The correct option is Govind Ballabh Pant.
Explanation
The statement was made during the debates in the Constituent Assembly of India, specifically in the context of discussions regarding minority rights, separate electorates, and the fundamental unit of the new Indian polity.
Detailed Analysis:
- Speaker and Context: The statement was made by Govind Ballabh Pant on August 27, 1947. He was speaking during the debate on the Report of the Advisory Committee on Minorities.
- Core Argument: Pant was arguing against the continuation of separate electorates and the habit of thinking in terms of communities rather than individuals. He emphasized that in a free and democratic India, the individual citizen should be the primary unit of the state, rather than religious or social communities.
- Significance: By asserting that "It is the citizen that forms the base as well as the summit of the social pyramid," he advocated for a unified form of citizenship where individual loyalty to the state supersedes group loyalties. This was crucial for integrating diverse communities into a single national framework.
Key Takeaway:
Govind Ballabh Pant emphasized the supremacy of the individual citizen over community identities in the Constituent Assembly to promote national unity and reject the colonial legacy of separate electorates.