Question

"British element is gone but they have left the mischief behind"

Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel said:

It is no use saying that we ask for separate electorates, because it is good for us. We have heard it long enough. We have heard it for years, and as a result of this agitation we are now a separate nation ... Can you show me One free country where there are separate electorates? If so, I shall be prepared to accept it. But in this unfortunate country if this separate electorate is going to be persisted in, even after the division of the country, woe betide the country; it is not worth living in. Therefore, I say, it is not for my good alone, it is for your own good that I say it, forget the past. One day, we may be united ... The British element is gone, but they have left the, mischief behind. We do not want to perpetuate that mischief. (Hear, hear). When the British introduced this element they had not expected that they will have to go so soon. They wanted it for their easy administration. That is all right. But they have left the legacy behind. Are we to get out of it or not?

1. why are separate electorates considered as a mischief?
2. State the arguments given by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel for building political unity and forging a nation.
3. How did the philosophy of separate electorates result in a separate nation?

 

Answer 1

1. Separate electorates are considered a mischief as it could divide the country into various parts. This negative concept was the British legacy.
2. Sardar Patel gave various arguments for building political unity. He said that separate electorates do not exist in any free country. Separate electorates were the legacy of the British who aimed at dividing the nation, so it should be discontinued in favour of national unity.
3. The philosophy of separate electorates was based on religious bigotry. Seats were reserved for people belonging to various religions in constitutional bodies. This created a divide among the people on religious lines which led to the partitioning of the nation.