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ONE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE FOR CENTRE AND PROVINCES
Bombay, October 15th, 1948. (API)
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, India’s Minister for Law, has expressed the opinion in a statement submitted to the Linguistic Provinces Commission, that the demand for the reconstitution of provinces on linguistic basis should be accepted but the Indian Union’s Constitution should provide that the official language of every Province shall be the same as the official language of the Central Government.
It was only on that footing which was necessary to provide against the break-up of India’s unity that he was prepared to accept the demand for linguistic provinces, Dr. Ambedkar said.
“A Linguistic Province produces what democracy needs viz- social homogeneity.” Dr. Ambedkar said, “The reason why in a heterogeneous society democracy cannot succeed is because power, instead of being used impartially is used to the detriment of another.”
Coming to the question of Maharashtra Province Dr. Ambedkar quoted figures showing its size and population, and said the figures left no doubt that Maharashtra would not merely be a viable Province, but a strong Province in point of area, population and revenue. He disapproved of the idea of sub-Provinces in Maharashtra, which would be a perpetual burden in normal times and a source of weakness in an emergency.
Replying at great length to several points made in recent newspaper articles against the inclusion of Bombay in the proposed Maharashtra Province, Dr. Ambedkar argued that Maharashtra and Bombay were not merely interdependent, they were really one and integral and severance between the two would be fatal to both. “If the Commission can accept the arguments urged for the separation of Bombay from Maharashtra, it must be equally prepared to recommend the separation of Calcutta from West Bengal.” Dr. Ambedkar said, because “The Maharashtrians can at least claim that they have supplied labour if not capital for the trade and industry of Bombay; the Bengalis cannot even say this.” [1]
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- : The Sunday Chronicle, dated 17th October 1948.