Book Reviews: The Republic of India: The Development of Its Laws and Constitution. By ALAN GLEDHILL. The British Commonwealth Series, Vol. VI. GEORGE W. KEETON, ed. (London: Stevens and Son Ltd. 1951. Pp. xii, 309. $8.55.)

• Published date: 01 December 1952
• Date: 01 December 1952
• DOI: 10.1177/106591295200500440
• Author: D. Mackenzie Brown
• Subject Matter: Articles

703

Leaders

in

both

parties

were

young;

and

they

achieved

their

positions,

not

by

accident

of

birth,

but

by

effort.

&dquo;A

group

numbering

fewer

than

twenty

individuals

may

control

completely

the

political

and

military

situation

at

the

regional

level

in

Communist

China.&dquo;

In

both

parties

the

plebeians

entered

late.

&dquo;It

would

be

misleading,

and

from

the

American

point

of

view

dangerous,

to

underestimate

the

current

strength

of

Chinese

Communist

leadership

or

to

place

it

in

the

same

general

category

with

Communist

elites

in

Eastern

Europe,

which

have

owed

their

existence

almost

entirely

to

the

whims

of

Joseph

Stalin.&dquo;

Out

of

the

impotence

and

corruption

of

the

Manchu

background

came

the

modern

leadership

of

both

parties;

and

it

was

Russian

Com-

munism

that

godfathered

each

of

them.

The

current

Chinese

Communist

leadership

represents

the

culmination

of

thirty

years

of

growth

motivated,

but

not

wholly

controlled,

by

the

theories

and

tactics

resultant

from

the

Russian

revolution

of

1917.

The

author

refers

to

General

Marshall’s

bitterness

against

the

Chinese

Communists

&dquo;who

used

abuse,

lies,

and

any

other

drastic

measures ...

in

order

to

achieve

their

ends.&dquo;

He

concludes

that

&dquo;antagonisms

between

Chinese

and

Russian

centers

of

Communism

are

almost

certain

to

appear,

if

they

are

not

already

developing&dquo;;

and

that

the

Russians

are

likely

to

tighten

their

discipline

over

Chinese

Communists

in

order

to

achieve

&dquo;a

Soviet,style

penetration

of

Chinese

economy

and

politics,

and

for

prevent-

ing

antagonisms

from

developing

toward

a

crisis.&dquo;

John

K.

Fairbank,

in

his

introduction,

posits

that

&dquo;our

type

of

Anglo-

Saxon

parliamentary

democracy

has

not

been

able

to

provide

the

model

for

successful

political

organization

in

China.&dquo;

The

book

includes

many

useful

tables

and

notes;

and

the

lack

of

an

index

is

not

vital.

CHARLES

ROGER

HICKS.

University

of

Nevada.

The

Republic

of

India:

The

Development

of

Its

Laws

and

Constitution.

By

ALAN

GLEDHILL.

The

British

Commonwealth

Series,

Vol.

VI.

GEORGE

W.

KEETON,

ed.

(London:

Stevens

and

Son

Ltd.

1951.

Pp.

xii,

309.

$8.55.)

Mr.

Gledhill’s

work

fills

the

need

for

a

competent,

readily

available

monograph

on

the

basic

law

of

the

Indian

Republic.

He

is

well

qualified

for

his

task,

having

served

as

judge

of

the

Rangoon

High

Court

and

lecturer

on

Indian

law

at

the

University

of

London.

The

book

consists

of

two

parts:

&dquo;The

Constitution&dquo;

and

&dquo;The

Legal

System.&dquo;

The

former

analyzes

the

development

of

Indian

legislative

and

administrative

institutions

at

central,

provincial,

and

local

levels

and

then