Vol. 17, Part II · pages 261–265

16 I AM A GREATER NATIONALIST THAN ANYBODY ELSE “ Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar now gave a clarion call to his people to give battle for the cause of justice and humanity and to expose the machinations and conspiracy hatched against the rights of his people. He knew this was the last opportunity to assert the rights and will of his people; for he feared that a free India might revert to the old traditions and his people would be impoverished, neglected and ostracized from society and public services. On June 29, 1946 a caretaker Government was announced and the British Mission left for London, leaving other details to be settled by the Viceroy. The battle started on July 15, 1946, at Poona, synchronizing with the opening of the Poona session of the Bombay Assembly.”1 Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar in an interview with the A.P. A. on 17th July 1946 said, “We like this country to progress as much as anybody else does. We do not want to stand in the way of that. All we want is that our position is safeguarded in the future India.” “To this end we will take part in every kind of struggle against the British proposals of May 16. If the Muslim Leauge starts any direct struggle against the British—I fully support the stand taken by the Sikhs at present—then they will also get our support in their action.” He also warned that the present Satyagraha movement by the representatives of the All India Scheduled Castes Federation in Poona would ultimately become a country wide struggle in the same “form of that launched by the Congress in August 1942.” “This is only the beginning of our struggle,” Dr. Ambedkar said : “when the struggle is forced to take the form of the Congress movement, we will do every thing that the Congress had done in the August disturbances.” Dr. Ambedkar described the Scheduled Castes demonstrations now going on in Poona as a “Protest against the breaking of every sort of promise given to the Scheduled Castes by the British Government during the past 28 years.” 1: Keer, P. 381.

239I AM A GREATER . . . . . . ANYBODY ELSE “Unless we secure recognition as a minority entitled to protection and safeguards in the Constitution, this struggle will continue elsewhere in a different form. Then it will be time for the Provinces to launch a countrywide struggle against the unjust proposals of the British Government.” Asked whether he had issued any directive to the Provincial organisations on the form they should adopt in carrying out demonstrations, Dr. Ambedkar replied : “we will leave it to the Provinces to adopt their own form of struggle. All these things cannot be discussed theoretically. Every Province has its own background and what may be effective form of struggle in one Province may not be suitable to another.” Dr. Ambedkar said it was the intention of the Federation to continue the demonstrations at Poona in the present form of sending small groups to offer Satyagraha. “The main difficulty against a large-scale struggle in Poona at present is rationing,” Dr. Ambedkar added, “Otherwise, we would have had a very much bigger demonstration.” Asked whether he provisionally planned to offer Satyagraha in the near future, the leader of the Scheduled Castes replied, “It is not necessary for a General to be present on the battlefield. I have got trusted lieutenants who look after the struggle and certainly when the development of events necessitates my presence there and my taking part in the struggle, I will be on the scene. “At present I get all the latest information on the struggle from a personal messenger despatched daily from Poona.” No Invitation from Gandhi Dr. Ambedkar said he had tentatively planned to leave for Poona on Sunday “to see things personally”. He said he had received no invitation from Mr. Gandhi or any top-rank Congressmen “to open talks for a settlement of the affair”. He added that the Federation, however, was willing to start negotiations with the parties concerned. Dr. Ambedkar continued : “I would like to point out clearly that the Scheduled Castes in this country think that Mr. Gandhi agreed to accept the long-term

240 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES proposals of the British Cabinet mainly on the ground that the British Ministers agreed to ignore the Scheduled Castes. That is what Mr. Gandhi found to be the greatest advantage in the long-term proposals notwithstanding their vicious character, of which Congress leaders themselves have spoken so much recently. The British Government have agreed to sacrifice the Scheduled Castes in order to win over Congress, and this I charge as absolute breach of faith, he asserted. “We like this country to progress as much as anybody else does. We do not want to stand in the way of that. All we want is that our position is safeguarded in the future India.”1 On 21st July 1946 a meeting of Untouchables was convened at Poona in Ahilyashram. After the meeting, Dr. Amebedkar addressed a Press Conference. The report of that Press Conference is as under: Editors. Future of Scheduled Castes Congress was asked for Blue-Print Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, addressing a Press Conference in Poona today, demanded an open declaration from the Congress how they proposed to safeguard the interests of 60,000,000 Untouchables in the future Constitution of India. He asked for a blue-print and no promises in general terms. The Satyagraha launched in Poona was only the beginning of a countrywide struggle to secure for the Scheduled Castes their just political rights. He claimed that the Poona Satyagraha was being conducted on a high moral plane and the non-violent behaviour of the whole mass of volunteers provided a lesson even to Mr. Gandhi who regarded himself as a ‘graduate in Satyagraha’. He issued, however, a warning that when moral resources were exhausted they would look for ‘other means’ to register their protest. Dr. Ambedkar was surprised that the Prime Minister, Mr. B. G Kher should have asked the question ‘What have the Harijans to get against the Bombay Government ?’ The answer was simple. 1: Reprinted—Jai Bhim : August 13, 1946, Pp-1 and 2

241I AM A GREATER . . . . . . ANYBODY ELSE ‘Heirs to Power’ The Cabinet Mission had decided that the heirs to British power, authority and sovereignty in this country, were two communities only - the Muslims and the Caste Hindus. In the proposed constituent assembly all questions were going to be decided by the simple majority votes of the Caste Hindus alone. The British people had decided to quit India and their powers would be inherited by the Caste Hindus and the Muslims. Were the Scheduled Castes people then not entitled to ask the Caste Hindus what they proposed doing for the safety of 60,000,000 Untouchables. Dr. Ambedkar claimed that the Bombay Government and the Bombay Legislative Assembly were part and parcel of Congress and the Satyagraha was intended as a protest against the Congress policy. Dr. Ambedkar announced that he had no desire to launch Satyagraha in Muslim Provinces such as the Punjab and Bengal because ‘we have no quarrel with the Muslims. They have assured us that our interest will be safeguarded’. Indignantly repudiating that the Satyagraha movement was motivated by a sense of frustration, Dr. Ambedkar said that in the last election the Scheduled Castes had won cent percent. There would have been a frustration if the Scheduled Castes votes had voted for candidates put by the Congress. He was prepared to prove statistically that not even four per cent of the Scheduled Castes voted for Congress Harijans who had been returned entirely on the votes of Caste Hindus. He did not suffer from a sense of defeat. It was triumph that 90 per cent of the Scheduled Castes were behind his Federation. Poona Pact The Poona Pact which prevented true representatives of the Scheduled Castes from being returned to legislatures must go. It had resulted in disenfranchising 60,000,000 Untouchables. Even according to international law no treaty was final or sacrosanct as the Poona Pact had now become injurious to their cause, the Scheduled Castes were entitled to fight for its revision.

242 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Before his return to Bombay this evening, Dr. Ambedkar addressed a very largely attended public meeting of Scheduled Castes in Poona, at which he said struggle would be continued ‘to the bitter end.’ No fewer than 569 Scheduled Castes volunteers have so far been arrested and convicted in connection with the Poona Satyagraha. ”l What we ask for is justice and fair-play Bombay, Wednesday* The threat that he had many surprises up his sleeves and would, when the ‘ right’ time came, unleash deadlier moral weapons to storm the citadel of the “Hindu Congress heirs to British power ” was made by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, President of the All-India Scheduled Castes Federation, in the course of a 60 minute chat with the “Bombay Chronicle” representative this evening. No mock Show Dr. Ambedkar said “I have not yet shown my full teeth. Do not imagine we are staging a mock-show at Poona. It is only the beginning of a struggle that would grow grimmer and fiercer day by day, ultimately rocking the entire country.” Giving a sample of the contents of his armoury, he observed, “For instance, I and my people might fast unto death!” A hundred thousand ‘ Satyagrahis ’ were ready to march to Poona, “If only the Premier of Bombay promised necessary rations.” The struggle would take an All India shape shortly. Poona showed but a glimpse into the “tremendous potentialities” of his people. Benefactor of Congress Saying that he was in a way the benefactor of the Congress, Dr. Ambedkar claimed, it lay within his power to nullify the existence of that organisation totally. “Could not I and my community decide to become Muslim converts ? If I adopt Mr. Jinnah’s religion I will not stand to lose in any measure and, indeed, he might nominate me as a Muslim member to the 1: The Times of India, dated 22nd July 1946 Reprinted—Khairmode, Vol .8, Pp. 96-98. * The 26th July 1946