Federal dominion of India

[Grey Wolf]

I read that at the start of the 1930s the Indian princes agreed in theory to accede to a federal dominion when/if India was given this status. Of course, in OTL by the time these negotiations had gotten somewhere Ghandi and co had already thrown a spanner in the works by demanding full independence, but what if the agreement had been made in the mid 1920s, so that by the early 1930s the transition could be made ?

How would a federal dominion work ? Are Australia and Canada sufficient models, or would the fact that you have sovereign rulers in the federal territories affect things differently ?

Best Regards
Grye Wolf

 

[CanadianGoose]

I don't think we can draw from the Canadian/Australian experience to built timeline of Federal Dominion. Australia and Canada are dominated by white Westerners, overwhelmingly originating from the Great Britan. India is dominated by locals, who have neither loyalty nor blood connection to the "mother Britain".

 

[WilsonTGreat]

wouldn't a federal dominion (by the sounds of it) be more up britain's street, as it might be able to keep indian influence on the empire low through infighting and the like while the white dominions carried on with buisness as usual?

and i thought Ghandi was happy enough with Dominion status (or do you mean one big dominion as opposed to several small ones?)

 

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

wouldn't a federal dominion (by the sounds of it) be more up britain's street, as it might be able to keep indian influence on the empire low through infighting and the like while the white dominions carried on with buisness as usual?

and i thought Ghandi was happy enough with Dominion status (or do you mean one big dominion as opposed to several small ones?)

Does it matter? A Dominion would be more or less independent and it's only a matter of time before it become wholly so.

It might have been a smoother transition, but I'm not sure by this late date you can reconcile Hindu and Muslim nationalisms, although I suppose in a federal structure it might be workable.

You have a few states like Hyderabad where the prince is of a different faith than the overwhelming majority - I'm not sure how that would work.

 

[Dan1988]

Well, here's the theory behind the two possible models (at this point) for a federal dominion:

*With the Australian model, it's a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy grafted over US-style federalism.
*With the Canadian model, it's a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy, but pretty much a quasi-federal one (in fact, even bordering on being a unitary state).

 

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

Well, here's the theory behind the two possible models (at this point) for a federal dominion:

*With the Australian model, it's a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy grafted over US-style federalism.
*With the Canadian model, it's a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy, but pretty much a quasi-federal one (in fact, even bordering on being a unitary state).

In India you would be dealing with states that have centuries of history as independent entities, combined with a couple of giant provinces like Bengal, not to mention hundreds of languages and religions. If you don't partition India or tear down the existing structures and start over, you are going to have to come up with a very complex system.

 

[Dan1988]

In India you would be dealing with states that have centuries of history as independent entities, combined with a couple of giant provinces like Bengal, not to mention hundreds of languages and religions. If you don't partition India or tear down the existing structures and start over, you are going to have to come up with a very complex system.

Well I know that modern-day India uses a mixture of both the Australian and Canadian models, which sounds complex but it works out well. The states retain their autonomy, with the central government retaining some primacy.

 

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

Well I know that modern-day India uses a mixture of both the Australian and Canadian models, which sounds complex but it works out well. The states retain their autonomy, with the central government retaining some primacy.

I realize that, but they got rid of all the princely states, reorganized everything, plus India partitioned into Muslim and Hindu countries, with a lot of human tragedy involved.

If they kept the basic structures in place as a Federal Dominion, it would have to have some complex form of government - if anything, the German Empire would probably be the closest analogue.

 

[Dan1988]

I realize that, but they got rid of all the princely states, reorganized everything, plus India partitioned into Muslim and Hindu countries, with a lot of human tragedy involved.

If they kept the basic structures in place as a Federal Dominion, it would have to have some complex form of government - if anything, the German Empire would probably be the closest analogue.

I realize that. For a non-partitioned India, something like Germany at that time might make some sense, but Britain will try to shoehorn in a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy, maybe add in some of the Australian and Canadian models as well.

 

[Thande]

EdT had this happen in his 'A Greater Britain' TL. In the long run it didn't work, and broke down, with Hindu nationalists vs. an alliance of mostly Muslim-ruled princely states.