'Triveni' is devoted to Art, Literature, and
History, Its main function is to interpret the Indian Renaissance in its
manifold aspects.
'Triveni' seeks to draw together
cultured men and Women in all lands and establish a fellowship of the spirit,
movements that make for Idealism in India as well as elsewhere, receive
Particular attention in these columns, We count upon the willing and joyous
co-operation of all lovers of the Beautiful and the True.
May this votive offering prove acceptable to Him who is the source of the ' Triveni' -the Triple Stream of Love, Wisdom and Power!
..........he that laboureth right for love of Me
Shall finally attain! But, if in this
Thy faint heart fails, bring Me thy failure!
-THE SONG CELESTIAL
BY K. RAMAKOTISWARA RAU
An assembly of Indians empowered to frame a
constitution for an independent India is in the process of formation and the
first meeting is expected to take place early in September. This is the biggest
step forward in Indian politics, and, subject to certain limitations, it
satisfies the Congress demand. Unlike other constituent assemblies famous in
history, the Indian assembly is called into being with the express approval of
the ruling nation which is to relinquish power. A chance is thus afforded to
Britain and India to effect a peaceful revolution fraught with important
consequences in the international sphere.
During the prolonged negotiations between the
British Cabinet Mission and the Viceroy on the one hand, and the leaders of
Indian political parties on the other, the objective of Indian freedom was
constantly kept in view, though rival demands were pressed by the Congress and
the League,–the former representing all communities and interests without distinction
and the latter representing the special claims of the Muslims as a separate
nation. In their desire to reconcile the obviously irreconcilable ideals of a
united and a divided India, the Mission hit upon the plan of a three-tier
constitution, interposing the “Group” in between the All-India Union with
limited powers and the individual Provinces enjoying wide autonomy. This
particular feature of the long-term proposals will provide the occasion for a
battle-royal between the representatives of the Congress (and its allies) and
those of the Muslim League, clarifications from the Mission while in India and
recent statements in Parliament notwithstanding. If the Provinces are “free to
form” Groups and if they are equally free to “opt out” of their respective
Groups, the moment the new legislatures meet after the first general elections
under the new Constitution, why should the Mission hold that after the first
preliminary session of the Constituent Assembly, the provincial representatives
must per-force walk into their sectional meetings? If, as a result of the
directive issued by the Assam Legislature to the representatives of that
Province in the Constituent Assembly, they refuse to participate in the meeting
of Section C, can the members from Bengal alone proceed to frame the Group
Constitution for Bengal–cum–Assam and also the Constitutions for the individual
Provinces?
Then again, the Group Constitutions are not subject
to review and amendment by the plenary session of the Assembly when it sits
with the representatives of the States to frame the Union Constitution. It is
highly probable that the Muslim League majorities in Sections B and C will
carry through such provisions in the Group Constitutions as might, in actual
operation, deprive the individual Provinces of their right to secede. This view
is strengthened by the assertion of the leaders of the League that the
long-term plan has in it the germs of Pakistan. Ultimately, such provisions can
be negatived only by the British Government refusing to ratify the Constitution
on the ground that this and similar provisions are contrary to the spirit of
their statement of May 16. A sad plight indeed!
Constitution-making is never an easy task. But the
task is rendered specially difficult by the vagueness of certain parts of the
Mission’s statement. In the present temper of the Congress and the League,
every effort will be made to whittle down such of the provisions of the
statement of May 16 as may seem obnoxious from their respective points of view.
The Congress will seek to enlarge the powers and functions of the Union Centre;
the League will seek to restrict them and to convert the Centre into an
‘Agency’ of the Groups for limited purposes. The Congress will press for a
secular Federal State wherein Indians, born or domiciled in any part of the
Federation, automatically achieve federal citizenship; the League will
emphasize communal and regional differences, and perpetuate a veiled theocracy.
All this is possible, and even inevitable. But
where great issues are involved and the question of Indian freedom is in
jeopardy, the leaders of India meeting in a Constituent Assembly must
themselves find a way out of each deadlock as it confronts them. A constitution
full of compromises on non-essentials may yet be adequate for the many purposes
of a progressive modern State, strong for defense but intent on spreading
friendliness among nations. The best minds of India are addressing themselves
to this problem and men of goodwill everywhere must wish them success.
At the time of the Simla Conference of last year,
the story was told of a piquant situation arising at the opening session. When
Mr. Jinnah claimed at his League represented all the Muslims of India, Dr. Khan
Saheb, the Frontier Premier, flared up and said, “I am a Congressman; and am I
not a Muslim?” Lord Wavell displayed admirable tact and averted a minor crisis
by asserting that each organization represented its own members! But the
eventual failure of the Conference was due to this same claim of Mr. Jinnah to
nominate every Muslim on the Interim Government. Muslims outside the League had
no right to exist as a political factor: they must come under the League’s
wings or commit political suicide. One would have expected that when proposals
for an Interim Government were once again but forth this year, the League’s
claim to a monopoly of the Muslim seats would not be countenanced. Strangely
enough the Viceroy wobbled and temporized. While overruling the Congress
objection to the inclusion of Mr. Nishtar, he virtually upheld Mr. Jinnah’s
objection to the inclusion of Zakir Hussain. While admitting in theory the
Congress claim to nominate any one it liked within its quota of six, the
Mission and the Viceroy pleaded with the Congress leaders for sweet
reasonableness and the waiving of the claim as a temporary expedient, not to be
drawn into a precedent.
But the Congress, which was prepared to compromise
on other unsatisfactory features of the proposed interim plan, could not submit
to this wild insistent challenge to its national character. One wonders why
Lord wavell did not fall back upon the formula that each organization could
nominate from its own members. It might even nominate non-members provided its
quota was not exceeded. A little firmness would have saved the situation, and a
care-taker Government would not have become necessary. The Congress, however,
by its acceptance of the long-term plan qualified it-self under the famous Para
8 of the statement of June 16, to be consulted once again about a new Interim
Government, as soon as the elections to the constituent Assembly are over.
Twice has Mr. Jinnah exercised his veto in respect of the inclusion of a
non-League Muslim in the Cabinet, and twice the Viceroy has submitted. If ever
an Interim Government is to be formed–and every party looks upon it as an
imperative need and an essential prerequisite for the successful working of the
Constitution-making body –this hurdle must be overcome. And it can be overcome
only by each party having freedom to nominate Ministers up to the limit of its
quota. Even the quotas may have to be varied, to bring the strength of the
Muslim League quota into line with the numbers of its following. If ability, as
the Viceroy said, is a test, the Congress will nominate the ablest from every
community, even as it is giving the best of India’s sons and daughters to the
Constituent Assembly, whether they are within the Congress fold or outside.
THE ACTOR AND THE PLAYWRIGHT
Within a brief interval of two months, the Andhra
public has been bereaved by the passing away of the great actor, Sir T.
Raghava, and the great playwright and novelist, Sri Chilakamarti Lakshmi
Narasimham. Following in the footsteps of his distinguished uncle, the late
Krishnamacharlu, Sri Raghava dedicated his life to the development of the
Andhra stage; he shed such luster on the actor’s vocation that, all over South
India and even beyond, he was acclaimed as the most talented exponent of the
dramatic art. Though he naturally paid the greatest attention to the drama in
Telugu, his fame as a Shakespearean actor in the roles of Shylock, Hamlet and
Othello was widespread. The Suguna Vilasa Sabha and the Andhra Mahasabha of
Madras, the Amateur Dramatic Association of Bangalore, and the Andhra Gymkhana
of Bezwada claimed his allegiance in an equal measure. Being a linguist and a
scholar, and gifted with a charming personality, he was admired and loved
everywhere. He gave to the stage every moment he could spare from the legal
profession. During the last years of his career, he dreamed incessantly about a
National Theatre to be located in some central place in Andhra. To the several
groups of friends he has left behind–actors, dramatists and art-lovers, this
dream is a precious legacy. They can honour his memory by seeking to fulfil his
dream.
Belonging to a generation earlier than that of
Raghava and coeval with the giants of fifty years ago, Sri Lakshmi Narasimham,
like his great contemporaries Viresalingam, Vedam Venkataraya Sastri and
Vasuraya Kavi, rendered the same service to Telugu literature that Bankim
Chandra and Vidyasagar rendered to Bengali. Eminent as a poet and dramatist, he
was even more eminent in prose. His style is sweeter and more elegant than that
of Viresalingam, and he had a finer sense of humour. His novels and stories,
sketches and essays, have shaped the style of younger writers; he was the ideal
till Gidugu Ramamurti gave a fresh turn to prose-writing during the second
decade of this century. The poet was also a politician and journalist and,
during the stirring times succeeding the Partition of Bengal, the speeches and
writings of this blind bard of Andhra inspired large masses of men and women
and helped to spread the new message of nationalism. In his Autobiography published
only two years ago, he recalls the men and movements of an age that is past.
Viresalingam, Subba Rau Pantulu and Sir R. Venkataratnam flit across our
vision. Nature which deprived him of eye-sight early in life, endowed him with
a splendid memory and a rare eloquence. His was indeed a noble life, and a
grateful posterity will revere him as one of the makers of Modern Andhra.
The Minister for Education in Madras has made
history by deciding that, henceforth, in all schools in the Province, English
shall be deemed to be the ‘second’ language, primacy being accorded to the
regional language. After nearly a century, English will begin to occupy a
subordinate position, while it will continue to be taught as a compulsory
language during a part of the high school course. The psychological change
resulting from this measure must be immense; it is the first decisive step in
restoring to the languages of the land their proper place in our system of
public instruction. With the carving of Indian Provinces on the basis of
language, the language each Province will be dominant not only in school and
college, but also in the offices of Government and of the Local Bodies, in the
Courts and the Legislature. The only exceptions can be those border areas
between two Provinces, in which both the neighbouring languages must be
accorded equal status.
But even a step in the right direction is sometimes
apt to lead to results neither expected nor desired. We have so long looked
upon English as the language of the ruling race that we may be misled into
resenting its intrusion into any sphere of our life in Independent India.
Nationalist India must differentiate between the use of English in virtue of
its being the language of the rulers and its use as the vehicle culture, and
for the communication of thought. Active, friendly relations have to be kept up
between India and the rest of the world, and a language of international
importance may be studied for its own sake. It need not be the medium of instruction
in educational institutions or the language of the provincial legislatures; but
it will play an important part in the all-India sphere, as a possible
alternative to Hindustani. Compulsory teaching of English may eventually be
given up in the high schools, but every college and university must maintain a
department of English, partly manned by culture and sympathetic Englishmen.
While for most Indian graduates a working knowledge of the English language may
be sufficient, the more ambitious among them can equip themselves so as to
achieve eminence in the world of letters or science. Even after a great deal of
translation has been made into the Indian languages, university students will
find it necessary to have direct access to the best in world literature.
It is not easy at this stage to determine with
precision the relative positions of Hindustani and English in India of the
future. We cannot, however, content ourselves with merely asserting that
Hindustani is meant for all-India purposes and English only for international
contacts. Even in the all-India sphere, there may be occasions on which a free
choice must lie between English and Hindustani,–conferences of learned bodies,
meetings of the Central Legislature, inter-university gatherings, pleadings in
the Federal Court, to mention only a few. What now obtains in the All-India
Congress Committee, where both languages are current, may be accepted for the
transaction of business in the forthcoming meetings of the Constituent
Assembly. It may, with advantage, become a feature of our public life.
* July 20.