366 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
“26. Canadian citizen a British subject :— A Canadian citizen is a British subject.”
- The scheme underlying these Acts is to create two categories of citizenship— (1) a Commonwealth citizen, and
(2) a citizen of a particular Commonwealth. The acquisition of Commonwealth citizenship is automatic. Every person who is a citizen of a particular Commonwealth become, by reason of that fact, a Commomwealth citizen. It is said that if every Dominion did what the British and the Canadian Nationality Acts have done, it will be possible even for a Republic to be a member of the Commonwealth.
This proposal requires to be examined from three points of view before we can give our consent to it. Does this proposal make any change in the existing system of citizenship prevailing in the Commonwealth ? If the proposal does involve a change, does India gain or lose by this change ? Thirdly, even if India is desirous of having a link the Commonwealth can she accept this proposal consistently with the provisions contained in the Draft Constitution ?
The Commonwealth has suffered from three defects. One defect related to the conduct of its Foreign Affairs. Foreign Affairs have been the most fruitful source of war and yet they were mostly left to be conducted by the Government of the United Kingdom, with no active participation by the Dominions. It is true that the Dominions have the right to remain neutral. But that is no remedy, for it is a remedy which does not mend the Commonwealth. It puts an end to the Commonwealth. The second defect was that there was no remedy for the settlement of inter-dominion disputes. Dominions in relation to one another are not foreign countries. They therefore, cannot take their disputes to the Court of International Justice. And yet there has been no Tribunal to settle inter-dominion disputes. The third defect of the Commonwealth is that there was no common citizenship. A citizen of one dominion is not a citizen of every other Dominion. In fact the Commonwealth has been opposed to a Commonwealth citizenship. It insists that each Dominion shall be free to define who is to be its citizen and shall be free to say that the citizen of another shall not be its citizen. We are here concerned with the