Book Review: India's Constitution in the Making
| Published date | 01 December 1961 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206101600428 |
| Date | 01 December 1961 |
| Author | Gary Clarkson |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK
REVIEWS
441
structed
from
the
bottom
upwards
and
culminating
(eventually)
in
a
National
Assembly
in
which
the
country's
two
wings
will
be
equally
represented.
Dr.
Sayeed
touches
on
economics
in
analysing
Hindu-Muslim
relations
and
discussing
the raw
financial
deal
given
to
East
Bengal
before
October
1958.
With
a
population
increase
as
shown
by
the
recent
census
from
72
million
in
1947
to
94
million
today
(of
whom
54
million
including
14
million
Hindus
live
in
East
Bengal), with
acute
land
shortage
in
East
Bengal,
salination
of
irrigated
areas
in
the
Panjab
and
Sindh,
and
scarcity
of
minerals
other
than
natural
gas
and
a
very
little
oil,
Pakistan's
economic
problems
are
even
graver
than India's
and
are
bound
to
have
increasing
political repercussions.
Against this,
the
people's
self-discipline
and
willingness
to
learn
and
work
hard
justify
a
measure
of
optimism.
The
book
is
a
joint
Canadian-Pakistani
product,
and
its
quality
reflects
credit
on
both
countries.
University
of
Durham
F.
R.
C.
BAGLEY
INDIA'S
CONSTITUTION
IN
THE
MAKING.
By
B.
N.
Rau.
Edited
by
B.
Shiva
Rao.
1960.
(Madras,
India:
Orient
Longmans.
lxx,
510pp)
This
collection of
essays
by
the
late
Benegal
Narsinga
Rau,
edited
by
B.
S.
Rao,
is
meant
to
enlighten
the
student
of
Indian
affairs
on
the
official
work
of one
of
the
rather
obscure
"fathers"
of
the
Indian
Con-
stitution.
Shri
Rau
brought
to
his
task
a
lifetime
of
legal
and constitutional
experience:
it
will
be
recalled
that
he
played
a
key
role
in
the
early
implementation
of
the
Government
of
India
Act,
1935.
Besides
the
ob-
vious
practicality,
Rau's
familiarity
with
the
Act
doubly
ensured
its
enshrinement
in
the
present
Constitution
following
his
appointment
as
Constitutional
Advisor
to
the
Indian Constituent
Assembly.
A
cursory glance
at
the
distinctions
of
Rau
might
lead
one
to
assume
a
political wisdom
rivalling
that
of
his
contemporary, Nehru.
The
essays
presented
here,
however,
relentlessly
reflect
the
mind
of
a
political
technician and
bureaucrat:
from
the
essays
one
abstracts
no
incisive
political
insight,
no
philosophical
brilliance, and
certainly
no
wittiness.
The twenty-nine
essays
here
deal
with
a
variety
of
topics
more or
less
related
to
the
constitutional
question-most
essays
are,
in
fact,
mad-
deningly
germane,
unrelieved
by
any
sagacious
obiter
dicta.
The
"constitutional
precedents"
have
an
appropriately
prominent
place
in
the
book,
but
later
essays
on
such
topics
as
"Democratic
Ex-
ecutives",
"Second
Chambers",
and
other
aspects of
political mechanics
more
truly
reveal
the
great
knowledge
and
synthesizing
abilities
of
Rau.
In
general,
the
collection
is
a
display
of
comparative
constitutional
commentaries enhanced
by
legal
precision
and
historical authenticity.
For
more
exotic
tastes
essays
such
as
those
on
"Bhutan",
"Citizenship
in
the
Commonwealth",
and
"An
Indo-British
Treaty"
have
been
in-
cluded.
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