A college student is preparing a talk on how the body set up in 1946 to frame the basic law of free India was formed. She notes that its members were not elected on the basis of universal franchise. After the provincial elections of the winter of 1945-46, the Provincial Legislatures chose the representatives. She finds that one party came to dominate the body, and that about four out of every five members belonged to it. She also finds that two political groups kept away from the body at first, each for its own reason, and she wants to explain their stand to her class.
A classmate asks why the Socialists were at first unwilling to join this body. Which of the following reasons is correct?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → They believed the body was a creation of the British and so could not be truly autonomous.
Option (1) They objected that Congress members who defended landlordism controlled the body. — Incorrect. Some Congress members did defend landlordism, but this was a split inside the Congress. The Socialists gave a different reason for staying out.
Option (2) They believed the body was a creation of the British and so could not be truly autonomous. — Correct. The Socialists held that the Assembly was a creation of the British. So, in their view, it was incapable of being truly autonomous, that is, not free to decide for itself.
Option (3) They were pressing for a separate constitution for the regions where they were strong. — Incorrect. A separate constitution was the demand of the Muslim League, which wanted Pakistan. The Socialists made no such demand.
Option (4) They feared the body would be dominated by communal parties of the provinces. — Incorrect. The Assembly was dominated by the Congress, which held 82 per cent of the seats. Fear of communal parties was not the Socialists' reason.
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