Centre delayed creation of Marathi-speaking state till 1960. Marathi-Gujarati linguistic conflict closely resonates with Marathi-Konkani tensions in Goa after Liberation
As per the Cabinet Mission Plan 1946, the Constituent Assembly of India was established on December 9, 1946 to frame the Constitution of an independent India. Dr BR Ambedkar shouldered the responsibility of drafting the constitution as the chairman of the drafting committee. The final draft of prepared by the committee was adopted and enacted on November 26, 1949. To commemorate the occasion every year, the Independent India celebrates November 26 as the Constitution Day.
At the time of the framing of the constitution, Goa was under the corporatist regime of António de Oliveira Salazar of Portugal. The nationalist movement in Goa led by various ideological organisations – right, left and the Congress – and the government of India’s action ‘Operation Vijay’ on December 18-19, 1961 led to Goa’s annexation to Union of India. Like former French territories of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe, Yanam and Portuguese territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Goa had no representation in the Constituent Assembly. This has ensued debates around the compatibility between Goa and Indian Constitution. Goa’s inclusion in India has been largely interrogated from the perspectives offered by TB Cunha, Jawaharlal Nehru, VD Savarkar and many others. It has remained largely unexplored from Ambedkar’s perspective. Let’s critically explore and analyse this debate and unearth what Dr Ambedkar would have possibly commented on this debate.
The British introduced a two-tier system comprising central and provincial governments under the Government of India Act, 1935. While delivering the Kale Memorial Lecture in 1939 at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics in Pune, Dr Ambedkar compared the American federation with the Indian federation proposed by British government. Although the American states retained their separate identities, they ultimately converged into Union. For Dr Ambedkar, the federation of states recommended by the British government and approved by Indian National Congress was not a truly indigenous Indian federal structure. He was doubtful about the intentions of the economically powerful states in upholding the political equality among the states. He was of the opinion that such federation will not foster inter-state democracy. Europe, specifically Great Britain, is socially homogenous. India lacks such social homogeneity and is divided into castes, religions, sects, languages and geography. Federation suited for socially homogenous and cohesive Europe is not suitable for India. He highlighted asymmetries in the British idea of federal India. Europe built its social cohesiveness through inter-community relations.
In India, despite pluralism, inter-caste marriages and inter-religious marriages, social identities such as caste and religions have remained intact. He yearned for a constitution which dissolves the deep-seated social inequalities and nurture equality, liberty and justice. Dr Ambedkar imagined Indian states as a landscape of fraternity. Does diversity cater to the needs of fraternity? This is the question that led Dr Ambedkar to reflect upon the state formation in India.
In a memorandum submitted to Dhar Commission in 1948, Dr Ambedkar found to be mentioning Goa in the Marathi-speaking Bombay Province. But later on, such references do not appear in his literature. Dr Ambedkar proposed the idea of Marathi-speaking Bombay, while he opposed a single large, unified Marathi-speaking state. He compared Bombay with similar New York state in the United States having numerous ports asserts Bombay’s economic viability as a state with adjoining Marathi-speaking areas.
The merchant community from Gujarat, who had settled during the time of East India Company, wanted the Bombay as multi-lingual state. Throughout the history of rulers, the linguistic identities did not change. Gujaratis remained Gujarati and Marathis remained Marathi. He argued that the investment by Gujarati or Kathiawadi people in Bihar’s mining sector do not diminish the rights of the Bihari people over their mineral resources.
Dr Ambedkar suggested that the language as the medium of unity and the linguistic states must consider numerical strength of the landed castes. Otherwise, Gandhi’s Swaraj would come under the dominance of the feudal caste elites. The death of an activist demanding Telugu-speaking state of Andhra Pradesh could have been avoided if Congress followed the principle of ‘one language one state’. Ambedkar preferred the phrase ‘Union of States’ over ‘Federation of States’ and ‘United States of India’ deliberately to avoid the particular specification of the federal system in India.
Some members were in favour of socialist system, but he was hopeful of a system better than socialist where human value would be inculcated. It seems that the purpose of Article 1 of the Constitution is to evolve performative justice in the federal structure.
Goa’s late inclusion in the Union of India leads many to highlight similarities and dissimilarities in terms of culture and geography. At the same time, many knowingly forget that Portuguese Goa and British India share union over caste structure and oriental understanding of history. The Marathi-Gujarati linguistic conflict in the Bombay state closely resonates with Marathi-Konkani tensions in Goa after Liberation. The Union government delayed the creation of Marathi-speaking Bombay till 1960 despite the demand since 1947 and continued the mixed linguistic status. Dr Ambedkar’s views on the Konkani-Marathi tensions would have been crucial to us if he had not passed away at the age of 65.
Language was not only historical identity but more importantly it is a medium of federal cohesion that enables social and economic democracy in India.
Dr Ambedkar’s thought on federalism will definitely help in shaping Goa’s federal assertion in India.
(Dr Nawoo Varak is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Government College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Khandola, Goa.)
