Appendices

APPENDIX I SHRADHANAND ON BARDOLI PROGRAMME FOR UNTOUCHABLES

Correspondence between Swami Shradhanand and Pandit Motilal Nehru, General Secretary of the Congress, on the Congress Sub-Committee appointed in 1922 to frame a Scheme for the uplift of the Untouchables .

(1) SWAMIJI’S LETTER

The General Secretary, All India Congress Committee, Camp, Delhi.

I acknowledge, with thanks, receipt of your letters Nos. 331 and 332 embodying resolutions of the Working Committee and of the All-India Congress Committee about Untouchability. I observe with pain, that the resolution of the All India Congress Committee, as at present worded, does not include the whole of what was passed by the Committee.

The facts are these : I sent the following letter to Mr. Vithalbhai Patel (the then) General Secretary on 23rd May 1922, which was also published by the principal dailies of the country. ‘MY DEAR MR. PATEL, There was a time (vide Young India of 25th May, 1921) when Mahatmaji put the question of Untouchability in the forefront of the Congress programme. I find now that the question of raising the Depressed Classes has been relegated to an obscure corner. While Khadi claims the attention of some of our best workers and a liberal sum has been earmarked for it, for the year, while a strong subcommittee has been appointed to look after national education and a special appeal for fund is to be made for the same, the question of the removal of Untouchability has been shelved by making small grants to Ahmedabad, Ahmednagar and Madras. I am of opinion that with a majority of 6 crores of our brethren set against us by the bureaucracy, even the Khadi Scheme cannot succeed completely. The Members of the Working Committee, perhaps, do not know that on this side, our suppressed brethern are leaving off khadi and taking to buying cheap foreign cloth. I want to move the following resolution in the meeting of the All-India Congress Committee which comes off on the 7th of June next at Lucknow, that a sub-committee consisting of three members of the All-India Congress Committee be appointed to give effect to the resolution about the so-called Depressed Classes, that a sum of five lakhs of

WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : APPENDIX I

rupees be placed at their disposal for propaganda work and that in future all applications for grants be referred to the said subcommittee for disposal.” My proposal was amended by the Working Committee and ran as follows :— “This Committee hereby appoints a committee consisting of Swami Shradhanand, Mrs. Sarojini Naidu and Messrs. G. B. Deshpande and I. K. Yajnik to formulate a scheme embodying practical measures to be adopted for bettering the condition of the so-called Untouchables throughout the country and to place it for consideration before the next meeting of the Working Committee, the amount to be raised for the scheme to be Rs. 2 lakhs for the present.”

Mr. Patel asked me to accept the Working Committee’s proposed resolution in toto. I refused to accept the Working Committee’s resolution and in the very first sitting of the All-India Congress Committee substituted 5 lakhs for 2 lakhs with the condition that one lakh of the same be allotted by the All-India Congress Committee out of the funds in its hands, in cash and an appeal be made for the balance.

Mr. Rajagopalachariar, on behalf of the Working Committee, proposed that instead of fixing the amount to be allotted out of the Congress funds now, it should be provided that when the Scheme was accepted by the Working Committee that Committee should allot as much cash as it could then spare for this purpose. I do not recollect the exact words but the purport of the amendment as given above is, to my knowedge, true.

On this an uproar arose and the query was pressed from all sides that the cash balance in the hands of the All-India Congress Committee ought to be announced. The President called me aside and told me in confidence that the Congress possessed very little cash balance and if pressed to disclose the true state of affairs it would harm the movement, as outsiders and even C.I.D. people were also present. On this I accepted the amendment of Mr. Rajagopalachariar in spite of protests from my seconder and supporters. But my surprise was great when I found the resolution in the dailies, as reported by the Associated Press, shorn of Mr. Rajagopalachariar’s amendment. After the above resolution was passed, some members suggested that a convener of the sub-committee ought to be appointed and several members proposed me as the convener. On this, Mr. Vithalbhai Patel (the then General Secretary) got up and said : “As Swami Shradhanand’s name occurs first, naturally he will be the convener and therefore there was no need of moving any fresh resolution at all.” Members from all parts of the country began to give information to me about Untouchability in their provinces and pressed me to visit their parts. On this, I made some promises. Then I thought

DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES

that without some cash for preliminary expenses, no enquiries on the spot could be made and hence no proper scheme could be formulated. I also learnt that Rs. 25,000 had been voted by the Working Committee for “the Independent” of Allahabad and that an application for grant of Rs. 10,000 to the Urdu daily Congress of Delhi had been placed by Hakim Ajmal Khan and Dr. Ansari before the Working Committee. So, considering that after all, the Congress might not be so hard pressed for cash, I wrote a letter addressed to the President, asking him to give the Untouchability Sub-Committee an advance of Rs. 10,000 for preliminary expenses. After all this,- the following resolution of the Working Committee forwarded by your letter No. 331 presents a very interesting reading:— “Read letter from Swami Shradhanand, dated 8th June 1922 for an advance for drawing up a scheme for Depressed Class work— Resolved that Mr. Gangadharrao B. Deshpande be appointed convener of the sub-committee appointed for the purpose and he be requested to convene a meeting at an early date, and that Swami Shradhanand’s letter be referred to the Sub-Committee.” There is another matter which is inexplicable. After my first letter had been acknowledged, I addressed the following letter from Hardwar on 3rd June 1922 :— “MY DEAR MR. PATEL, I shall leave Hardwar the day after tomorrow and reach Lucknow on the morning of June 6th. You know by now, that I feel the most for the so-called Depressed Classes. Even in the Punjab I find that no attention worth the name has been paid to this item of the constructive programme. In the U. P. of course it will be an uphill work. But there is another very serious difficulty. The Bardoli programme in its note under item (4) lays down that where prejudice is still strong, separate wells and separate schools must be maintained out of the Congress Funds. This leaves a loophole for those Congress workers who are either prejudiced against the Depressed Classes or are weak and no work can be done in inducing people to agree to allow the Untouchables to draw water from common wells. In the Bijnoor District, I learn there was no restriction and the Untouchables drew water freely from common wells. But in some places, fresh prejudice is being engendered under the aegis of the Bardoli resolution note. In my recent visits to Ambala Cant., Ludhiana, Batala, Lahore, Amritsar and Jandiala, I found that the question of the removal of disabilities of the Untouchables is being ignored. In and near Delhi, it is the Dalitodhar Sabha, of which I am the president, rather than the Congress which is doing appreciable work. I think that unless item (4) of the Bardoli

WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : APPENDIX I

constructive programme is amended in proper form, the work which I consider to be the most important plank in the Congress programme, will suffer.

Kindly place the following proposal before the President and if he allows it to be placed before the next meeting, of the All-India Congress Committee, I shall move it there—“Instead of the Note under item (4) of the Bardoli resolution substitute the following note:— “The following demands of the Depressed Classes ought to be complied with at once, namely that ( a) they are allowed to sit on the same carpet with citizens of other classes ; ( b) they get the right to draw water from common wells and ( c) their children get admission into National schools and Colleges and are allowed to mix freely with students drawn from the so-called higher castes.” I want to impress upon the members of the All-India Congress Committee the great importance of this term. I know of cases where the Depressed Classes are in open revolt against tyranny of the socalled upper castes and unless the above demands are conceded to them, they will succumb to the machine of the bureaucracy. After my first proposals were passed in the All-India Congress Committee Meeting on June 7th at Lucknow, I asked Mr. Patel to put my proposed amendment of Note to item (4) of Bardoli resolution before the meeting. He told me that the Working Committee would refer it to the Sub-Committee and asked me not to press it there. I agreed. But I have not received copy of my resolution of the Working Committee, referring my proposal to the Untouchability Sub-Committee.

The Untouchability question is very acute in and near Delhi and I have to grapple with it at once. But the Sub-Committee cannot begin work off-hand because the Working Committee has to take several other political situations in the country into consideration before deciding upon any scheme of practical measures to be adopted for uprooting Untouchability on behalf of the Congress. Under these circumstances, I cannot be of any use to the Sub-Committee and beg to resign from membership.

Yours sincerely, Delhi, Jan. 30. SHRADHANAND SANYASI.

(2) SECRETARY’S REPLY

DEAR SWAMIJI, Your letter, dated June 1922 received in my office on the 30th of that month, has by a resolution of the Working Committee passed in Bombay on the 18th instant been referred to me with instructions to explain facts and request you to be good enough to reconsider your resignation from the Depressed Classes Sub-Committee.

DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES

As you are. aware, I have no personal knowledge of the facts which happened prior to my release from the jail. But I was present at the meeting of the Working Committee which passed the resolution dated 10th June 1922, appointing Mr. Deshpande as the Convener of the Sub-Committee. It was not then mentioned that there was any understanding about any particular member acting as the convener of the Sub-Committee and the whole resolution was passed merely to complete the necessary formalities in regard to the payment of money. It was felt that a formal resolution of the Sub-Committee was necessary before any expenditure could be sanctioned. Mr. Deshpande was accordingly appointed as the convener and a sum of Rs. 500/- was voted for the expense of these preliminary steps. By an oversight, the resolution as drafted omitted to mention the sanction of Rs. 500/-. You will thus observe that it was not due to the unwillingness of the Working Committee to sanction Rs. 10,000/- for Untouchability, but the true reason for framing the resolution in the manner it was framed was that I have explained above. Nothing could be farther from the intention of the Working Committee than a desire to under-rate the importance of the work your Sub-Committee was called upon to do or in any way to ignore the valuable advice tendered by you. On your letter being placed before the last meeting of the Working Committee, the omission of the grant of Rs. 500/- was supplied and I was instructed to communicate with you on the subject. It will be a great pity if the Sub-Committee is deprived of the benefit of your experience and special knowledge of the whole question of Untouchability and I will ask you, therefore, in public interest, to reconsider your decision and wire to my office at Allahabad withdrawing your resignation from the Sub-Committee. I need hardly add that any resolutions arrived at by your Sub-Committee will receive all the consideration they deserve at the hands of the Working Committee.

As to the alteration in the Working Committee’s resolution in regard to separate wells and schools, the best course would be for your Sub-Committee to recommend the change and for the Working Committee to adopt it.

I am afraid you are under a misapprehension as regards the grant to The Independent, of Allahabad, and The Congress of Delhi. In reference to the former, all that has been done is to sanction the application of the U. P. Provincial Committee to advance as a loan to the “Nationalist Journals” Ltd., Rs. 25,000/- from the funds already granted to that committee and in reference to the latter, the application for a grant of a loan was wholly rejected. Yours sincerely, MOTILAL NEHRU, Bombay, July 23, 1922. General Secretary.

WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : APPENDIX I (3) SWAMIJI’S REJOINDER

DEAR PANDIT MOTILAL JI, I received your letter of 23rd July 1922 addressed from Bombay about my resignation from the Untouchability Sub-Committee, I am sorry I am unable to reconsider it because some of the facts brought out by me in my first letter have simply been ignored. (1) Kindly enquire of Mr. Rajagopalachariar whether I did not first propose that at least one lakh should be given in cash out of the funds in the hands of the All-India Congress Committee, whether he did not move an amendment substituting words for the above which purported to promise that when the plan of work formulated by the Sub-Committee was accepted by the Working Committee, that Committee would allot as much money for Untouehability department as it could then spare and whether I did not accept his amendment when the President called me aside and explained the exact financial position at the time. If this is the fact, then why did the amendment not appear with the resolution ?

(2) Did you enquire of Mr. Vithalbhai J. Patel whether the members of the All-India Congress Committee did not propose me as the convener of the Sub-Committee and whether he did not then say— “As Swami Shradhanand’s name occurs first naturally he will be the convener and therefore there was no need of moving any fresh resolution at all?” I enquired about this from Dr. Ansari and he wrote back to me on June 17th, 1922, saying that I was appointed convener. Dr. Ansari is with you and you can verify it from him. I hope Mr. Patel has not forgotten all about it.

(3) Then the immediate work among the Untouchables here is very urgent and I cannot delay it for any reason whatsoever. Kindly have my resignation accepted in the next meeting of the Working Committee, so that I may be free to work out my own plan about the removal of Untouchability. This was my position at the end of July last. My experience in the Amritsar and Mianwali Jails and the information I gathered there have confirmed me in the belief that unless sexual purity (Brahmacharya) is revived on the ancient Aryan lines and the curse of Untouchability is blotted out of the Indian Society, no efforts of the Congress nor of other patriotic organisations out of the Congress will avail in their efforts for the attainment of Swaraj. And as national self-realization and virile existence is impossible without Swaraj, I, as a Sanyasi, should devote the rest of my life to this sacred cause—the cause of sexual purity and true national unity. Yours, etc.

Delhi, July 23, 1922. SHRADHANAND SANYASI.

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DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES APPENDIX II POLITICAL SAFEGUARDS FOR DEPRESSED CLASSES

Supplementary Memorandum on the claims of the Depressed Classes for Special Representation, submitted to the R. T. C. by Dr. Bhimrao R. Ambedkar and Rao Bahadur R. Srinivasan. IN the memorandum that was submitted by us last year dealing with the question of political safeguards for the protection of the Depressed Classes in the constitution for a self-governing India, and which forms Appendix III, to the printed volume of Proceedings of the Minorities Sub-Committee, we had demanded that special representation of the Depressed Classes must form one of such safeguards. But we did not then define the details of the special representation we claimed as being necessary for them. The reason was that the proceedings of the Minorities Sub-Committee came to an end before the question was reached. We now propose to make good the omission by this supplementary memorandum so that the Minorities Sub-Committee, if it comes to consider the question this year, should have the requisite details before it. (1) EXTENT OF SPECIAL, REPRESENTATION A. Special Representation in Provincial Legislatures. (i) In Bengal, Central Provinces, Assam, Bihar and Orissa, Punjab and the United Provinces, the Depressed Classes shall have representation in proportion to their population as estimated by the Simon Commission and the Indian Central Committee.

(ii) In Madras, the Depressed Classes shall have twenty-two per cent representation.

(iii) In Bombay:

(a) in the event of Sind continuing to be a part of the Bombay Presidency, the Depressed Classes shall have sixteen per cent, representation;

(b) in the event of Sind being separated from the Bombay Presidency the Depressed Classes shall enjoy the same degree of representation as the Presidency Muslims, both being equal in population.

B.—Special Representation in the Federal Legislature. In Both Houses of the Federal Legislature, the Depressed Classes shall have representation in proportion to their population in India. RESERVATIONS We have fixed this proportion of representation in the Legislatures on the following assumptions :—

WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : APPENDIX II

(1) We have assumed that the figures for the population of the Depressed Classes given by the Simon Commission (Vol. I, p.

40) and the Indian Central Committee (Report p. 44) will be acceptable as sufficiently correct to form a basis for distributing seats.

(2) We have assumed that the Federal Legislature will comprise the whole of India, in which case the population of the Depressed Classes in Indian States, in Centrally Administered Areas, and in Excluded Territories, besides their population in Governor’s Provinces, will form very properly an additional item in calculating the extent of representation of the Depressed Classes in the Federal Legislature.

(3) We have assumed that the administrative areas of the Provinces of British India will continue to be what they are at present. But if the assumptions regarding figures of population are challenged, as some interested parties threaten to do, and if under a new census the Depressed Classes show a lower proportion, or if the administrative areas of the Provinces are altered, resulting in disturbing the existing balance of population, the Depressed Classes reserve their right to revise their proportion of representation and even to claim weightage. In the same way, if the All-India Federation does not come into being, they will be willing to submit to readjustment in their proportion of representation calculated on that basis in the Federal Legislature. (2) METHOD OF REPRESENTATION

1. The Depressed Classes shall have the right to elect their representatives to the Provincial and Central Legislature through separate electorates of their voters.

For their representation in the Upper House of the Federal or Central Legislature, if it is decided to have indirect election by members of the Provincial Legislatures, the Depressed Classes will agree to abandon their right to separate electorates So far as their representation to the Upper House is concerned subject to this : that in any system of proportional representation arrangement shall be made to guarantee to them their quota of seats.

2. Separate electorates for the Depressed Classes shall not be liable to be replaced by a system of joint electorates and reserved seats, except when the following conditions are fulfilled :— (a) A referendum of the voters held at the demand of a majority of their representatives in the Legislatures concerned and resulting in an absolute majority of the members of the Depressed Class having the franchise.

(b) No such referendum shall be resorted to until after twenty years and until universal adult suffrage has been established,

DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES (3) NECESSITY OF DEFINING THE DEPRESSED CLASSES

The representation of the Depressed Classes has been grossly abused in the past inasmuch as persons other than the Depressed Classes were nominated to represent them in the Provincial Legislatures, and cases are not wanting in which persons not belonging to the Depressed Classes got themselves nominated as representatives of the Depressed Classes. This abuse was due to the fact that while the Governor was given the power to nominate persons to represent the Depressed Classes, he was not required to confine his nomination to persons belonging to the Depressed Classes. Since nomination is to be substituted by election under the new constitution, there will be no room for this abuse. But in order to leave no loophole for defeating the purpose of their special representation we claim (i) That the Depressed Classes shall not only have the right to their own separate electorates, but they shall also have the right to be represented by their own men.

(ii) That in each Province the Depressed Classes shall be strictly defined as meaning persons belonging to communities which are subjected to the system of Untouchability of the sort prevalent therein and which are enumerated by name in a schedule prepared for electoral purposes.

(4) NOMENCLATUBE

In dealing with this part of the question we would like to point out that the existing nomenclature of Depressed Classes is objected to by members of the Depressed Classes who have given thought to it and also by outsiders who take interest in them. It is degrading and contemptuous, and advantage may be taken of this occasion for drafting the new constitution to alter for official purposes the existing nomenclature. We think that they should be called “Non-Caste Hindus,” “Protestant Hindus,” or “Non-Conformist Hindus,” or some such designation, instead of “Depressed Classes.” We have no authority to press for any particular nomenclature. We can only suggest them, and we believe that if properly explained the Depressed Classes will not hesitate to accept the one most suitable for them. We have received a large number of telegrams from the Depressed Classes all over India supporting the demands contained in this Memorandum.

Nov. 4th 1931.

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WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : APPENDIX III APPENDIX III MINORITIES PACT

Provisions for a Settlement of the Communal Problem, put forward jointly by Muslims, Depressed Classes, Indian Christians, AngloIndians and Europeans. CLAIMS OF MINORITY COMMUNITIES

1. No person shall by reason of his origin, religion, caste or creed, be prejudiced in any way in regard to public employment, office of power or honour, or with regard to enjoyment of his civic rights and the exercise of any trade or calling.

2. Statutory safeguards shall be incorporated in the constitution with a view to protect against enactments of the Legislature of discriminatory laws affecting any community.

3. Full religious liberty, that is, full liberty of belief, worship observances, propaganda, associations and education, shall be guaranteed to all communities subject to the maintenance of public order and morality.

No person shall merely by change of faith lose any civic right or privilege, or be subject to any penalty.

4. The right to establish, manage and control, at their own expense, charitable, religious and social institutions, schools and other educational establishments with the right to exercise their religion therein.

5. The constitution shall embody adequate safeguards for the protection of religion, culture and personal law, and the promotion of education, language, charitable institutions of the minority communities and for their due share in grantsin-aid given by the State and by the self-governing bodies.

6. Enjoyment of civic rights by all citizens shall be guaranteed by making any act or omission calculated to prevent full enjoyment an offence punishable by law.

7. In the formation of Cabinets in the Central Government and Provincial Governments, so far as possible, members belonging to the Mussalman community and other minorities of considerable number shall be included by convention.

8. There shall be Statutory Departments under the Central and Provincial Governments to protect minority communities and to promote their welfare.

9. All communities at present enjoying representation in any Legislature through nomination or election shall have representation in all Legislatures through separate electorates and the minorities

DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES

shall have not less than the proportion set forth in the Annexure but no majority shall be reduced to a minority or even an equality. Provided that after a lapse of ten years it will be open to Muslims in Punjab and Bengal and any minority communities in any other Provinces to accept joint electorates, or joint electorates with reservation of seats, by the consent of the community concerned. Similarly after the lapse of ten years, it will be open to any minority in the Central Legislature to accept joint electorates with or without reservation of seats with the consent of the community concerned.

With regard to the Depressed Classes, no change to joint electorates and reserved seats shall be made until after 20 years’ experience of separate electorates and until direct adult suffrage for the community has been established.

10. In every Province and in connection with the Central Government, a Public Services Commission shall be appointed, and the recruitment to the Public Services, except the proportion, if any, reserved to be filled by nomination by the Governor-General and the Governors, shall be made through such commission in such a way as to secure a fair representation to the various communities consistently with the considerations of efficiency and the possession of the necessary qualifications. Instructions to the Governor-General and the Governors in the Instrument of Instructions with regard to recruitment shall be embodied to give effect to this principle, and for that purpose to review periodically the composition of the Services.

11. If a Bill is passed which, in the opinion of two-thirds of the members of any Legislature representing a particular community, affects their religion or social practice based on religion, or in the case of fundamental rights of the subjects if one-third of the members object, it shall be open to such members to lodge their objection thereto, within a period of one month of the Bill being passed by the House, with the President of the House who shall forward the same to the Governor-General or the Governor, as the case may be, and he shall thereupon suspend the operation of that Bill for one year, upon the expiry of which period he shall remit the said Bill for further consideration by the Legislature. When such Bill has been further considered by the Legislature and the Legislature concerned has refused to revise or modify the Bill so as to meet the objection thereto, the Governor-General or the Governor, as the case may be, may give or withhold his assent to it in the exercise of his discretion, provided, further, that the validity of such Bill may be challenged in the Supreme Court by any two members of the denomination affected thereby on the ground that it contravened one of their fundamental rights.

WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : APPENDIX III SPECIAL CLAIMS OF MUSSULMANS

A. The North-West Frontier Province shall be constituted a Governor’s Province on the same footing as other Provinces with due regard to the necessary requirements for the security of the Frontier. In the formation of the Provincial Legislature, the nominations shall not exceed more than 10 per cent. of the whole. B.—Sind shall be separated from the Bombay Presidency and made a Governor’s Province similar to and on the same footing as other Provinces in British India.

C.—Mussulman representation in the Central Legislature shall be one-third of the total number of the House, and their representation in the Central Legislature shall not be less than the proportion set forth in the Annexure.

SPECIAL CLAIMS OF THE DEPRESSED CLASSES

A.—The constitution shall declare invalid any custom or usage by which any penalty or disadvantage or disability is imposed : upon or any discrimination is made against any subject of the State in regard to the enjoyment of the civic rights on account of Untouchability. B. Generous treatment in the matter of recruitment to Public Services and the opening of enlistment in the Police and Military Service.

C.—The Depressed Classes in the Punjab shall have the benefit of the Punjab Land Alienation Act extended to them. D.—Right of Appeal shall lie to the Governor or Governor or General for redress of prejudicial action or neglect of interest by any Executive Authority.

E.—The Depressed Classes shall have representation not less than set forth in the Annexure.

SPECIAL CLAIMS OF THE ANGLO-INDIAN COMMUNITY

A.—Generous interpretation of the claims admitted by SubCommittee No. VIII (Services) to the effect that in recognition of the peculiar position of the community, special consideration should be given to the claim for public employment, having, regard to the maintenance of an adequate standard of living.

B.—The right to administer and control its own educational institutions, i.e. European education, subject to the control of the Minister.

Provisions for generous and adequate grants-in-aid and scholarship on the basis of present grants.

C.—Jury rights equal to those enjoyed by other communities in India unconditionally of proof of legitimacy and descent and the

DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES

ANNEXURE–Representation in Legislatures.

Figures in brackets = Population basis 1931 figures and depressed percentages as per Simon Report — Strength of Chamber Hindu Muslims Christians Sikhs Anglo- Indians Tribal, etc. Euro- peans RemarksCaste Depressed Total CENTRE All India (1931) (47.5) (19)* (66.5) (21.5) *Represents percentage in Governor’s Provinces of B.I. Upper ... 200 101 20 121 67 1 6 1 — 4 Lower ... … 300 123 45 168 100 7 10 3 — 12 (48.9) (13.4) (62.3) (34.8) *Pop. figures exclude Tribal Areas.Assam ... *100 38 13 51 35 3 — 1 — 10 (18.3) (24.7) (43) (54.9)

Bengal … 200 38 35 73 102 2 — 3 — 20 (67.8) (14.5) (82.3) (11.3)

Bihar & Orissa 100 51 14 65 25 1 — 1 3 5 Bombay ... 200 (68) 88 (8) 28 (76) 116 (20) 66 2 — 3 — 13 On Sind being separated weightage to Mussulmans in Bombay to be on the same. footing as to the Hindus in the N.F.W.P.

(63.1) (23.7) (86.8) (44)

C. P. ... ... 100 58 20 78 15 1 — 2 2 2

(71.3) (15.4) (86.7) (7.1) (3.7)

Madras ... 200 102 40 142 30 14 — 4 2 -8 (15.1) (13.5) (28.6) (56.5) (13)

Punjab ... 100 14 10 24 51 1.5 20 1.5 — 2 (58.1) (26.4) (84.5) (14.8)

U. P. ... ... 100 44 20 64 30 1 — 2 — 3

Sind & N.W.F.P. Weightage similar to that enjoyed by the Mussulmans in the Provinces in which they constitute a minority of the population, shall be given to the Hindu minority in Sind and to the Hindu and Sikh minorities in the N.W.F.P.

WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : APPENDIX IV

right of accused persons to claim trial by either a European or an Indian jury.

SPECIAL C LAIMS OF THE EUROPEAN C OMMUNITY

A.—Equal rights and privileges to those enjoyed by Indianborn subjects in all industrial and commercial activities. B.—The maintenance of existing rights in regard to procedure of criminal trials, and any measure or bill to amend, alter, or modify such a procedure cannot be introduced except with the previous consent of the Governor-General.

Agreed by:— HIS HIGHNESS THE AGA K HAN (Muslims)

DR. AMBEDKAR (Depressed Classes)

RAO BAHADUR PANNIR SELVAM (Indian Christians)

SIR HENRY GIDNEY (Anglo-Indians)

SIR HUBERT C ARR (Europeans).

APPENDIX IV STATEMENT BY B. R. AMBEDKAR ON GANDHI’S FAST

Statement on Mr. Gandhi’s attitude at the Round Table Conference to the Untouchables and their demand for Constitutional Safeguards, 19th September 1932. I need hardly say that I was astounded to read the correspondence between Mahatma Gandhi, Sir Samuel Hoare and the Prime Minister, which was published recently in the Papers, in which he has expressed his determination to starve himself unto death till the British Government of its own accord or under pressure of public opinion revise their opinion and withdraw their scheme of communal representation for the Depressed Classes. The unenviable position, in which I have been placed by the Mahatma’s vow of self-immolation, can easily be imagined.

It passes my comprehension why Mr. Gandhi should stake his life on an issue arising out of the communal question which he, at the Round Table Conference, said was one of a comparatively small importance. Indeed, to adopt the language of those of Mr. Gandhi’s way of thinking, the communal question was only, an appendix to the book of India’s constitution and not the main chapter. It would have been justifiable, if Mr. Gandhi had resorted to this ‘extreme step for obtaining independence for the country on which he was so insistent all through the R. T. C. debates. It is also a

DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES

painful surprise that Mr. Gandhi should single out special representation for the Depressed Classes in the Communal Award as an excuse for his self-immolation. Separate electorates are granted not only to the Depressed Classes, but to the Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans, as well as to the Mahomedans and the Sikhs. Also separate electorates are granted to landlords, labourers and traders. Mr. Gandhi had declared his opposition to the special representation of every other class and creed except the Mahomedans and the Sikhs. All the same, Mr. Gandhi chooses to let everybody else except the Depressed Classes retain !he special electorates given to them.

The fears expressed by Mr. Gandhi about the consequences of the arrangements for the representation of the Depressed Classes are, in my opinion, purely imaginary. If the nation is not going to be split up by separate electorates to the Mahomedans and the Sikhs, the Hindu society cannot be said to be split up if the Depressed Classes are given separate electorates. His conscience is not aroused if the nation is split by the arrangements of Special Electorates for classes and communities other than the Depressed Classes. I am sure many have felt that if there was any class which deserved to be given special political rights in order to protect itself against the tyranny of the majority under the Swaraj constitution it was the Depressed Classes. Here is a class which is undoubtedly not in a position to sustain itself in the struggle for existence. The religion to which they are tied, instead of providing for them an honourable place, brands them as lepers, not fit for ordinary intercourse. Economically, it is a class entirely dependent upon the high-caste’ Hindus for earning its daily bread with no independent way of living open to it. Nor are all ways closed by reason of the social prejudices of the Hindus but there is a definite attempt all throughout the Hindu Society to bolt every possible door so as not to allow the Depressed Gasses any opportunity to rise in the scale of life. Indeed it would not be an exaggeration to say that in every village the caste Hindus, however divided among themselves, are always in a standing conspiracy to put down in a merciless manner any attempt on the part of the Depressed Classes who form a small and scattered body of an ordinary Indian citizen. In these circumstances, it would be granted by all fair-minded persons that as the only path for a community so handicapped to succeed in the struggle for life against organised tyranny, some share of political power in order that it may protect itself is a paramount necessity.

I should have thought that a well-wisher of the Depressed Classes would have fought tooth and nail for securing to them as much political power as might be possible in the new Constitution. But the Mahatma’s ways of thinking are strange and are certainly

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beyond my comprehension. He not only does not endeavour to augment the scanty political power which the Depressed Classes have got under the Communal Award, but on the contrary he has staked his very life in order to deprive them of little they have got. This is not the first attempt on the part of the Mahatma to completely dish the Depressed Classes out of political existence. Long before, there was the Minorities Pact. The Mahatma tried to enter into an agreement with the Muslims and the Congress. He offered to the Muslims all the fourteen claims which they had put forth on their behalf, and in return asked them to join with him in resisting the claims for social representation made by me on behalf of the Depressed Classes. It must be said to the credit of the Muslim delegates, that they refused to be a party to such a black act, and saved the Depressed Class from what might as well have developed into a calamity for them as a result of the combined opposition of the Mahommedans and Mr. Gandhi.

I am unable to understand the ground of hostility of Mr. Gandhi to the Communal Award. He says that the Communal Award has separated the Depressed Classes from the Hindu Community. On the other hand, Dr. Moonje, a much stronger protagonist of the Hindu case and a militant advocate of its interests, takes a totally different view of the matter. In the speeches which he has been delivering since his arrival from London, Dr. Moonje has been insisting that the Communal Award does not create any separation between the Depressed Class and the Hindus. Indeed, he has been boasting that he has defeated me in my attempt to politically separate the Depressed Class from the Hindus. I am sure that Dr. Moonje is right in his interpretation of the Communal Award although, I am not sure that the credit of it can legitimately go to Dr. Moonje. It is therefore surprising that Mahatma Gandhi who is a nationalist and not known to be a communalist should read the Communal Award, in so far as it relates to the Depressed Class, in a manner quite contrary to that of a communalists like Dr. Moonje. If Dr. Moonje does not sense any separation of the Depressed Classes from the Hindus in the Communal Award the Mahatma ought to feel quite satisfied on that score.

In my opinion, that Communal Award should not only satisfy the Hindus, but also satisfy those individuals among the Depressed Classes such as Rao Bahadur Rajah, Mr. Baloo or Mr. Govai, who are in favour of Joint Electorates. Mr. Rajah’s fulminations in the Assembly have amused me considerably. An intense supporter of Separate Electorates and the bitterest and the most vehement critic of caste Hindu tyranny, now professes faith in the Joint Electorates and love for the Hindus! How much of that is due to his natural desire to resuscitate himself from the oblivion in which he was cast

DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES

by his being kept out of the Round Table Conference and how much of it is to his honest change of faith, I do not propose to discuss. The points on which Mr. Rajah is harping by way of criticism on the Communal Award are two: One is that the Depressed Classes have gained lesser number of seats than they are entitled to on the population basis, and the other is that the Depressed Classes have been separated from the Hindu fold.

I agree in his first grievance, but when the Rao Bahadur begins to accuse those who represented the Depressed Classes at the R. T. C. for having sold their rights, I am bound to point out what Mr. Rajah did as a member of the Indian Central Committee. In that Committee’s report, the Depressed Classes were given in Madras 10 seats out of 150 ; in Bombay 8 seats out of 14; in Bengal 8 seats out of 200 ; in U. P. 8 seats out of 182; in the Punjab 6 seats out of 150 ; in Behar and Orissa 6 out of 150; in C. P. 8 out of 125 and in Assam, 9 seats for the Depressed Classes and the indigenous and primitive races out of 75. I do not wish to overburden this statement by pointing out how this distribution compares with the population ratio. But there can be no doubt that this meant a terrible under-representation of the Depressed Classes. To this distribution of seats Mr. Rajah was a party. Surely, Mr. Rajah, before he criticises the Communal Award and accuses others, should refresh his memory of what he accepted as Member of the Indian Central Committee on behalf of the Depressed Classes without any protest. If the population ratio of representation was to him a natural right of Depressed Classes and its full realisation was a necessity for their protection, why did not Mr. Rajah insist upon it in the Central Committee when he had an opportunity to do so? As to his contention that in the Communal Award, the Depressed Classes have been separated from the caste Hindus, it is a view to which I cannot subscribe. If Mr. Rajah has any conscientious objection to separate Electorates, there is no compulsion on him to stand as a candidate in the Separate Electorates. The opportunity to stand as a candidate in the general electorate as well as the right to vote in it are there, and Mr. Rajah is free to avail himself of the same. Mr. Rajah is crying at the top of his voice to assure to the . Depressed Classes that there is a complete change of heart on the part of the Caste Hindus towards the Depressed Class. He will have the opportunity to prove that fact to the satisfaction of the Depressed Class, who are not prepared to take his word by getting himself elected in the general constituency. The Hindus, who profess love and sympathy for the Depressed Classes, will have also an opportunity to prove their bona fides by electing Mr. Rajah to the legislature. The Communal Award, therefore, in my opinion, satisfied both those who want separate Electorates and those who want joint Electorates. In this sense, it is already a compromise and should be

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accepted as it is. As to the Mahatma, I do not know what he wants. It is assumed that although Mahatma Gandhi is opposed to the system of separate electorates, he is not opposed to the system of Joint Electorates and Reserved Seats. That is a gross error. Whatever his views are today, while in London he was totally opposed to any system of Special representation for the Depressed Classes whether by joint Electorates or by Separate Electorates. Beyond the right to vote in a general electorate based upon Adult Suffrage, he was not prepared to concede anything to the Depressed Classes by way of securing their representation in the legislatures. This was the position he had taken at first. Towards the end of the R. T. C. he suggested to me a scheme, which he said, he was prepared to consider. The scheme was purely conventional without any constitutional sanction behind it and without any single seat being reserved for the Depressed Classes in the electoral law. The scheme was as follows;

Depressed Class candidates might stand in the general electorate as against other high caste Hindu candidates. If any Depressed Class Candidate was defeated in the election, he should file an election petition and obtain the verdict that he was defeated because he was an Untouchable. If such a decision was obtained, the Mahatma said he would undertake to induce some Hindu members to resign and thus create a vacancy. There would be then another election in which the defeated Depressed Class candidate or any other Depressed Class candidate might again try his luck as against the Hindu candidates. Should he be defeated again, he should get similar verdict that he was defeated because he was an Untouchable and so on ad infinitum. I am disclosing these facts as some people are even now under the impression that the Joint Electorates and Reserved Seats would satisfy the conscience of the Mahatma. This will show why I insist that there is no use discussing the question until the actual proposals of the Mahatma are put forth. I must, however, point out that I cannot accept the assurances of the Mahatma that he and his Congress will do the needful. I cannot leave so important a question as the protection of my people to conventions and understandings. The Mahatma is not an immortal person, and the Congress, assuming it is not a malevolent force, is not to have an abiding existence. There have been many Mahatmas in India whose sole object was to remove Untouchability and to elevate and absorb the Depressed Classes, but every one of them has failed in his mission. Mahatmas have come and Mahatmas have gone. But the Untouchables have remained as Untouchables. I have enough experience of the pace of Reform and the faith of Hindu reformers in the conflicts that have taken place at Mahad and Nasik, to say that no well-wisher of the Depressed Classes will

DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES

ever consent to allow the uplift of the Depressed Classes to rest upon such treacherous shoulders. Reformers who in moments of crises prefer to sacrifice their principles rather than hurt the feelings of their kindred can be of no use to the Depressed Classes. I am therefore bound to insist upon a Statutory guarantee for the protection of my people. If Mr. Gandhi wishes to have the Communal Award altered, it is for him to put forth his proposals and to prove that they give a better guarantee than has been given to us under the Award.

I hope that the Mahatma will desist from carrying out the extreme step contemplated by him. We mean no harm to the Hindu society when we demand separate electorates. If we choose separate electorates, we do so in order to avoid the total dependence on the sweet will of the Caste Hindus in matters affecting our destiny. Like the Mahatma we also claim our right to err, and we expect him not to deprive us of that right. His determination to fast himself unto death is worthy of a far better cause. I could have understood the propriety of the Mahatma contemplating such extreme step for stopping riots between Hindus and Mohammedans or between the Depressed Classes and the Hindus or any other national cause. It certainly cannot improve the lot of the Depressed Classes. Whether he knows it or not, the Mahatma’s act will result in nothing but terrorism by his followers against the Depressed Classes all over the country. Coercion of this sort will not win the Depressed Classes to the Hindu fold if they are determined to go out. And if the Mahatma chooses to ask the Depressed Classes to make a choice between Hindu faith and possession of political power, I am quite sure that the Depressed Classes will choose political power and save the Mahatma from self-immolation. If Mr. Gandhi coolly reflects on the consequences of his act, I very much doubt whether he will find this victory worth having. It is still more important to note that the Mahatma is releasing reactionary and uncontrollable forces, and is fostering the spirit of hatred between the Hindu Community and the Depressed Classes by resorting to this method and thereby widening the existing gulf between the two. When I opposed Mr. Gandhi at the R. T. C, there was a hue and cry against me in the country and there was a conspiracy in the so-called nationalist press to represent me as a traitor to the nationalist cause, to suppress correspondence coming from my side and to boost the propaganda against my party by publishing exaggerated reports of meetings and conferences, many of which were never held. “Silver bullets” were freely used for creating divisions in the ranks of the Depressed Classes. There have been also a few clashes ending in violence.

If the Mahatma does not want all this to be repeated on a larger scale, let him, for God’s sake, reconsider his decision and avert the

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disastrous consequences. I believe the Mahatma does not want this. But if he does not desist, in spite of his wishes these consequences are sure to follow as night follows the day.

Before concluding this statement, I desire to assure the public that although I am entitled to say that I regard the matter as closed, I am prepared to consider the proposals of the Mahatma. I however trust the Mahatma will not drive me to the necessity of making a choice between his life and the rights of my people. For I can never consent to deliver my people bound hand and foot to the Caste Hindus for generations to come. B. R. AMBEDKAR.

APPENDIX V TEMPLE ENTRY IN TRAVANCORE

His Highness the Maharaja of Travancore issued a Proclamation on the 12th November 1936 opening the Temples in the State to the Untouchables. The Proclamation reads as follows :— “Profoundly convinced of the truth and validity of our religion, believing that it is based on divine guidance and on all-comprehending toleration, knowing that in its practice it has throughout the centuries adapted itself to the need of the changing times, solicitous that none of our Hindu subjects should, by reason of birth, caste or community, be denied the consolation and solace of the Hindu faith, we have decided and hereby declare, ordain and command that, subject to such rules and conditions as may be laid down and imposed by us for preserving their proper atmosphere and maintaining their rituals and observances, there should henceforth be no restriction placed on any Hindu by birth or religion on entering or worshipping at temples controlled by us and our Government.”

A great lot has been made by the Congressmen and by Mr. Gandhi about this Proclamation. It is regarded as heralding the birth of a new conscience in the Hindu world. I don’t feel quite so sure of this. At any rate there are facts on the other side, which are worth bearing in mind.

The proclamation was issued by the Maharaja of Travancore in his name. But the real active force behind the scene was the Prime Minister, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer. It is his motives that we must understand. In 1932, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer was also the Prime Minister of Travancore. In 1932, when Mr. Gandhi had raised a controversy over the entry of the Untouchables into the

DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES

Guruvayur Temple, Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer had taken part in the controversy on the side of those who were against Temple Entry. In the course of this controversy, Sir C P. Ramaswamy Iyer issued a statement 1 to the Press. This is what he said : “Personally I do not observe caste rules. I realise there are strong, though not very articulate, feelings in this matter in the minds of men who believe that the present system of temple worship and its details are based on divine ordinances. The problem can be permanently solved only by a process of mutual adjustment and by the awakening of religious and social leaders of Hindu society to the realities of the present situation and to the need for preserving the solidarity of the Hindu community. “Shock tactics will not answer the purpose and direct action will be even more fatal is this sphere than in the political. I have the misfortune to differ from Mr. Gandhi when he says that the problem of temple-entry can be divorced from such topics as interdining and I agree with Dr. Ambedkar that the social and economic uplift of the Depressed Classes should be our immediate and urgent programme.”

This statement shows that in 1933 spiritual considerations did not move Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer. Spiritual considerations have become operative after 1933. What made Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer take a different view in 1936 ? What had happened in Travancore in 1936 to compel this change of opinion ? It may be recalled that in 1936, there was held in Travancore a Conference of the Yezawa Community. The Yezawas are an Untouchable community spread over Malabar. It is an educated community and economically quite strong. It is also a vocal community and has been carrying on agitation in the State against social and religious disabilities. The Conference was held to consider whether the Yezawas should not abandon the Hindu Religion in favour of some other religion. 2 The Yezawas form a very large community. The cessation of so large a community would be death-knell to the Hindus and the Conference had made the danger real.

It may not be far fetched to say that the Proclamation was issued to forestall this danger. If this is correct, there is very little spiritual substance behind the proclamation. It must not be forgotten that Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer has his own way of giving spiritual colouring to a material act. The Brahmins have been, in accordance with the Hindu Law, exempt from capital punishment which applied to all Brahmins. This was a very glaring case of discrimination. Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer very recently announced the abolition 1 Times of India dated November 10, 1932.

2 This was in pursuance of the decision taken at Yeola in 1935 under my chairmanship.

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of capital punishment in Travancore State and took credit for Having carried out a great humanitarian Reform. As a matter of fact, the object was really preventing the Brahmin from being brought under the guillotine in obedience to the principle of equality before law.

How far did this Proclamation change facts and how far it has remained a show ? It is not possible to get real facts as they exist in Travancore. In the course of the discussion on the Malabar Temple Entry Bill in the Madras Legislatives Assembly, certain facts relating to Travancore were mentioned by Sir T. Pannirselvam which, if true, would show that the whole thing is hollow. Sir T. Pannirselvam said :— “One of the arguments advanced by the Premier in support of the measure was that temples in Travancore had been thrown open to the ‘Untouchables.’ A Maharaja vested with autocratic powers did so by an order. But how was it working there ? From representations received, he was led to believe that after the first flush of enthusiasm, Harijans had left off going to temples, and people who used to worship previously before Harijans were allowed to enter the temples, had stopped worshipping in temples. He would ask the Government to tell them if the measure was really a success in Travancore.”

On the third reading of the Bill, Sir T. Pannirselvam made a statement which must have come as a surprise to many. He said : “He wanted to know whether it was a fact that the private temples of the Senior Maharani were excluded from the Proclamation. What was the reason for it ? Again during the celebration of the marriage of the daughter of the Senior Maharani, it was found necessary, so he was told, to perform purificatory ceremony of the temple. If such a purification of temples took place, what happened to the Proclamation ?” These facts were not challenged by anybody, either by Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer or C. Rajagopalachariar. Evidently, they cannot be challenged. If they are incontrovertible, then the less said about the Malabar Temple Entry Proclamation as a spiritual testament, the better.

Is this Temple Entry in Travancore the be-all and end-all of the social reform in Travancore ? Is there to be just Temple Entry and no further or is it going to lead to equality in the matter of religious status ? Will, for instance, the Devastan Department be placed in the hands of the. Untouchables and the Shudras ? Nine years since the Proclamation have passed, there has been no move in democratization of religion in Travancore.

Will the Untouchables of Travancore have to pay for Temple Entry ? I am not in a position to say. But I like to reproduce