Page:White Paper on Indian States (1950).pdf/119

 the theory that any attempt on the part of the Constituent Assembly of India to draft a Constitution for the States would constitute an encroachment on their internal sovereignty still held the field. However, it was soon realised that lack of uniformity in the Constitutions of the various Unions of States would lead to unnecessary complications and in order, therefore, to ensure that the Constitutions of these Unions were drawn up on a uniform basis and that they generally followed the Provincial Constitution, a Committee, with Shri B. N. Rau as Chairman, was appointed to draft a model Constitution for the States to serve as a guide to their Constitution-making bodies in framing the Constitution for their respective States. This was only a half-measure; as the States came closer to the Centre it became clear that the idea of separate Constitutions being framed for different constituent units of the Indian Union was a legacy from the Rulers' polity which could have no place in a democratic set-up. The matter was, therefore, further discussed by the Ministry of States with the Premiers of Unions and States on May 19, 1949 and it was decided, with their concurrence, that the Constitution of the States should also be framed by the Constituent Assembly of India and should form part of the Constitution of India. Accordingly, a committee was appointed, with Shri M. K. Vellodi as Chairman, to examine the Draft Constitution of India and to suggest amendments to be incorporated in the new Constitution with a view to approximating the position of the States to that of the Provinces. The amendments, as they emerged as a result of the discussions with the Drafting Committee, were examined by the Constitution-making bodies of the States where such bodies were in existence, namely, Saurashtra, Travancore-Cochin and Mysore. The Saurashtra Constituent Assembly adopted the draft Constitution in its entirety. The other two Constitution-making bodies proposed a few amendments. Some of these were incorporated in the amendments finally accepted by the Constituent Assembly of India; others were dropped as a result of discussions with the delegations of these Assemblies. The readiness with which these representative bodies accepted this procedure and their helpful approach to the provisions of the Draft Constitution concerning the States, were an indication of the desire of the States people to eschew the separatist trends of the past.  

219. The Constitution of India contains no specific provision regarding the procedure for the ratification of the Constitution by the States although Article 225 of the original draft, which has been deleted, presupposed some kind of Agreements or instruments in respect of the accession