It was a federal Form of government and it provided for a Federation and the Provinces.
It is no use copying my expression when the case fits you.
The 1935 Act contained a chapter on Federation and contained a chapter relating to the Provincial Governments. As there was a provision in the Government of India Act, 1935, that the federal part of the constitution shall come into force only if the number of native States prescribed therein to the Federation before the 15th August, 1947 when we became independent, therefore, that put of the Federal Constitution did not come into operation.
But if that part had come into operation, if had been put into force, it would have been as much as federation as we have contemplated here (interruptions by Honorable Members of Opposition). I know how the mind of the Leader of the Opposition is running. I do not propose at this stage to quote from some draft to which he was a party. But at the proper stage I may quote from that if you will be pleased to give me the opportunity. And I will show that the Federation which is contemplated in this Bill is more federal in character and distributes the functions of Government between the Federation and the Provinces in a far better way than the draft which was formulated.
I was only submitting that a constitution may be of a unitary or federal type. This constitution is of a federal type and this is in consonance with the resolution which was passed at the sessions of the All-India Muslim League and which was adopted and which provided autonomous provinces and here also provinces have been given autonomy as appears from the Fifth Schedule to the draft constitution.
If you try to understand the Fifth Schedule you will understand what improvement it had made.
You will find that it is a great improvement on any distribution which I have come across in any constitution....................
