Committee wanted both the cities of Bombay and Madras to be distinct political entities, the present Committee take a different line with regard to Madras which, according to them, must go exclusively to Tamil Nad.

The Congress has all along held the view that the re-distribution of Provinces on the basis of language is a step towards a proper re-integration of India into fairly homogeneous units of a federation. Whenever informed critics classed the demand for linguistic Provinces with that Pakistan, top-ranking Congressmen repudiated the suggestion. The vehemence with which the advocates of linguistic Provinces have pressed their case after the advent of freedom, and the frequent wrangles between them over unessential details, have led the Committee to plead for a little breathing time in which controversies may subside and every problem viewed in a correct perspective. One important concession they make is that a democratic government cannot oppose a claim strongly supported by public opinion in a particular area. It is clear that no new Provinces will be formed till after the new Constitution begins to function. But since the case for an Andhra Province is comparatively simple and can be investigated with the least disturbance of existing conditions, steps may be taken even under the present Government of India Act to carve out the Telugu-speaking areas of the Madras Presidency into an administrative unit. But this depend on the readiness of the Andhra leaders to give up finally their claims to the city of Madras. In this particular matter, the Committee is more retrograde than the Dhar Commission. The case of Madras is very similar to that of Bombay, and both of them ought to be treated as cosmopolitan cities under the control of the Central Government, without being tacked on to a particular linguistic Province. The attitude of the Committee in making the present offer to the Andhras is very much like the offer made in 1947 to the Indian leaders through Lord Mountbatten,–the offer of independence conditioned by the partition of the country. But since the offer comes from our own national leaders, it can be accepted without loss of dignity. The early formation of an Andhra Province is eminently desirable. As regards Madras City, it is not unlikely that public opinion will soon crystallise in favour of its being ultimately constituted into an independent unit like Bombay.

The demand for the formation of the Provinces of Kerala, Karnataka, and Maharashtra is as insistent as the demand for Andhra. The Committee have virtually invited widespread agitation in these areas, and in response to such agitation the Constituent Assembly will be obliged to mention these Provinces in the Schedule. The Union of Travancore and Cochin has been welcomed in many parts of Kerala as the prelude to an Aikya Kerala. The Kannadigas have been the worst sufferers under the present maladjustment of administrative boundaries. There is a large section among them which would prefer to have a Karnataka Province out of the Kannada areas of Bombay and Madras, instead of waiting indefinitely for the merger of Mysore. The citizens of Mysore are opposed to the practical extinction of their State. “A few years” is a vague term, and the Government of India would be acting in conformity with public opinion, so often expressed, by moving for the inclusion of these Provinces in the Schedule. That will lead to contentment.

The Madras Cabinet

In most Provinces of India, the leader of the Congress Legislative Party is elected annually. But while in other Provinces the same leader, is unanimously re-elected, Madras has the unenviable distinction of changing its Premier almost every year. This leads to an annual political earthquake in the Southern Presidency. The four linguistic units involved in this process have a chance to exhibit their differences periodically. The rumbling of the earthquake is heard months in advance, and its reverberations continue for months afterwards. For long stretches of time every year, the provincial administration is almost paralysed because the Party chiefs who occupy seats in the Cabinets are pre-occupied with the coming election. No one is sure of his own continuance in office: the election is like a lucky dip, and the most unexpected names turn up at the last moment. Personal and group loyalties are dominant and the process of bargaining between group leaders is without end. The Province is tired of the wrangles between the contesting claimants to office. And yet,–more is the pity–they are all Congressmen who played a part in the freedom struggle and built up public life in their respective areas.

By the merest accident Sri Kumaraswami Raja replaces Sri Omandur Ramaswami Reddiar as Premier of Madras. Both are estimable men with a reputation for probity. But the election to leadership by a narrow majority instead of by the unanimous vote of the Party, deprives them of the initiative and the prestige associated with real leadership. The experience of the past few years has proved that Sri Kamaraj Nadar is the power behind every Premier, and the moment any Premier has a serious difference with Sri Kamaraj, his exit from office is certain. What the late Sir P. T. Theagoraya Chetti’was to the Justice Party Ministries of the Montford regime, Sri Kamaraj is to the Ministries of the Congress era.

Immediately after his election as leader, Sri Kumaraswami Raja made a graceful speech and invited co-operation from the groups which voted for Dr. Subbaroyan, But the confabulations before and after his visit to Delhi led to nothing.And so, while the Premier is new, the old team of Ministers continues with a few minor alterations. Why a Minister of the calibre of Sri T. S. Avinashilingam is dropped in favour of comparatively obscure individuals passes one’s comprehension. Men of outstanding ability and experience who could have lent ditinction to the Cabinet are not in it. The Province of Madras, intellectually in the front rank among the Provinces and States of India, has been badly let down by the Congress Legislators. Neither the Rashtrapati nor the other members of the Congress High Command have made a determined effort to end the squabbles within the Party and instal a more efficient Ministry. The stock of the Congress is very low in this Province, and the average Congressman is bewildered by the rapid decline in the influence wielded by that great organisation. And for the moment, he is a helpless spectator; the general election is so far away in the future.

A Great Violinist

From the point of view of ultimate values, the honour done to Sri Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu by the art-lovers of Madras is vastly more important than the change-over from one Premier to another. In presiding over the function at Rajaji Hall on the 26th of March, His Excellency the Maharaja of Bhavnagar was acting not only as the first citizen of the Province but also as a cultivated Indian nobleman to whom Art is of vital significance in a nation’s life. Vizianagaram, the city from which Sri Venkataswami Naidu hails, has for centuries been associated with the patronage of learning and the fine arts. The tradition of Ananda Gajapati persists, and Sri Naidu is a living symbol of that tradition. He is an artist of a type that is being rare. To him, as to Thyagaraja, music is a means of reaching out to the Infinite. In technical skill and in perfect mastery over the violin, Sri Naidu is equal to the most eminent exponents of the art. His repertoire is more varied, for he is equally at home in the Karnatic and Hindustani styles, and is familiar with Indian folk-tunes and western airs. But it is the utter dedication to his art which has brought him the distinction he now enjoys. Shy and aloof like a scholar, he avoids publicity. He is happiest in the company of kindred spirits, more especially the younger artists who have lighted their lamps from his.

It was a distinguished gathering that met to honour him. Two great connoisseurs like the Chief Justice of Madras and the President of the Legislative Council participated in the function and paid eloquent tributes to the master violinist. There was a purse and a casket, rich apparel and flowers, all reminiscent of the Courts of cultured Indian monarchs. But the unique nature of the function lay in the spontaneous homage of the people to one among themselves who had scaled the heights of artistic achievement. The freedom that India has won acquires a special meaning when the people cherish the arts and pride themselves as partakers of the glory that belongs to artists like Sri Naidu. Today he is an all-India figure; he is among the elect who have heralded the renaissance of Indian Art.

MADRAS, April 7.

K. Ramakotiswara Rao

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