India -- History -- British occupation, 1765-1947; India -- Politics and government -- 1765-1947
There is no difficulty in accepting the first and the fourth formulas.
There is some complaint that the actual steps recommended for immediate
adoption to give effect to the policy of the first formula are not in
keeping with the spirit of the formula and are inadequate. But this we
can reserve for future consideration.
No objection can be taken to the first and the last sentences of the
second formula; though there is a great divergence of opinion as regards
the content of the second. It is maintained by some, and their number
is by no means small,[1] that full responsibility should be conceded to
the provinces at once and that there is nothing in the conditions
mentioned in the report which justifies the postponement thereof.
The third formula, however, is the one about which there is not even a
semblance of agreement. All political parties and all qualified persons
in India (we mean, of course, Indians of Indian origin) are agreed that
the assumptions and presumptions upon which this formula is based are
wrong and unacceptable. Native Indian opinion is fairly unanimous on the
point.
There are some who claim full autonomy at once. There are others who
claim full autonomy except as regards foreign relations, the control of
native States, the Army and the Navy. All insist that a beginning of
responsible Government must be made in the Central Government also, and
point out the absolute necessity of conceding some measure, even if not
full, of fiscal autonomy. They can see no reason why "the Government of
India must remain wholly responsible to Parliament" and why "its
authority must remain indisputable." On these matters Indian opinion
joins issue with the distinguished authors of the report. We will revert
to the subject in another chapter.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The non-official members of Bengal, Bombay and the United Provinces
have made that demand, which has been endorsed by the Indian National
Congress and the All-Indian Muslim League.
V
THE CONDITIONS OF THE PROBLEM
Let us, at any rate, make victory so complete that national
liberty, whether for great nations or for small nations, can never
be challenged. That is the ordinary law. The small man, the poor
man, has the same protection as the powerful man. So the little
nation must be as well guarded and protected as the big nation.
DAVID LLOYD GEORGE
"The Pan-German Dream," Speech delivered at
Queen's Hall on the third anniversary of the
Declaration of War, August 4, 1917.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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