The Nehru Report and Muslim Rights — Page 56
r s6 r promoting the amelioration of the soil. In this '\A1ay we shall succeed in ltalianising ti:e country. " (Ibid. p. 209). The detail of this Italianisation is as follows :- , ' All laws and regulations are published in Italian only. The decree of October fs, 1925, making Italian compulsory in the Courts effectively deprives the minori ties of all rights at law. This decree forbids the use of any language other than Italian in all civil and criminal procedure, written and oral. Per sons who cannot under stand Italian cannot be empanelled. All documents, evi dence, etc. , in other languages than Italian are null and void. " ( Ibid. pp. 212, 213 & 214 ). After enumerating these fact� the able authoress of '' The Protection of Minorities '' observes :- '' Only the existence of the Treaties * * * has pro tected other minorities from a similar fate. This illustra tion of what rampant nationalism can do shows how essential the treaties were and how mistaken it was to make an exception in deference to the '' Soverei gn ty of Italy. " I have nothing to add to the above quotations. The necessity for protecting minorities has been universally recognised. Their plight in Italy where the question of their protection was not taken into consideration is a grim warning to other countries. It now lies with the Mussal� mans to benefit by these lessons. NEHRU COMMITTEE RECO\iIMENDS NO PROTECTIVE LAW FOR MUSLIMS. When I have explained at length the needless to refute the suggestions 1nade Committee. But as details may help to. position, it 1s by the Nehru make it still