Vol. 17, Part I · pages 381–385

356 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES why the Hindus should find any difficulty in absorbing them socially in their fold. It can’t prevent them from having intermarriage or inter-dinning and, therefore, the whole attitude of the Congress towards the demand of the Scheduled Castes for separate representation is marked by ignorance and obstinacy.” Commenting on a recent statement made by Rev, Gordon Livingston in which he suggested Untouchables should embrace Christianity rather than Islam, Dr. Ambedkar made the following observations : HINDUISM ’ S SHORTCOMINGS “The thinking section among the Untouchables are convinced that Hinduism, as it exists today, does not furnish to the Untouchables the sort of spiritual home and social communion which religion is intended to furnish to men. “Secondly, the thinking portion of the Scheduled Castes is of the opinion that it is not easy to uproot humanity as one can uproot and transplant from one soil and to another. It is a difficult operation and cannot be treated as adventure. It has to be a planned action which would take time to formulate and carry out. “Thirdly, the Untouchables feel that probably–although they have grave doubts in the matter–Hinduism in the course of time will so reform itself that it may become acceptable, and the Untouchables are, therefore, prepared to stay on where they are, provided that during the interval the Untouchables get enough political safeguards so as to withstand the cruelty oppression and injustice that is inherent in Hinduism and from which they have been suffering all these ages, and from which they apprehend they will suffer more than they have if the Hindu majority obtains calumniated political power in its own hands such as would be the case if India become completely independent. If the Hindus refuse to recognise this situation, and does not grant the Untouchables political safeguards they want, I have no doubt that conversion to some other religion by the Untouchables would become an emergent issue.

357HINDUS ALWAYS............HINDU SOCIETY WHICH RELIGION FOR UNTOUCHABLES ? “Fourthly, although the thinking portion of the Scheduled Castes are agreed to leave Hinduism I cannot say that there is complete agreement as to which religion they should embrace. The matter is still open. “Finally, with regard to the question whether Christians should accept the 50,000,000 Untouchables into their fold without a period of preparatory training (as suggested by Rev. Livingston), I should like to say that those who make that objection do not seem to realise that the conversion of the Untouchables would be the only instance in history of a real conversion. Today religion among Christian as well as Non-Christians, is a mere matter of inheritance. The Christian inherits his father’s property and along with it his father’s religion. He never stops to contrast Christianity with other religions and make his own judgement as to its spiritual value. And historically conversions of Christianity have always been mass conversions and conversions on grounds which had nothing to do with the realisation of the spiritual value at all of the Untouchables convert they will be converted on a thorough examination of different religions and their spiritual and social value. Let nobody, therefore, have any qualms of conscience that the conversion of the Untouchables is anything like a commercial proposition. It is not. If the conversion of the Untouchables brings them any advantages apart from those of a spiritual and social character, they are incidental advantages and not criminal inducement.” Globe.” 1 zz 1 : Jai Bheem (Weekly), Madras, dated 25th December 1946.

37 SCHEDULED CASTES’ CASE TO BE PRESENTED BEFORE U. N. O. “Bombay, Jan. 17, 1947. The Working Committee of the All-India Scheduled Castes Federation adopted a resolution today, seeking to submit to the United Nations Assembly the case of “the sufferings of the Scheduled Castes in India against the Hindus for their acts of social, economic and political tyranny.” The Committee concluded its two-day session held under the Chairmanship of Mr. N. Shivraj, President of the Federation. The Committee approved the memorandum prepared by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, for submission to the UNO and directed the President of the Federation to take early steps to submit the case formally to the Secretary of the UNO and to organise a delegation of the Federation for the purpose. The memorandum among other complaints added that the “tyranny and the constant and shameless resort to violence by Hindus, makes the position of the Scheduled Castes far worse than the position of Indians in South Africa.” The memorandum also complains of the “failure of the British Government to give protection and do justice to the Scheduled Castes” and requests the intervention of the UNO for “necessary international action”. With regard to the problems arising out of the framing of the future Constitution of India, the Working Committee declared in another resolution that the Federation stood for “a United India and a strong Central Government.” The Federation according to the resolution “would be prepared to accept the proposals of the Cabinet Mission regarding Grouping in order to secure the co-operation of all parties and to arrive at a peaceful solution of India’s constitutional problems.” EQUALITY SHOULD BE THE BASIS OF THE CONSTITUTION The resolution stated that the Federation stood for liberty and equality as the fundamental basis for a future Indian Constitution. “While fighting for the cause of the Scheduled Castes

359SCHEDULED CASTES’.............BEFORE U.N.O. and without detriment to that cause” the Federation supported the “just and necessary demands of all minorities irrespective of the communities to which they belong.” The Working Committee also expressed the opinion that “ it was in the interest of India that she should be satisfied with Dominion Status and accept it for a term of years which was without prejudice to the right of Independence for India.” MEMORANDUM TO MINORITIES’ COMMITTEE The Working Committee also approved another memorandum prepared by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar who is a member of the Constituent Assembly. This memorandum suggests safeguards for the Scheduled Castes in the future Constitution of India. The Working Committee directed the representatives of the Federation in the Constituent Assembly to insist that “the ultimate sanction for the Constitutional Safeguards should be lodged in the Central Government” and emphasised that “Separate Electorates were the only way of guaranteeing real repesentation of the Scheduled Castes in the Legislatures without which all other safeguards were sure to be only paper safeguards.” The Committee also passed a resolution condoling the death of Mr. B. J. Deorukhkar, Member of the Bombay Municipal Corporation and two other Scheduled Castes workers from Andhra, Messers Hari and Dr. Dharmanna. Dr. Ambedkar, in an interview to the Press, explained the resolutions passed by the Working Committee of the Federation and asserted that the UNO had jurisdiction over the issue to be submitted by eight crores of Scheduled Castes in India, inasmuch as the UNO had jurisdiction over the case of Indians in South Africa. He said that he was in communication with the leader of Negroes in the United States, Paul Duabois, who, according to Dr. Ambedkar, was submitting the case of Negroes in U.S.A., before the U.N.O. Paul Duabois, Dr. Ambedkar stated, was the founder President of the Negroes Association in U. S. A. who was fighting for political, economic and social rights of Negroes in that country.* *Some words in this sentence are illegible—Editors.

360 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Dr. Ambedkar, referring to the “sufferings of the Scheduled Castes” in India, compared them with the condition of Negroes in U. S. A. who, he said, “are as much tyrannised by the White Americans as Scheduled Castes are by Caste-Hindus.” Discussing the problem of framing the future Constitution of India, Dr. Ambedkar said that he had an ingenious method of preventing the formation of an executive of a majority community belonging to one party disregarding completely the interests and susceptibilities of a minority community belonging to another party. He refused to disclose the details of his scheme, but said that under the present Constitution, the major community belonging to one party took possession of the administration in a Province, “thus imposing the worst form of tyranny on a minority community.” The helplessness of the minority community, when the major community makes a monopoly of the executive of the Government in the Province should be prevented by a statutory provision in any future Constitution of India,” he said. He added that he stood for coalition Governments formed by representatives of both major and minor communities in different Provinces and also at the Centre. Dr. Ambedkar reiterated his view that India under the present circumstances should be satisfied with Dominion Status. “My approach to the question of Indian Independence is purely from the stand point of defence of the country and I firmly believe that India is not well equipped at present to defend herself alone without the help of Britain,” he declared. “ If the Constituent Assembly adopts my method, India could have the help of the British Army stationed in India without British control over that army, he concluded.” 1 zz 1 : Jai Bheem, dated 26th January 1947.