Page:White Paper on Indian States (1950).pdf/71

 upsurge could not be contained in the territories formerly called British India. Indeed independence of India could have no meaning if the people of the States did not have the same political, social and economic freedom as was enjoyed by the people of the Provinces. The Government of India had to take note of the awakening in States. It was clear beyond doubt that only a positive and bold approach would avert the explosive situation towards which the States were heading.

153. It is no doubt true that in States democratic institutions did not have opportunity and time to take root, a sudden change over from an absolutist regime to a democratic order therefore involved an element of risk. At the same time the Government of India could not ignore the patent fact that it was no longer possible to dole out power to the people in niggardly measures. For generations the people of States had been fed on cliches such as "democracy is a slow-growing plant"; "States must evolve Constitutions suiting their genius and requirements with well-defined checks'"; "States must not import from outside a single mass produced Constitution" etc. With the liberation of India from the foreign yoke the people were in no mood to allow such cobweb of verbiage to cloud the issue of transfer of power to them. There was great danger therefore in introducing an element of gradualness in the process of scaling down autocracy from is exalted perch. It was in this context that complete elimination of the autocracy of Rulers was decided upon; full and final transfer of power from the Rulers to the people hes been an essential feature of all the schemes adopted for the integration of States.

154. In the process of the merger of States with the Provinces or their Constitution into Centrally administered areas, transfer of power to the people is automatic in that the merged States become part of the administrative units which are governed by the popular Governments of the Provinces and the Centre as the case may be. So far as the Provincially merged States are concerned under the arrangement made by virtue of the statutory orders issued under Section 290A of the Government of India Act, 1935, provision was made for the representation of the people of the merged States in the Provincial Legislature. Pursuant to this provision, the Provincial Legislatures have been expanded by including in them representatives of the merged States. The Legislatures so expanded are those of Bombay, Madras, Madhya Pradesh, U.P., Orissa, Bihar, Punjab and West Bengal which now have 132 additional members representing the people of the merged States. With the enforcement of the new Constitution, the process of the merger of States in Provinces has been com-