PEOPLE CEMENTED............INDEPENDENT 41
in the constitution of the Central Legislature. The only question is about its proper place, whether it will be more appropriate for the Assembly or the Council of State, it is obvious that it cannot be applied to both. For, it is a great weakness of the system of indirect elections that it exhausts itself in the very first use. It may be depended upon for securing some reality of representation when the elector is only once removed from the voter. But it must lose all its reality if it were worked through the instrumentality of an elector who is twice removed from the voter. That means if their system is applied to the Legislative Assembly there will be no resource left for the construction of the Council of State if it is decided to retain the two chamber system in the Central Legislature. Now the Council of State is the ugliest deformity in the whole structure of the Government of India and it cannot be allowed to remain in the condition in which it is, if it is to discharge in a satisfactory manner the functions of a revising chamber. If I am correct in the view I have taken, then it follows that direct election should be the basis of the Legislative Assembly and indirect elections from Provincial Legislatures with the system of proportional representation would be the most appropriate devise for the constitution of the Council of State. But whatever be basis that may ultimately be adopted for the constitution of the Central Legislature indirect elections must remain the easiest method for the representation of the Depressed Classes in either of them. This is not a result to be deplored. On the contrary as compared with nomination it marks a great advance in our position.
- In the Provincial Legislatures constituted as at present, the Depressed Classes are very poorly represented. The Southborough Committee in 1919 did a great wrong to them in this respect and even the Government of India recommended an increase in the miserable quota of their representation fixed by that Committee. But the wrong remained unredressed at the time. The Muddiman Committee appointed in 1923 pointed out how very meagre was the representation of the Depressed Classes in the Councils and suggested a large augmentation of the same. But although here and there a member was added nothing substantial was done to remove this grievance. In their weak