The Nehru Report and Muslim Rights — Page 91
[ 91 ] the Baniya who in good humour used to say to the Afgan Grandee,-'· Well Khan Sahib ! your property is PlY pro perty and my property, Ha r Ha ! Ha !. '' The Baniya could not even in jest bring himself to say that his pro perty was the Afgan' s property. He therefore broke off with a laugh. Similar has been the case with the Nehru Committee. It could not even in jest offer to the Muslims their just rights. Barring the question of the power of the Central Government, had the Committee conceded to the Muslims all their other demands, then in all likelihood the bulk of the Muslims would have been effectively be fooled, and all the efforts of the few intelligent minds among them, who could divine the real purpose, would perhaps have been of no avail to undeceive the Mussal mans. ADVANTAGES OF FEDERAL GOVERN\. 1ENT. Having exposed the unsoundness of the Nehru Com mittee's proposals, I now proceed to describe the farm of Government India would have, in the event of the Moslem demand being accepted. The provinces shall form separate autonomous Governments, which, in the best interests of India as a whole and their own, shall as a body delegate to a Central Government certain powers, necessary for the administration of such All-India subjects as All-India national force ( the provinces may have forces of their own for local needs ), railways, post and te1e graphs, customs, foreign affairs, currency, etc. If the Central Government wants to get additional powers or to open any new department of work which was not pre viously foreseen, it can do so only by the provinces meet ing in a conference and deciding in accordance with cer tain prescribed rules to grant such powers to the Central