22. सर्व पक्षांमध्ये सहकार्याची भावना निर्माण करण्यासाठी आपण भारतात काम केले पाहिजे

WE MUST WORK IN INDIA FOR CREATING CO-OPERATIVE SPIRIT AMONG ALL PARTIES

“London, October 22, 1946. (Reuter)

In the course of an interview to Reuter’s Correspondent on the Indian constitutional situation, Dr. Ambedkar said : “It is quite definite that they are not friends, they are not even allies.” He added, “We know people who are allies though not friends, but the Muslim League and the Congress Party have gone into the Provisional Government as adversaries. What can we expect ? One can hardly call that a coalition. It is really, in a sense, Government of one country by two nations” Dr. Ambedkar said that this was not the time for party Government in India. “We are practically in the midst of a Civil war”, he asserted. “You may not like to call it a civil war, but that is the spirit behind it. At this time there should be a real coalition Government consisting of all parties at the Centre just as you in Britain had during the war. I think the coming ten years are so critical in the destiny of India that unless all parties work together we will not be able to put the country any way you like.”

“We must remember that we shall have to create such a feeling in India,” continued Dr. Ambedkar.

“Hereafter, there will be no such thing in India as section 93 of the Government of India Act of 1935. Section 93 was really a Constitutional brake upon anarchy, however, much it was hated by the people.” Dr. Ambedkar said and added : “There will be no British troops. It is in the light of these circumstances that we must work in India for the purpose of creating that co-operative spirit among all parties and people that alone can help us in future.”

Dr. Ambedkar confessed himself unhappy both about the present and the future. “After all,” he asked, “What had we achieved and what is it that the future has in prospect?— two nations dividing the country geographically into three fragments.”

“Which way does hope lie?” I asked Dr. Ambedkar.

“I have no idea,” he answered, “but if I had arranged matters I would have proposed reintroduction of the Government of India Act of 1935.”

“That Act,” he said “presupposed a United India and it might have altered the communal part of the situation in a manner that would have given a greater protection to certain minorities who felt they did not have enough protection.” “Then I would have said, work for the United Constitution for ten years. At the end of ten years, have a Constituent Assembly and divide country any way you like.” “If the British had done that,” declared Dr. Ambedkar, “they could have said our greatest achievement has been the unity of India, and although we have made many mistakes and done many wrongs, the unity we have achieved has more than compensated for the wrongs and errors of 150 years and we intended to handover the inheritance intact.” “I have come over on a political mission to see Prime Minister Clement Atlee, Mr. Winston Churchill, and others,” Dr. Ambedkar said, “ I want to put my point of view with what success I cannot say, as to the injustice the Cabinet Mission and the Labour Party have done to the Scheduled Castes. I think personally the Cabinet Mission was misinformed.” Now, concluded Dr. Ambedkar, “in the reconstituted Indian Provisional Government, we have the Labour Government instead of allowing the Scheduled Castes to be nursed by their own mother that is by having two representatives in the Cabinet appointed two wet-nurses in shape of Mr. Jinnah and Mr. Gandhi.”

Dr. Ambedkar is having a memorandum printed setting out the case for the Scheduled Castes and will wait until this is ready before approaching political leaders.” 1 zz

1. : The Bombay Chronicle, dated 24th October 1946.