364 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Constitution. This is one difficulty in the way of India now accepting Dominion Status. To put the car in the reverse gear is always difficult. It is much more difficult to do so when the car has started running down hill.
- The other difficulty is psychological. Can we adopt an alien King as our own ? Is there anything socially and culturally common between Indians and the people comprising the Dominions ? Even if the word ‘British’ was removed from its designation, the Commonwealth will still continue to be British in its loyalty and white in its colour complex. Can India feel at home in such a Commonwelath ? However, much one may like that India should maintain a link with the Commonwealth, there can be no doubt that India cannot be at home in the Commonwealth.
III. Amended Form of Dominion Status
If the link cannot be established by India becoming a Dominion in de jure sense of the term, what is the alternative ? The alternative suggested is that proposed in the British Nationality Act of 1948 and the Canadian Nationality Act of
Section 1 of the act reads as follows :—
“British nationality by virtue of citizenship :—
(1) Every person who under this Act is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or who under any enactment for the time being in force in any country mentioned in the next following sub-section is a citizen of that country shall, by virtue of that citizenship, have the status of a British subject. Any person having the status aforesaid may be known either as a British subject or as a Commonwealth citizen and accordingly in this Act and in any other enactment or instrument whatever whether passed or made before or after the commencement of this Act, the expression ‘Briish subject’ and the expression Commonwealth citizen ‘ shall have the same meaning.
(2) The following are the countries hereinbefore referred to, that is to say, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Noewfound land, India, Pakistan, Southern Rhodesia and Ceylon.”