SYMPOSIUM 81 of property rights. There is no distinction made in part III of the Constitution between the property of foreign interests and of indigenous property owners, and protection of property is obviously extended to foreign capital as well. This is further evidenced by the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1948 which clearly lays down that the interests of foreign capitalists are protected and it is reiterated in the subsequent Industrial Policy Resolutions. That, in fact, reflects the compromise which Indian bourgeoisie has struck with foreign capital. The 24th amendment would not basically alter the ownership structure obtaining at present in the country. The amendment, however, reflects an accentuation of contrdictions within the ruling alliance which is the direct result of the growing pressure of the democratic movement. At the same time the ruling classes are likely to misuse the amendment to curb civil liberties and minority rights. The constitutional framework clearly provides for the leading role of the big bourgeoisie in the ruling combine. There is concentration of powers at the Centre, where the big bourgeoisie predominantly ensures its hegemony in the exercise of state power. Moreover, several provisions of the Constitution, such as the emergency powers of the President, are designed precisely to interfere in federal matters and topple any government in the states that becomes inconvenient for the Centre. The Congress Party, which opposed the 1935 Constitution as an instrument serving the interests of British imperialism in India, had no hesitation in bodily lifting almost all the provisions relating to Centre-State relations which have served the interests of big bourgeoisis since independence. India is a multi-national state. The big bourgeoisie has a leading role in the state, particularly at the Centre, and has also a leading role in oppressing the nationalities. These features have important implications for Centre-State relations. In its quest for ever-expanding markets the big bourgeoisie runs roughshod over the legitimate aspirations of the various nationalities in India, thereby deepening the conflict between the different nationalities and the big bourgeoisie. Simultaneously this thrust of tlie big bourgeoisie aggravates the uneven development of capialism in the different regions. The policy of developing capitalism in the interests of the big bourgeoisie required concentration of economic power in a centralised authority. A large concentration of power at the Centre makes a mockery of federal principles and hinders the all-round development of the peoples of different states in its own ways. Whenever governments in states pose a challenge to the class rule at the Centre, they are ignominiously thrown out by using or misusing the Constitution. There are enough provisions in the Constitution to turn the states into virtual colonies of the Central power. Appointment of governors by the Centre, the manner in which governors have been used to underline domination by the Centre, alteration of state boundaries by the