asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can state if any opportunity has been given to the people of the province of Berar to express their wishes on the letter addressed by the Nizam of Hyderabad to the Viceroy of India; whether any assurance has been given that no steps will be taken in the matter without giving such opportunity; and, if so, through what channel was this assurance conveyed, to whom was it given, and by what method is it proposed to carry the assurance into effect?

An assurance was given in December, 1921, in the form of an official statement in the Central Provinces Legislative Council, that no steps in the matter of the re-transfer of Berar would be taken without giving to the people of Berar a full opportunity of expressing their wishes. No occasion for giving effect to this assurance has yet arisen.