1. Grievances of the Scheduled Castes : by Dr. Ambedkar

reserved this concession has been made and the age limit for the Scheduled Castes has been fixed at a pitch higher than what is fixed for others. In some Provinces the difference is of 2 and in some provinces it is of 3 years. In granting this concession the Government of India will be following a well established principle.

(2) Reduction in Examination Fees

30. The I.C.S. Examination fee is Rs. 100/-, the Examination fee for the Indian Audit and Accounts Service is Rs. 82/8/-, and for other Ministerial services Examination (Assistant’s Grade) the fee is Rs. 30/-. These fees are too heavy for the Scheduled Castes. They are really and truly a great handicap. Many a Scheduled Caste student after having spent time and energy in qualifying for an examination finds it difficult to appear at it because the fees for the examination are beyond the means of their parents. This handicap needs to be removed. It is urged that the Scheduled Caste candidates should not be charged more than one-fourth of the fees chargeable for these examinations. (3) Scheduled Caste Officer

31. These two concessions if allowed will go a long way to assist the community of Scheduled Castes to compete on more equal terms with its competitors. But the assistance rendered by these steps will not be adequate. Something further must be done. That is, to appoint a Scheduled Caste Officer in the Government of India cither in the Home Department or Labour Department whose duty it will be to see that effect is given to the claims of the Scheduled Castes in the matter of their entry in the Public Services. It is understood that such officers were at one time appointed by the Government of India in order to see that the rules framed by Government in the matter of communal representation in services were strictly followed. But even if that be not the case the necessity and urgency of appointing a Scheduled Castes Officer for protecting the service claims of the Scheduled Castes is beyond question. There is a great danger of such rules being set at naught as a result of the prejudices prevailing against the Scheduled Castes unless there was an officer charged with the duty of dealing with such cases. The only remedy is to have an independent officer charged with the duty to see that the rules are carried out.

POLITICAL GRIEVANCES

IV. Absence of representation of the Federal Public Service Commission

32. There are four members who at present constitute the Federal Public Service Commission. Of these, two are Europeans, one is a Hindu and one is a Mohamedan. The Scheduled Castes have been left out in framing the composition of the Federal Public Service Commission. There is no ground why they should be denied representation on the Federal Public Service Commission. There are three main sections of the people in India. Of these the Scheduled Castes form the third main section. The population of this section is measured in millions. Their interest in the service question is quite as important as those of the other two main sections of the populations. The danger to their interests is no less real than to the interests of the other two sections. And the necessity of warding off that danger is much greater than it is in the case of the other two. Judged by any test it is difficult to justify the refusal to give representation to the Scheduled Castes from the Federal Public Service Commission. The Federal Public Service Commission has definitely been given communal character. There can be only two conceivable reasons for doing this. In the first place it may be because it is desirable to have representatives of large sections of the people on the Commission. The second reason one can conceive of for giving communal composition to the Commission is to set off the communal bias of one community by the communal bias of the other community. Whichever way one looks at it, the omission to give representation to the Scheduled Castes on the Federal Public Service Commission is sheer injustice. The Scheduled Castes cannot have any confidence in a Public Service Commission which is infected by the point of view of the Hindus and the Muslims who with all their quarrels can very easily unite to distribute the loaves and fishes among themselves and to keep out the Scheduled Castes from getting their due share. It is difficult to prove that the Commission has been unjust to the Scheduled Castes though the fact remains that not a single Scheduled Caste candidate has so far been certified by the Commission to be fit. For no Commission can be convicted of partiality. It is open to every Commission to take shelter under that most elusive term “unsuitable”. That tern far from giving an explanation is intended to cover a multitude of sins. Justice requires that the Scheduled Castes should get representation on the Federal Public Service Commission which is their due. zz

PART II EDUCATIONAL GRIEVANCES

V. Want of Assistance for Advanced Education

33. Looking at the growth of Advanced Education among the Scheduled Caste boys, the following conclusions are deducible :— (1) That education in Arts and Law is progressing satisfactorily.

(2) That education in Science and Engineering has made no progress.

(3) That Advanced Education in foreign Universities is a very far cry.

34. This sad situation needs to be properly appreciated. As was said in discussing the question of the entry of the Scheduled Castes in the public services the welfare of the Scheduled Castes depends entirely upon a sympathetic public service and that the public service if it is to be sympathetic must be representative of the different elements in the national life of the country, and particularly of the Scheduled Castes. To this it must be added that the representation of the Scheduled Castes if it is confined to ministerial posts will be of no consequence no matter how numerous are the posts they are permitted to occupy. This may be good from the standpoint of providing a career for educated young men. It cannot affect the condition of the Scheduled Castes. The status and condition of the Scheduled Castes will be improved only when the representatives of the Scheduled Castes come to occupy executive posts as distinguished from ministerial posts. Executive posts are strategic posts, posts from which a new direction can be given to the affairs of the State. The attainment of executive post it is obvious requires a high degree of education. Such posts will not be open except to those who have acquired advanced education.

35. Education in Arts and Law cannot be of much value to the Scheduled Castes either to the graduates themselves or to the people. It has not been of very high value even to Hindus. What will help the Scheduled Castes is education of an advanced type in Science and

EDUCATIONAL GRIEVANCES

Technology. But it is obvious that education in Science and Technology is beyond the means of the Scheduled Castes and this is why so many of them send their children to take up courses in Arts and Law. Without Government assistance, the field of Advanced Education in Science and Technology will never become open to the Scheduled Castes, and it is only just and proper that the Central Government should come forward to aid them in this connection.

36. This problem will be solved if the following proposals are accepted by the Government of India :— (1) An annual grant of Rs. 2 lakhs for scholarships for Scheduled Caste students taking science and Technology courses tenable at the Universities or other Scientific and Technical Training Institutions in India.

(2) An annual grant of one lakh of rupees to be spent on scholarships for the education of Scheduled Caste students for Science and Technology in foreign Universities in England, the Dominions, in Europe and in America.

37. There is nothing to prevent the Government of India from undertaking this responsibility. Education it is true is not a Central subject for legislative purposes. Still, section 150 (2) of the Government of India Act says that the Central Government may make grants for any purpose, notwithstanding that the purpose is not one with respect to which the Central Legislature may make laws. This power has been used by the Government of India to support Educational Institutions. Below is given a list of Educational Institutions outside the centrally Administered Areas, which receive grants-in-aid from the central revenues. Amount per annum I. Educational Institutions

1. Indian Women’s University, Bombay Two non-recurring grants of Rs. 50,000 were made to this Institution in 193738 and 1941-42.

Rs.

2. Visva-Bharati, Santinikctan 25,000

3. Inter-University Board, India 1,000

4. Inter-Provincial Board for Anglo-Indian and European Education 3,600

Rs.

II. Scientific Societies

1. Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Calcutta.

18,000

2. Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta 2,500

3. Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta 37,000

4. National Institute of Science of India, Calcutta 6,000

5. Vishvesharanand Vedic Research Institute, Simla 2,500

6. Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 1,50,000

7. Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona 4,000

8. Bose Research Institute, Calcutta 45,000 III. Miscellaneous

1. Indian Olympic Association 2,000

2. Girl Guides Association, India 2,500 Total of annual Recurring Grants ... 2,99,100

38. This docs not include the annual subvention which the Government of India gives of Rs. 3 lakhs per annum to the Muslim University of Aligarh and of Rs. 3 lakhs per annum to the Hindu University of Benares. The claim made on behalf of the Scheduled Castes for help in the matter of advanced education at home and abroad receives great support from the financial aid given by Central Government to these two Universities. The grant made to the Universities is really grant made to the Hindu and Muslim communities for supporting higher education. That being so, there is no reason why the Central Government should not undertake to make a similar grant of 3 lakhs of rupees annually to promote higher education among the Scheduled Castes. If the Government are interested in raising the status of the Scheduled Castes, which they have often proclaimed to be their duty, it is high time that a similar provision was made for them in the education budget of the Central Government.

39. The scheme if it is given effect to will revolutionize the condition and status of the Scheduled Castes. The Scheduled Castes lay great store by it. They would even be prepared for the scheme being made a loan system rather than a system of grants. The Scheduled Caste boys who receive these scholarships shall be glad to take

EDUCATIONAL GRIEVANCES

advantage of it even if they are required to refund the sums received by them when they are employed or they may be made to serve the Government for a term under a lower scale of salary. There can be no objection to Government accepting these proposals.

40. For the purpose of assisting Advanced Scientific and Technical Education among the Scheduled Caste students I am making two other proposals. One is to make :

(3) Provision for Scheduled Caste students in the School of Mines.

The Government of India has under its control the Indian School of Mines which is located at Dhanbad. The school provides high grade instructions in Mine Engineering and in Geology. The training given in the Indian School of Mines is calculated to train men who can serve in the coal mining industry and other mineral industries in India. The number of students that are at present taking instructions in the Indian School of Mines are about 97. The school is open to students from all parts of India. From enquiries made it is established that out of the 97 students there is not a single one from the Scheduled Castes. It is very necessary that some special measures should be taken by the Government of India to sec that the students belonging to the Scheduled castes are in a position to take advantage of the Indian School of Mines. To achieve this object it will be necessary :

(a) To reserve a certain number of seats for the Scheduled Caste boys having the minimum standard of education required for admission.

(b) The grant of free-ships.

(c) The grant of scholarships.

It will not be too much to claim that one-tenth of the total number of admissions should be reserved for the Scheduled Castes. This is a matter which falls within the scope of the Labour Department. But it is a question which concerns also the Finance Department in as much as the free-ships and scholarships would mean the loss of revenue to the State. But the loss on acccount of these measures will not be very great. The annual fee on an average which a student has to incur in the School of Mines be about 60 rupees a month which would mean a monthly expense of Rs. 60 per student.

41. The other proposal which I wish to make is to give:— (4) Representation to the Scheduled Castes on the Central Advisory Board of Education.

42. The constitution of the Board consists of— (1) The Honourable Member in charge of the Department of Education, Health and Lands (Chairman); (2) The Educational Commissioner with the Government of India;

(3) Ten nominees of the Government of India, of whom one at least shall be a woman;

(4) One member of the Council of State elected by the Council of State;

(5) Two members of the Legislative Assembly elected by the Legislative Assembly.

(6) Three members of the Inter-University Board, India, nominated by the Inter-University Board of India. (7) A representative of each local Government, who shall be either the Minister in charge of Education (or his deputy) or the Director of Public Instruction (or his deputy) or such other person as the Provincial Government may nominate in this behalf.

43. The functions of the Board are :— (a) To advise on any educational question which may be referred to it by the Government of India or by local Government.

(b) To call for information and advice regarding educational developments of special interest and value to India; to examine this information and to circulate it with recommendations to the Government of India and to local Governments.

44. From the functions of the Board it is quite clear that the board can study the educational problem of the Scheduled Castes as that of special interest and frame recommendations and advice Central and Provincial Governments in that connection. Such a thing can be of immense importance in focussing the attention of the Governments and the Universities on the spread of higher education among the Scheduled Castes.

EDUCATIONAL GRIEVANCES

45. It is, however, necessary in the first place to get the Board interested in the educational problem of special classes like the Scheduled Castes. This can be done only by giving representation to members of the Scheduled Castes on the Board. It is therefore suggested that two representatives of the Scheduled Castes should be nominated on the board.

VI. Want of Facilities for Technical Training Technical Education

46. From the point of raising the economic condition, technical education for the Scheduled Castes is more important than literary education. But technical education is also very costly and it is not possible for children of the Scheduled Castes to take technical education, and without technical education their economic condition will not be improved. Owing to the social system of the Hindus, the Scheduled Castes occupy economically a very low place in the Indian economy. In times of prosperity he is last to be employed, and in times of depression he is first to be discharged. This, of course, is a result of the social prejudices of the Hindus which operate against him. But there is also the other difficulty which stands in his way and that is he is generally an unskilled labourer with no technical knowledge.

47. It seems to me that the Government of India can do a great deal to improve his lot by enabling him to acquire technical skill which he does not now possess and this can be easily done by introducing a system of apprenticeship for the Scheduled Caste boys in undertakings run or controlled by the Government of India, in which the possibilities of giving such technical training do exist.

I am referring only to two :— (1) Apprenticeships in Government Printing Presses : There are a number of Printing Presses which are maintained by the Government of India. There are so many skilled occupations which are open to persons trained in a printing press—compositors, printers, binders, etc. There is no reason why the Government of India should not have a scheme whereby suitable boys from the Scheduled Castes should be taken as apprentices to learn the various occupations which are related to the printing trade.

(2) Aprenticeships in Railway Workshops :

The Railways in India, most of which are owned by the Government of India, also maintain workshops where fitters, carpenters and other technicians are employed, and I do not know whether the Railway Department have schemes of taking apprentices to be trained as technicians to be subsequently employed on the Railways. But even if such a scheme was not in existence it is necessary to have one for the benefit of the Scheduled Castes.

48. I therefore suggest the scheme of apprenticeship whereby annually a good number of boys from the Scheduled Castes should be given training in the printing press and the Railway Workshops. The cost of it cannot be very great. zz

PART III OTHER GRIEVANCES

VII. Neglect in the Matter of Publicity

47. It is quite well known that the Government of India engages itself very largely in giving publicity to the saying and doings of different individuals and parties who represent the main forces operating in India. As an illustration of this I would refer to the Volume called “India and the Aggressor” (The Trend of Indian Opinion Between 1935-40) issued by the Bureau of Public Information of the Government of India. The name of the Volume is very misleading. It has nothing to do with the Aggressor. It is a collection of sayings and doings of the Political Parties and Politicians in the country and presents a full resume of the views of the majority and minority in India.

48. Now the most annoying part of this volume is the complete neglect of the sayings and doings of the Scheduled Castes. Out of the 940 pages, 158 pages are given to the Congress, 85 pages are allotted to the Muslims. The Hindu Mahasabha and the Hindu League are given about 10 pages. The Liberal Federation has received 16 pages. The Sikhs are spread over 6 pages, Indian Christians over 2 pages and the Scheduled Castes are disposed of in about 3 pages and what is surprising is that in these 3 pages devoted to the Scheduled Castes the material which is included is of a trifling character. It omits altogether to take notice of some of the most important events that have taken place during this period and important pronouncements made by leading individuals from the Scheduled Castes. I may mention only one such event viz., the movement for conversion. Beyond question it was a movement which shook the Hindu Society to its very foundations and attracted the notice of the whole world. To emphasize the trumpery sort of publicity given to the Scheduled Castes in this

volume it is enough to say that the St. Mary’s College, Kurseong, once undertook to give publicity to the cause of the Scheduled Castes and has as a result published material covering the same period and which fills a Volume of 507 pages. So vast have been the forces and movements affecting and emanating from the Scheduled Castes during this period of 1935—40. As to myself, I must have made many pronouncements touching the Scheduled Castes. Not one of them however finds a place in this Volume.

49. It is true that this Volume is intended for official use only. But in my opinion this fact does not alter the great value which the compilation must necessarily have. It goes without saying that it is the mind of the Official which is, to a large degree, responsible for determining the direction which the affairs of the State will take. It also determines the value which he ought to give to issues in which communal interests are involved. It also goes without saying that the attitude and the mind of the Official is bound to be determined by the kind of material which is presented to him and on which he feeds in a Volume like this. Further, the degree of publicity given to a cause by Government in a Government publication may be treated by him as the value which government attaches to it and as a direction for him for evaluating the needs and claims of different communities. Looked at from this point of view this Volume is sure to give to the Officers working in the Central Secretariat as well as in the Provincial Governments and even to the Secretary of State the impression that the Government of India regards the Scheduled Castes as a negligible force not worth bothering about. That this is the effect which this volume has produced is evident from the speech delivered in Parliament by the Secretary of State where the references to the Muslims are emphatic and positive while the references to the Scheduled Castes are just of a parenthetical character. It is a grievous wrong done to the Scheduled Castes whose cause has received a setback at a most critical period in their struggle by reason of this unbalanced presentation of their case on the part of Government. I would press that the Bureau of Public Information be asked to prepare a supplement to the Volume which it has issued giving full space to movements carried on by the Scheduled Castes and the pronouncements their leaders have made.

OTHER GRIEVANCES

50. Of course, Government may say that it is not bound to do publicity work for parties and communities, and that the parties and communities may do their own publicity. But that is not the case here. The Government of India, as I have shown, docs engage itself very much in this work of publicity. And when a Government does it, it is bound to treat all parties on equal footing in the matter of publicity and give a true and correct picture of the movements and forces operating in the country. VIII. Closed-door in Government Contracts

51. A Good part of Government needs in Public Works is carried out not departmentally but by contracts. This is so in normal times. In war times the work done for Government by the contract system has expanded several hundred fold. I can speak only of the Central Public Works Department. The list of approved contractors maintained, by the Central Public Works Department is 1,171. Of these, I am told, there is only one contractor belonging to the Scheduled Castes. The rest of them are Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. It should be possible for Government to arrange things in such a manner as to make its contract system allow an open door to members of all communities to profit by it. There are many persons of the Scheduled Castes who could be trusted to carry out a Government contract. Already many members of the scheduled castes are working as employees of Hindus, Muslim or Sikh contractors. The result is that the Hindu, Muslim or Sikh contractors are taking profit while the Scheduled Caste men are working on a mere wage.

52. There is not much difficulty in getting a certain number of men from the Scheduled Castes put on the list of approved contractors. But what is important is to enable them to get a contract. There are two rules in the matter of Government contracts :— (1) That a contract is to be given generally to a contractor whose tender is the lowest;

(2) That Government is not bound to accept the lowest tender.

53. It is therefore, a mattter of discretion which is exercised by the Officer in charge whether a contract will go to a particular contractor

or not. This discretion is not likely to be exercised in favour of a Scheduled Caste contractor. His tender may be the lowest but owing to communal prejudice he may not accept it and rely on the second rule “ that he is not bound to accept the lowest”. If his tender is higher than the lowest, he will not accept it although he is free to do so. He will rely on the first of the two rules. Either way he will have his justification for rejecting the tender of the Scheduled Caste contractors.

54. There is of course, no remedy against communal bais. The only thing that strikes me that we can do is to amend the rule by saying that a tender of a Scheduled Caste contractor, if it is not higher than the lowest by 5 per cent, shall be deemed to be the lowest. This, of course, involves financial loss and the Finance Department will have to agree to it. I cannot give any idea of the approximate cost of such a concession. I am sure it will not be heavy as to break the camel’s back. zz

PART IV DUTY OF GOVERNMENT TOWARDS DISTRESSED PEOPLE

Some of the proposals submitted in this Memorandum on behalf of the Scheduled Castes, particularly those which are put forth to remove political grievances, do not involve any financial burden on the public treasury. They are really not proposals so much as political demands which, by reason of their logic and their justice, Government must grant. The difficulty arises only with regard to the acceptance of those proposals which involve a financial burden upon the revenues of the Central Government. Financial burden there is. But, it will not do to reject them merely on that account. For there can be no doubt that Government has a duty towards the Scheduled Castes, and if they accept their duty in this behalf they are bound to discharge it even if it involves a certain amount of financial burden on the public purse.

56. The policy of the British Government towards the Scheduled Castes has been one of complete and continuous neglect. It began from the very beginning when the British Government realized that its duty was not merely to maintain law and order, and extended to giving the people education and looking after their welfare. This will be clear from the following quotations from the report of the Board of Education of the Bombay Presidency for the year 1850-51 :— Inquiry as to Upper Classes of India “Paragraph 16. It being then demonstrated that only a small section of the population can be brought under the influence of Government education in India, and the Honourable Court having in effect decided that this section should consist of the ‘upper classes’, it is essential to ascertain who these latter consist of. Upper Classes in India “Paragraph 17. The classes who may be deemed to be influential and in so far the upper classes in India, may be ranked as follows :— 1st.—The landowners and jagirdars, representative of the former

feudatories and persons in authorities under Native powers and who may be termed the Soldier class. 2nd.—Those who have acquired wealth in trade or commerce or the commercial class.

3rd.—The higher employees of Government.

4th.—Brahmins with whom may be associated, though at long interval, those of higher castes of writers who live by the pen and as Parbhus and Seenvies in Bombay, Kayasthas in Bengal, provided they acquire a position either in learning or station.

Brahmins The Most Influential “Paragraph 18. Of these four classes incomparably the most influential, the most numerous and on the whole easiest to be worked on by the Government, are the latter. It is a well recognised fact throughout India that the ancient Jagirdars or soldier class are daily deteriorating under our rule.

* * * nor among the commercial classes, with a few exceptions, is their much greater opening for the influences of superior education..

* * * Lastly the employees of the State, though they possess a great influence over the large numbers who come in contact with Government, have no influence, whatever, with the still larger numbers who are independent of Government ; Poverty of Brahmins

*Paragraph 19. The above analysis, though it may appear lengthy is nevertheless, indispensable, for certain important conclusions deducible from it. First, it demonstrates that the influential class whom the Government are able to avail themselves of in diffusing the seeds of education are the Brahmins and other high castes Brahmanis proximi.

Question as to Educating Low Castes “Paragraph 21. The practical conclusion to be drawn from these facts which years of experience have forced upon our notice, is that a very wide door should be opened to the children of the poor higher castes, who are willing to receive education at our hands. But here, again, another embarrassing question arises, which it is right to notice. If the children of the poor are admitted freely to Government

DUTY OF GOVERNMENT TOWARDS DISTRESSED PEOPLE

Institutions what is there to prevent all the despised castes —the Dheds,, Mahars, etc., from flocking in numbers to their walls ? Social Prejudices of the Hindus “Paragraph 22. There is little doubt that if a class of these latter were to be formed in Bombay they might be trained, under the guiding influence of such Professors and masters as are in the service of the Board, into men of superior intelligence to any in the community : and with such qualifications, as they would then possess, there would be nothing to prevent their aspiring to the highest offices open to Native talent —to Judgeships, the Grand Jury, Her Majesty’s Commission of the Peace. Many benevolent men think it is the height of illiberality and weakness in the British Government to succumb to the prejudices which such appointments would excite into disgust amongst the Hindu community, and that an open attack should be made upon the barriers of caste.

Wise Observations of the Honourable Mount Stuart Elphinstone Cited “Paragraph 23. But herewith wise reflections of Mr. Elephinstone, the most liberal and large minded administrator who has appeared this side of India, point out the true rule of action. ‘It is observed,’ he says, ‘that the missionaries find the lowest caste the best pupils; but we must be careful how we offer any special encouragement to men of that description ; they are not only the most despised, but among the least numerous of the great divisions of society and it is to be feared that if our system of education first took root among them, it would never spread further, and we might find ourselves at the head of a new class, superior to the rest in useful knowledge, but hated and despised by the castes to whom these new attainments would always induce us to prefer them. Such a state of things would be desirable, if we were contented to rest our power on our army or on the attachment of a part of the population but is inconsistent with every attempt to found it on a more extended basis!”

* * *

57. Such is the antagonism towards the Schedule Castes with which began Government’s policy of giving education to Indians. This policy

was firmly applied. There is a case on record of a Mahar (Untouchable) boy who in 1856 petitioned to the Government of India for being admitted to a Government school in the Dharwar District. The following is the text of the resolution issued by the Government.

“The question discussed in the correspondence is one of very great practical difficulty.

“1. There can be no doubt that the Mahar petitoner has abstract justice in his side ; and Government trust that the prejudices which at present prevent him from availing himself of existing means of education in Dharwar may be ere long removed.

“2. But Government are obliged to keep in mind that to interfere prejudices of ages a summary manner, for the sake of one or few individuals, would probably do a great damage to the cause of education. The disadvantage under which the petitoner labours is not one which has originated with this Government, and it is one which Government cannot summarily remove by interferring in his favour as he begs them to do.”

58. In 1882 Government of India appointed the Hunter Commission to examine the Educational Policy. This Commission made a number of important proposals to spread education among Muslims. With regard to the Untouchables it did nothing. All that it did was to express an opinion that “Government should accept the principle that nobody be refused admission to Government College or School merely on the ground of caste,” but qualified it by saying that the principle should “be applied with due caution!”.

59. This antagonism when it passed away, its place was taken up by negligence and indifference. This negligence and indifference made its appearance not merely in the field of education. It also made its appearance in other fields, particularly in the Army. The whole Army of the East India Company consisted of the Depressed Classes. Indeed but for the Depressed Classes Army the British would never have been able to conquer India. The Untouchables continued to fill the Army till 1892. In 1892 their recruitment in the army was stopped all of a sudden and they were thrown in the street in utter distress with no education and no means to pursue other ways of honourable living.

60. Who can raise the Scheduled Castes from the distress in which they are now grovelling ? It is certain they cannot do it by their own

DUTY OF GOVERNMENT TOWARDS DISTRESSED PEOPLE

effort. Their resources are too scanty to afford them the means to raise themselves. They cannot depend upon the charity of the Hindus. The charity of the Hindus is beyond question communal in its scope and its benefits are confined to those who belong to the community of the donor. The Hindu donors are either businessmen or high State officials. The tragedy is that they make their money out of the general public. But when it comes to a question of doing charity they forget the public and remember their own caste and their community. The Scheduled Castes have neither of these sources available to them and they are rigorously excluded from the charity founded by both. The only source therefore on which they can rely is financial aid from Government. I venture to say that it is the duty of the Central Government to come to the rescue of people who are in distress by no fault of theirs as is the case with the Scheduled Castes. The Central Government is bound to take steps to assist the Scheduled Castes to concede their just claims and to compete on more equal terms with their competitors. There is nothing extra-ordinary in asking the Central Government to pay special attention to improve the condition of the Scheduled Castes. Let those who may think so consider the measures the Government of India has adopted for securing the welfare of the Anglo-Indian community. I will mention only a few of them. (1) Higher Salaries There was a time when the Anglo-Indian received a higher salary than the Indian. The extent of difference in the salary of the Anglo-Indian and the Indian will be obvious from the following table which gives figures for salaries on three Railways for a few posts selected at random for the sake of illustration— Designation Anglo-Indians Indians North Western Railway Permanent Way-Inspector 625-25-675 475-25-500 550-25-600 400-25-450 Drivers 260-10-280 Re. 1 to Rs. 1 / 14/ a day Special rate Rs. 2 a day.

E. I. Railway Train Examiners 300-25-400 120-15-180 200-20-280 G.P.I. Railway Head Train Examiners 275 125-275 315 365 Washing Chargemen 145 115

This difference in salary continued upto 1920. Thereafter it was abolished. One difference still remains and that is the AngloIndian gets a basic pay of Rs. 55 per month. He gets this even if he is employed as a peon in a State Railway, while an Indian chaprasi gets only Rs. 13-15. The cost of this favoured treatment to the Anglo-Indians which the Indian Exchequer has to bear annually is Rs. 10,000 in the Posts and Telegraph Department, Rs. 75,000 to the State Managed Railways and Rs. 75,000 to Company Managed Railways, in all Rs. 1,50,000.

(2) The reduction in the pass marks for the examination in the telegraph Department from 50 per cent to 40 per cent in each subject and from 66 per cent to 60 per cent in the aggregate especially made to enable Anglo-Indians to compete successfully.

61. There are many other recommendations made by the Stewart Committee on the Anglo-Indians intended to give them special advantages over Indians. But I do not wish to burden this memorandum with them. I am only interested in showing the marked contrast between the treatment accorded to the AngloIndians and the Scheduled Castes. The care of the former and the neglect of the latter stand out in a marked contrast. What is it that can justify this contrast ? In my opinion nothing, and the sooner the Central Government proceeds to assist the Scheduled Castes the better the Government will rank as a Government based on justice. A Government which cheerfully bears the cost of Rs. 1,50,000 annually for the uplift of the Anglo-Indians, can, if it has the will, spend a few lakhs on the Scheduled Castes. zz

SECTION II IMPORTANT CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO TRANSFER OF POWER

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