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Constitutional Legacy of Colonial Rule
Constitutional Legacy of Colonial Rule
India, as we know, was under the British rule for nearly two hundred years. The
East India Company was formed in England in1600. It came to India initially for
trading purposes. However, taking advantage of such factors as the downfall of
the Mughal Empire by the end of the 18th century, the consequent
disintegration of a centralised administration and the rise of many local rulers
who fought among themselves, the East India Company began to transform
itself from a commercial concern into a territorial power. The victory of the
Company’s forces in the battle of Plassey in 1787 against Siraj-ud-Daulah, the
Nawab of Bengal laid the foundations of the British Empire in India. After the
Revolution of 1857, the power of governance of India was taken away from the
East India Company and India was put directly under the control of the British
Crown implying the British Government. Thus India became one of the most
treasured colonies of the British Empire. The impact of British rule in India was
widespread in nature. In this unit we shall discuss some of the important
legacies that the Indian political system inherited from the colonial rule of the
British.
At the same time, the Indian Freedom Movement under the leadership of
Mahatma Gandhi greatly influenced the society and polity in India in terms of
the ideals cherished during the struggle. Accordingly, we shall also discuss in
this unit some of the legacies that the Indian Political system has inherited from
the heroic freedom struggle.
COLONIAL LEGACIES
The British ruled India for two hundred years. During this long span of time
several legislations were enacted to facilitate smooth administration of the
country. After a long struggle against British colonial rule, India finally attained
independence in 1947. But the struggle for the attainment of independence was
not the end of the movement. In fact it was the beginning of a new process of
struggle for the newly born country who had just freed itself from the shackles
of British rule. To make the process of transition easier, the architect of the
nascent country decided to retain most of the administrative and political
measures of the British Raj. The system handed over by the British and
followed by the Indian system is known as the colonial legacy.
Western Education through English medium: The British rule in India set in
motion a vast chain of changes which continue to operate even today. Western
education helped to bring Indians face to face with modern concepts of
equality, liberty, justice and democracy. It helped to change the attitude and
outlook of the people and paved the way for the creation of a modern Indian
society.
The Quaid spelled out his vision in his speech of August 11, 1947 in the
mother legislative assembly — rightly described as his Magna Carta for
Pakistan, that:
• Jinnah’s Pakistan — all its citizens will be equal, they will enjoy equal rights
— irrespective of caste, creed, colour or gender; they will be free to practise
their religions, go to their temples, mosques and churches, etc.
• That’s why the Quaid separated religion from state management and
declared categorically that Pakistan would not be a theocratic state.
However, after his death (Sept 11, 1948), his dream of Pakistan as a modern,
democratic, liberal and secular state was waylaid by the power troika
comprising the military, civil and judicial bureaucracy backed by the feudal.
From a social welfare state Pakistan was converted at gunpoint into a security
state (garrison state) supported by religious groups that had opposed all three
Muslim greats — Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Allama Sir Muhammad Iqbal and the
Quaid.
Liaquat Ali Khan explained the context of the resolution in his speech delivered
in the Constituent Assembly on March 7, 1949. He termed the passage of the
Objectives Resolution as “the most important occasion in the life of this country,
next in importance only to the achievement of independence.’. He said that we
as Muslim believed that authority vested in Allah Almighty and it should be
exercised in accordance with the standards laid down in Islam. He added that
this preamble had made it clear that the authority would be exercised by the
chosen persons; which is the essence of democracy and it eliminates the
dangers of theocracy. It emphasized on the principles of democracy, freedom,
equality, tolerance, and social justice and it says that these should be part of
future constitution.
But when it was debated in the session of the Constituent Assembly, it was
opposed and criticized by minorities’ leaders. A non Muslim, Prem Hari
proposed that the motion should be first circulated for evoking public opinion
and should then be discussed in the house on April 30, 1949. He was
supported by Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya, who proposed some amendments
in the resolution. To him, since the committee of Fundamental Rights had
finalized their report, there was no need for this resolution to recommend these
rights. He added that the Objectives Resolution was amalgamation of religion
and politics; hence it would create ambiguities with relation to its application in
constitutional framework. He wanted time to study and understand the
Objectives Resolution.
Mian Muhammad Iftikharuddin was the only Muslim member in the house who
opposed the resolution. To him the resolution was vague and many words used
in it do not mean anything. He further suggested that such a resolution should
not only be the product of Muslim League members sitting in the assembly
alone. Rather it was supposed to be the voice of seventy million people of
Pakistan.
On the other hand Objectives Resolution was strongly supported by Dr. Ishtiaq
Hussain Qureshi, Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, Sardar Abdurrab Nishter,
Noor Ahmad, Begam Shaista, Muhammad Hussain and others. In order to
counter the allegations they argued that Islam governs not only our relations
with God but also the activities of the believers in other spheres of life as Islam
is complete code of life.
After a great debate finally the resolution was adopted by the Constituent
Assembly on March 12, 1949. Liaquat Ali Khan assured the minorities that they
will get all the fundamental rights in Pakistan once the constitution based on the
Objectives Resolution will be enforced. However, this resolution created a
division on the communal lines as the Muslim members except for Mian
Iftikharuddin voted in favor of it and the non Muslim opposed it. It created a
suspicion in the mind of minorities against majority. Since, the Resolution has
yet not been implemented in Pakistan in the true spirit, the doubts in the minds
of the minorities still exists.
Major Constitutional Issues
Major Issues
The major issues, the first constituent assembly faced, were about:
1: Federalism
There was consensus on federalism but yet there were many issues
to be settled. The main was that Pakistan consisted of two territorial
parts, East Pakistan (with more population, less territory but
administratively one unit) and West Pakistan (administratively 4
units). Federalism is meant to accommodate such kind of diversity
maintaining the unity of the state or country.
Division of power:
It was the most difficult question that how the power would be divided
between Centre and the Provinces. The heritage of British rule gave
the tradition of a Strong Centre. But the provinces were demanding
more Autonomy and Provincial Rights.
In the Interim Constitution and the 1956 Constitution tradition of
strong centre continued.
2: Representation
This report also faced reaction in both the wings of Pakistan. The
principle of parity was not appreciated in both East
Pakistan andPunjab.
One Unit of West Pakistan was established on 14th October 1955. The
provinces of Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Baluchistan would be
amalgamated in one unit to establish parity between the two parts of
the country.
5: Parliamentary or Presidential
There was a BROAD AGREEMENT that the state will identify itself
with Islam. The Constituent Assembly took time to define the precise
relationship between the state and Islam.
Objectives Resolution