Sardar Patel’s daughter, Maniben Patel, deposited his papers with the Navajivan Trust, Ahmedabad. Around 1970 Maniben Patel decided that it was time to make public Sardar Patel’s correspondence. The Navajivan Trust brought in Durga Das, former Chief Editor of the Hindustan Times, as editor, and ten volumes of correspondence, covering the period 1945-1950 were published.
Volume III, Chapter IV contains letters related to the Cabinet Mission Plan. Some of those are reproduced here. I don't think any commentary is needed, because Sardar Patel's point of view is expressed very clearly.
Volume III, Chapter IV contains letters related to the Cabinet Mission Plan. Some of those are reproduced here. I don't think any commentary is needed, because Sardar Patel's point of view is expressed very clearly.
122
EXTRACT
Karachi
22 May 1946
My dear Sardar Sahib,
I have not written to you nor got into any telephonic talks with you after you left Karachi. That duty, by common consent, has been assigned to my friend, Lalji Mehrotra. He is however out of station, having gone to Kashmir for a change. I am therefore taking the privilege of writing to you this letter.
I have no doubt in my mind that your strong stand has achieved success for India. I have always believed that weakness never pays. I have read Mr. Jinnah's statement. He has pleased himself by calling the two alleged groups as two Pakistans. This indicates that he or his Working Committee is going to accept the proposals. A bully is always a coward and he and his Muslim League Nawabs answer that description fully.
Mr. G.M. Syed's group have passed a resolution saying that all have failed because they have not made each province a separate independent unit. The resolution is to the effect that all these [provincial] units should have a common centre and that each unit should receive equal representation at the centre. He is against groups or sub-federations. So far his proposals are not bad. His proposal, even if accepted, will give preponderance to the Congress. Of course he has added that in the representation given to each unit, Hindus and Muslims should have equal numbers. That of course is absurd as I told him that 8% or 10% population cannot have parity with 90% population in some provinces. Poor man is neither here nor there. He thinks he has now got an opportunity to strike at Jinnah and his League.
In Sind, the Cabinet is divided into two definite parties. One wing is led by Sir Ghulam Hussain and has its members Mir Ghulam Ali and Pir Illahi Bux; the other is lead by Khuhro with Mir Bundeh Ali Khan and Pir Abdul Sattar as members.
* * *
I would seek your advice as to the member who should represent the Hindus of Sind in the Constitution-making body. There is Mr. Jairamdas Doulatram outside the Assembly. He, however, noe leads a retired life and I don't know whether he would undertake the trouble and responsibility of going to the Constitution-making body.
* * *
From inside the Legislature the aspirants might be Prof. Malkani, Prof. Ghanshyam and Mr. Sidhwa. You know each one of them. As for myself, if you or the Congress members of the Legislature are of the view that I should undertake this duty, I shall do so. But otherwise I won't like to have a division over this question for my sake.
Wishing you health and complete success,
I am
Yours sincerely,
Nihchaldas C. Vazirani
123
2 June 1946
My dear Nihchaldas,
I have your letter of 23 May, perhaps for the first time after I left Karachi. I had not heard anything from Sind since a long time.
We had a busy time for about two months in Delhi and Simla. So far we have done a very good job of the thing and I hope we will hear no more of that mischievous cry of Pakistan. In any event, the Muslim League will expect no such thing from the British Government or to secure any assistance from that quarter for that purpose.
Regarding the clause of grouping, I feel certain that the Muslims of Sind as a whole will not like to be ruled by Punjab and have a capital in Delhi for the Union and one in Lahore for the Group. In my opinion, no province will be willing to sacrifice provincial autonomy. It is against human nature and this grouping is not going to help the Muslim League at all. But our objection to it is on principle. The Cabinet Delegation cannot and should not coerce any province to go into a group against its own will, although it has freedom to opt out later.
I have seen the Syed group's resolution. I dislike entirely their demand for equal representation in the Centre. The Muslim League asked for parity but I opposed it stoutly. Parity in any shape or form is against the very principles of democracy and no amount of quibbling can justify it. Indeed Syed has got a very good opportunity to strike at Jinnah because Jinnah and the League have secured nothing for the Muslims after a struggle of five years against the Congress and after the spreading of so much communal bitterness. His main demand of Pakistan is buried forever. His demand for parity is not accepted. The Muslims in the Hindu majority provinces have lost weightage in the Constituent Assembly. They will be in a hopeless minority. The principle of representation on a population basis is accepted. The only thing that he got, as a face-saving device, is grouping which will be seriously opposed by his own people.
The Muslim Leaguers in their convention at Delhi took oath under which they are bound not to enter the Interim Government till the principle of Pakistan is accepted. All of them are now anxious to go in spite of the pledge.
You will soon find cracks and quarrels in the Muslim League everywhere. You are suggesting Sheikh Abdul Majid as a representative for the Constituent Assembly as a good nationalist. Perhaps you may be right but I can trust nobody who wants more representation for his community at the cost of the other community. All nationalists must accept the principle of representation on a population basis. No device to turn a majority into a minority can be accepted under any circumstances. In our anxiety to placate the Muslim League, we have diluted nationalism to such an extent that it has almost lost its original genuine appearance.
I am not in touch with Jairamdas [Doulatram] at all. He is so much involved in his domestic affairs, owing to his daughter's illness, to whom he is so much devoted that he will hardly find time for the Constituent Assembly. Besides, his health is also not quite all right.
In the Constituent Assembly we want men who can make a good contribution in the complicated task of Constitution-making or drafting and we certainly want men of ability and experience. We have not yet decided about the question of selection but we hope to do so and issue instructions, as soon as we are able to settle with the British Government finally about the points that we have raised in our resolution.
Yours sincerely,
Vallabhbhai Patel
Shri Nihchaldas C. Vazirani
Karachi
124
EXTRACT
Karachi
8 June 1946
My dear Sardar Sahib,
I acknowledge with thanks receipt of your letter of 2nd instant.
I hasten to bring to your notice one point which has not yet been mentioned in the Press. It is about grouping. The point is whether any province has the right by a majority vote of the Assembly to opt out from the group in which it is compulsorily put in, after the Constitution is made and election is held in pursuance of that Constitution. According to me this point has been purposely left vague. You would notice that it has been mentioned in the para giving right after 10 years to the provinces to ask for the revision of the Constitution that that object could be achieved by a majority vote. No such provision of majority vote has been made in para 19 (VIII) which deals with the question of opting out. It appears to me that the group body, say, of Punjab, NWFP, Baluchistan and Sind, can by a majority provide in the Constitution that they would be framing, that no unit can opt out except by a two-thirds majority. If that is permissible then neither the NWFP nor Sind can ever opt out. That would result in perpetual injustice to those provinces and Pakistan would be established in practice forever.
Yours sincerely,
Nihchaldas Chaturmal Vazirani
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
New Delhi
125
EXTRACT
Karachi
10 June 1946
My dear Sardar Sahib,
As regards grouping, the [Cabinet] Mission's statement mentions that at the initial stage the provinces shall belong to the various sections. The respective sections shall then decide whether they will form themselves into groups or not; and if they decide to form a group, then they should further decide what subjects should be assigned to the group.
Now take B-Group. The provinces put in that section are Sind, British Baluchistan, NWF Province and the Punjab. Supposing three provinces— Baluchistan, the NWFP and Sind—by a majority of 3 provinces out of 4, say they shall not form a group, will their voices prevail, or is that decision also to be taken by a majority of the members of the Constituent Assembly belonging to that section?
I think if three out of four provinces say no, their voices should prevail. On the other hand, according to the representation on the Constituent Assembly, the Punjab gets 28 members, Sind only 4, NWF Province 3, British Baluchistan 1— total 36. Out of this total of 36, only 8 members belong to the three provinces and 28 to one province. Is it the intention that one Punjab can compel the other three provinces to form a group against their will and also to decide what subjects should belong to the group? That would be unjust.
I suggest that if on the question of representation of the Congress in the Interim Government there is going to be a good solution, then at least this point should be got clarified or suitably amended so as to give a right to the units of the section to decide by a majority vote that there shall be no grouping.
The Mission has made a distinction between section and group. They are not likely to amend the clause in such a way as to make it optional for the provinces to get into a particular section or not, because they stand committed on that point. But as it is already provided in the White Paper that the respective sections shall decide whether they shall form groups or not, they can say that for the purpose of coming to that decision each unit shall have an equal voice. It would be sheer injustice to give the power to the representatives of a single province to decide that three other autonomous provinces should compulsorily group with that one province against their will.
I am
Yours sincerely,
Nihchaldas C. Vazirani
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
New Delhi
126
New Delhi
12 June 1946
My dear Nihchaldas,
I have received your letters of the 8th and 10th inst.
There are certain points in the Cabinet Mission's proposals which bear different interpretations and there are some which require explanation. But it is unnecessary to go into the details of these contradictions and omissions or ask for their explanations, as the document is final and the proper time for interpretation will come when the Constituent Assembly meets. I have no doubt in my mind that according to the legal interpretation of the document, the provinces are free to join or not to join, even in the first instance and after the group constitution is framed, they have a further right to opt out of the group. I have seen the point raised by you also. I do not think it is wise to open up these matters at this stage. If we find the proposals otherwise satisfactory and the interim arrangement is made to our satisfaction, it would be wise to accept the proposals. But it is just likely that the whole thing may break on the question of composition of the Interim Government. This, in our opinion, is a vital matter and the result of our discussions will end one way or the other in a day or two.
I have seen the statements of Syed and his party but they are in a small minority and would not be able to affect the decision. If the majority of Muslims in Sind realise that they will lose their provincial autonomy, they are bound to oppose it and when the time for consideration of grouping will come, the people of Sind will realise its full implications. Nobody wants to sacrifice one's own provincial patriotism and I have little doubt that this formation of groups will create dissensions in the Muslim League itself. But we must wait till the proposals are accepted and the time for meeting of the Constituent Assembly comes.
Yours sincerely,
Vallabhbhai Patel
Shri Nihchaldas Vazirani
Karachi
127, 128 Telegrams between Ghanshyam Jethanand and Sardar Patel omitted here.
129 is a letter from Nihchaldas Vazirani to Sardar Patel about the politics of Sind. He requests Sardar Patel to make an all-India question about the actions of the Governor, who let the ministry continue even though "On the 12th we were 31 in the opposition and there were only 24 on the government benches". The Governor adjourned the Assembly to preclude non-confidence motions from being called.
130 is by Sardar Patel after Jinnah & the Muslim League announced Direct Action Day on July 29th, and is reproduced below.
130
30 July 1946
My dear Nihchaldas,
I received your letter of the 15th inst. only a couple of days back owing to the postal strike, which is still on. I am therefore sending this letter through a friend who is coming there.
Your Governor has at last called the Assembly meeting on 5 September. The Ramzan came as a handy excuse. Otherwise it would have been called earlier because he had to call the meeting in spite of his disinclination to do so.
In view, however, of the resolution passed by the Muslim League Council yesterday in Bombay regarding the boycott of the Constituent Assembly, it is doubtful whether any good result will come out of your efforts. The repercussions of the League resolution on direct action may be such as would drive all the Assembly members who have left the League recently to its fold again because the fanaticism of the Muslim masses may be roused to such a pitch that they may not be able to hold on to their position.
The leaders of the League have at last realised that in the negotiations they have lost all along the line and got nothing and therefore they are anxious now to wriggle out of their acceptance of the scheme. They are, therefore, out for trouble and I am afraid your province may have a bad time. But there is no help. The nation has to go through the ordeal. I hope you will all stand together in the coming crisis.
Yours sincerely,
Vallabhbhai Patel
Shri Nihchaldas Vazirani
Karachi
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