332 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
enacting a preamble because it realized that it would be beyond its power to fulfil such a promise. What the British Parliament lacked was not honesty. Indeed it was its honesty which led it to refuse to enact such a preamble because it knew that it could not give effect to such a preamble. What it lacked was courage to tell the Indians that the Federal Scheme left no way for Dominion Status.
Why is Dominion Status impossible under the Federal Scheme? It is impossible because it is not possible to have Responsible Government. It must be borne in mind that to reach Dominion Status, India must first attain Responsible Government. To attain Responsible Government the subjects which are reserved must become transferred. That is the first stage in the process of evolution towards Dominion Status.
Some of you will want to know the reasons why I say that the reserved subjects cannot become transferred. They are sure to recall that there were Reserved subjects in the Provincial Scheme as they are in the Federal Scheme and will ask that if the reserved subjects have become transferred in the course of say 20 years what difficulty can there be in the similar things happening in the Federation. As the question is important, I proceed to give my reason. In the first place, the analogy of the Provinces is false. It is important to note why the analogy is false. It is false because in the Provincial Scheme the distinction between the reserved and the transferred subjects was based upon the requirements of administrative efficiency. That the distinction between the reserved and the transferred subjects in the Federal Scheme is based upon legal necessity and not upon administrative efficiency needs no proof. One of the reasons why the Simon Commission did not recommend dyarchy at the Centre was that it felt that administratively it was not possible to divide subjects into two water-tight compartments, one reserved and the other transferred, without affecting the efficiency of all ; and the Government of India’s despatch on the Simon Commission entirely agreed with the view. The division, therefore, is not administrative in its basis. It is the result of a legal necessity. This is a fundamental distinction and ought never to be lost sight of.
How does this legal necessity arise? I say the legal necessity for treating certain subjects as reserved arises because of the Indian States. I go further and say that there would be necessity for treating certain subjects as reserved if the Federation was confined to the British India Provinces only. The reservation of certain subjects is a direct consequence of the entry of the Indian States into the Federation.
What is it, in the position of the Indian States which compels certain subjects to be treated as reserved ? To be able to answer this question I must first draw your attention to section 180 of the Government of India Act. Section 180 says —
“Any contact made before the commencement of Part III of this Act by or on behalf of the Secretary of State in Council solely in