PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 741
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*ASSAM (ALTERATION OF BOUNDARIES) BILL
Mr. Deputy Speaker : The House will now proceed with the further consideration of the motion that the Bill to alter the boundaries of the State of Assam consequent on the cession of a strip of territory comprised in that State to the Government of Bhutan, be taken into consideration.
The Minister of Law (Dr. Ambedkar): I am sorry I was not present in the House when a certain point was raised by certain Members that Parliament had no power to pass this Bill, in view of the fact that the Bill proposed, although indirectly, to cede certain portions of territory which belonged to the Indian Union, to Bhutan. I heard that my hon. Friend Mr. Sri Prakasa also made certain submissions to the House on this point in justification of the stand taken by the Government. But, I was told that the House expects me to say something on the point.
The point seems to be very easy. I think, in order to under stand the matter fairly, it is better to begin by a reference to List I contained in the Seventh Schedule, which defines the legislative powers of this Parliament. I would refer to List-I, Entry No. 14 and Entry No. 15. Entry No. 14 relates to the making of treaties and entry No. 15 refers to war and peace. The question that has been raised very largely hinges upon the interpretation of the words ‘treaty making’ and ‘war and peace’ What do these items include ? This matter was debated at great length in the United States when the question arose for the first time for interpretation. In order to cut short the matter, I should like to state that in the United States it has been accepted that treaty making does include the power to cede territory.
*P. D., Vol. 14, Part II, 8th August 1951, pp. 103-118.