Q – ‘It is an agreement by free will to be terminated by free will’ The above statement of Pt. Nehru refers to which of the following?
(a) India’s Association with the Commonwealth of Nations
(b) Treaty of Panchsheel
(c) Shimla Agreement
(d) None of the above
U.P. P.C.S. (Mains) 2017
Ans. (a)
Explanation – The above statement of Pt. J. L. Nehru refers to India’s Association with the commonwealth of Nations.
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Links with Commonwealth
In 1949 itself, India declared the continuation of her full membership of the Commonwealth of the Nations and the acceptance of the British Crown as the head of the Commonwealth. But, this extra-constitutional declaration does not affect India’s sovereignty in any manner as the Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent nations. It also does not affect India’s republican character as India neither pays final allegiance to the British Crown nor the latter has any functions to discharge in relation to India.
India remained a member of the Com- monwealth because of pragmatic reasons. It thought that the membership in the Com- monwealth would be beneficial to her in the economic, political, cultural and other spheres. It has been playing an important role at the CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Govern- ments Meet). India hosted the 24th Com- monwealth Summit at New Delhi in 1983.
To dispel the lurking fears of some members of the Constituent Assembly, Pandit Nehru said in 1949 thus: ‘We took pledge long ago to achieve Purna Swaraj. We have achieved it. Does a nation lose its independence by an alliance with another country? Alliance normally means commitments. The free association of the sovereign Commonwealth of Nations does not involve such commitments. Its very strength lies in its flexibility and its complete freedom. It is well-known that it is open to any member nation to go out of the commonwealth if it so chooses! He further stated, ‘It is an agreement by free will, to be terminated by free will‘. Source : Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth
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