FEDERATION VERSUS FREEDOM 315
That this fededation includes British India is of course true; when Provinces are declared to be the units of the Federation it means that British India is included in the Federation. Because the Provinces which are declared to be the units of the Federation compromise what is called Indian India. Indian India is no small tract. The following figures of area and population will give a comparative idea of the extent of British India and this Indian India:
| Col1 | Area in square miles (1931) | Population (1931) |
|---|---|---|
| British India excluding Burma and Aden. | 8,62,630 | 2,56,859,787 |
| Indian States … … | 7,12,508 | 81,310,845 |
It will be seen that Indian India comprises 39 per cent of the population and 31 per cent of India as a whole.
How much of this Indian India is going to be brought under this Federation?
Many will be inclined to say that as this is spoken of as an All India Federation every inch of this area will be included in the Federation and will be subject to the authority of the Federal Government Such an impression is no doubt created by the wording of Section 6( 1 ) which relates to the accession of the states. This section speaks of a Ruler declaring his desire to join the Federation and thereby suggesting that every State is entitled to join the Federation. If this is true, then no doubt the Federation can in course of time be an All India Federation. But this impression is wrong. Such an impression cannot arise if Section 6( 1 ) is read with Schedule I of the Act Schedule I is merely thought of as a schedule which contains a Table of Seats for the Rulers. This is a very incomplete reading of the Schedule. The Schedule does more than that. It not only gives a table of seats, but also enumerates the States which are entitled to join the Federation and thereby fixes the maximum number of States which can come within the Federation if they wish to do so. In other words it is not open to every State to join the Federation. Only those enumerated can join. This is the significance of the Table of Seats given in Schedule I.
What is the total number of the states which can join the Federation ? Schedule I limits the number to 147. A number of questions crop up by reason of this limit fixed by the Schedule. According to official figures there are in all 627 States in India. That means 480 States will remain outside the Federation and can never become part of the Federation. Can this be called an All India Federation? If it is to be an All India Federation, why are these States excluded? What is the position of these excluded