Vol. 17, Part I · pages 101–105

76 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES “Of what good is such a Government to anybody ?” he asked the Conference. At this the British representatives looked at one another. There was a stir among the Indian representatives. “It was a Government,” continued Dr. Ambedkar, “which did realize that the capitalists were denying the workers a living wage and decent conditions of work and which did realize that the landlords were squeezing the masses dry, and yet it did not remove social evils that blighted the lives of the down-trodden classes for several years. Although it had,” he proceeded, “the legal powers to remove these evils, it did not amend the existing code of social and economic life, because it was afraid that its intervention would give rise to resistance.” He threrefore, declared : We must have a Government in which the men in power will give their undivided allegiance to the best interests of the country. We must have a Government in which men in power, knowing where obedience will end and resistance will begin, will not be afraid to amend the social and economic ‘ code of life which the dictates of justice and expendiency so urgently call for.” Dr. Ambedkar upheld the demand for Dominion Status, but expressed doubts as to whether the Depressed Classes would be heir to it unless the political machinery for the new constitution was of a special make. While making that constitution, it should be noted, he observed, that the Indian society which was formed with an ascending scale of reverence and a descending scale of contempt and was a gradation of castes, gave no scope for the growth of the sentiment of equality and fraternity, and the intelligentsia which came of the upper strata and conducted political movements had not shed its narrow particularism of castes. Hence he asserted : “We feel nobody can remove our grievances as well as we can, and we cannot remove them unless we get political powers in our own hands. I am afraid the Depressed Classes have waited too long for time to work its miracle!” Referring to the Indian deadlock, he recalled the memorable words of Edmund Burke whom he called the greatest teacher of political philosophy that “ the use of force is but temporary”

77ROLE OF ......................... INDIAN DEMOCRACY Concluding his brilliant speech, he sounded a great warning to the British Government and to those who were engaged in the “battle of wits” in the Conference : I am afraid it is not sufficiently realized that in the present temper of the country, no constitution will be workable which is not acceptable to the majority of the people. The time when you were to choose and India was to accept is gone, never to return. Let the consent of the people and not the accident of logic be the touchstone of your new constitution, if you desire that it should be worked.” * # The fearless tone and the bold criticism in the speech had a wonderful effect upon the Conference. The frankness and fearlessness with which Dr. Ambedkar lucidly put the facts before the Conference impressed the delegates immensely, and they congratulated him on his brilliant speech. It created a good impression upon the British Premier. The Indian Daily Mail described this speech as one of the finest bits of oratory during the whole Conference. One man in the Conference was extremely pleased with his speech. He returned to his kingly residence full of admiration, satisfaction and high appreciation; and with joyful tears in his eyes, he told his princely wife that their efforts and the money they had spent on the speaker of the day were all realised. It was an achievement, a glorious success ! This admirer was nobody else than His Highness the Maharaja of Baroda who invited Dr. Ambedkar to a special dinner given by him in London to his choice friends. It was a strange freak of destiny that Gaekwad and Ambedkar should meet after years of estrangement in a melodramatic situation. The effect of this powerful speech of Dr. Ambedkar was tremendous on the newspapers also. The English newspapers and pressmen devoted their attention to the leader of the Depressed Classes and English statesmen, like Lord Sydenham, O’Dwyer and others, who had bitterly criticized Dr. Ambedkar’s Nagpur speech in the Spectator, were now thoroughly convinced that Dr. Ambedkar was a nationalist; and so they began to whisper * Indian Round Table Conference, 1930-31, Proceedings Pp. 123-29. #Speeches of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in R.T.C. See Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches Vol. 2—Editors.

78 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES that he also was one of the revolutionary leaders of India. Some of the English statesmen confidentially asked A. B. Latthe whether Dr. Ambedkar belonged to the revolutionary camp. And this inquiry on the part of the British statesmen was not unexpected. It may be recalled how the British secret police had taken a full search of Dr. Ambedkar when he landed in Britain, in 1917 from America. During the early period of the Conference, there was an attempt made by the Liberal leaders—Sapru, Sastri and Satalvad, to reach an agreement with the Muslim delegates on the communal question. The Hindu delegates held meetings at the residence of Sir Cowasji Jehangir under the Chairmanship of Sastri to discuss the possibility of a compromise with the Muslim delegates. Moonje and Jayakar expressed the view that such a settlement would be possible after the grant of Dominion Status. The Liberal leaders—Jayakar, Moonje and Ambedkar held parleys with the Nawab of Bhopal, the Aga Khan, Jinnah and others at the residence of the Nawab of Bhopal, but the talks broke down over the Muslim demand for separation of Sind which was solidly opposed by Moonje and Jayakar. Besides, the Muslim leaders were not prepared to grant the same proportion of reserved seats to the Hindus and Sikhs in Muslim majority Provinces as they asked for themselves in others Provinces. After the general discussion in the plenary session, the Conference appointed nine sub committees and Dr. Ambedkar found himself a Member of almost all the important subcommittees except the Federal Structure Committee. He served on the Minorities Sub-Committee, the Provincial Sub-Committee and the Services Sub-Committee with the great luminaries from India and England. In the course of the discussion on the report of the Provincial Sub-Committee, Dr. Ambedkar supported Chintamani’s view that it was absolutely unnecessary and undesirable to have a Second Chamber in any province in India. While the report of the Defence Committee was being discussed, Dr. Ambedkar pleaded that the recruitment to the Army should be upon to all Indians consistently with the considerations of efficiency and the possession of the necessary qualifications.

79ROLE OF ......................... INDIAN DEMOCRACY The most important work Dr. Ambedkar did to achieve his goal was the preparation of the Declaration of Fundamental Rights, safeguarding the cultural, religious and economic rights of the Depressed Classes. He prepared the scheme with great labour and statesmanship, and submitted it to the Minorities Subcommittee for being included in the future constitution of India. The title of the scheme was : ‘A Scheme of Political Safeguards for the Protection of the Depressed Classes in the Future Constitution of a self-governing India.” 1 The text of the Memorandum alongwith its background framed by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is as follows—Editors. “On the 12th November 1930, His late Magesty King George V formally inaugurated the Indian Round Table Conference. From the point of view of Indians the Round Table Conference was an event of great significance. Its significance lay in the recognition by His Majesty’s Government of the right of Indians to be consulted in the matter of framing a constitution for India. For the Untouchables it was a landmark in their history. For, the Untouchables were for the first time allowed to be represented separately by two delegates who happened to be myself and Dewan Bahadur R. Srinivasan. This meant that the Untouchables were regarded not merely a separate element from the Hindus but also of such importance as to have the right to be consulted in the framing of a constitution for India. The work of the Conference was distributed among nine Committees. One of these Committees was called the Minorities Committee to which was assigned the most difficult work of finding a solution of the Communal question. Anticipating that this Committee was the most important committee the Prime Minister, the late Mr. Ramsay Mac Donald, himself assumed its chairmanship. The proceedings of the Minorities Committee are of the greatest importance to the Untouchables. For, much of what happened between the Congress and the Untouchables and which has led to bitterness between them will be found in the proceedings of that Committee. 1 : Keer, Pp. 144-153.

80 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES When the Round Table Conference met the political demands of communities other than the Untouchables were quite well known. Indeed the Constitution of 1919 had recognized them as statutory minorities and provisions relating to their safety and security were embodied in it. In their case the question was of expanding those provisions or altering their shape. With regard to the Depressed Classes the position was different. The Montagu-Chelmsford report which preceded the Constitution of 1919 had said in quite unmistakable terms that provision must be made in the Constitution for their protection. But unfortunately when the details of the Constitution were framed, the Government of India found it difficult to devise any provisions for their protection except to give them token representation in the legislatures by nomination. The first thing that was required to be done was to formulate the safeguards deemed necessary by the Untouchables for their protection against the tyranny and oppression of the Hindus. This I did by submitting a Memorandum to the Minorities Committee of the Round Table Conference. To give an idea of the safeguards that were formulated by me, I reproduce below the text of the Memorandum:— A Scheme of Political Safeguards for the Protection of the Depressed Classes in the Future Constitution of a self-governing India, submitted to the Indian Round Table Conference. The following are the terms and conditions on which the Depressed Classes will consent to place themselves under a majority rule in a self-governing India. Condition No 1: EQUAL CITIZENSHIP The Depressed Classes cannot consent to subject themselves to majority rule in their present state of hereditary bondsmen. Before majority rule is established then emancipation from the system of Untouchability must be an accomplished fact. It must not be left to the will of the majority. The Depressed Classes must be made free citizens entitled to all the rights of citizenship in common with other citizens of the State.