§ Mr. Linsteadasked the Under-Secretary of State for India (1) whether it is intended that the freedom of the Boundary Commission to take into account other factors than contiguous majority areas is to provide for minor local variations only, or whether substantial inroads into majority areas are contemplated, in order to unite minority shrines with their own majority populations;
(2) whether it is intended that the freedom given to the Boundary Commission to take into account other factors than contiguous majority areas shall enable the commission to have regard only to the special circumstances of the Sikh community in the Punjab; or whether the location of the religious shrines of other communities will also be a factor to be taken into account by the commission.
§ Mr. A. HendersonThe terms of reference of the Boundary Commission instruct it to demarcate the boundaries in question on the basis of ascertaining contiguous majority areas of Moslems and non-Moslems, but state that in doing so the Commission will also take into account other factors. As I emphasised in my speech in Committee on Clause 3 of the Indian Independence Act, it is entirely for the Commission itself to decide what these other factors are and how much importance should be attached to all or any of them. The location of the shrines of any community is therefore one of the factors which may receive consideration if the Boundary Commission so decides.