Vol. 17, Part II · pages 521–525

496 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Another figure in European history who might have been mentioned with advantage, is Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, who was both a loving mother of many children and an able ruler. And if we want to go into the earlier history of Europe, the Empress Theodora of Byzantium is perhaps the most striking example of a woman, who rose from the lowest position to that of supreme power. She started as a prostitute and ended as an Empress. I do not think that this would be the ideal of Indian womanhood, just as I do not think that statecraft adds one inch to the dignity of a woman. Even if it were true that in Indian women were used to statecraft, long before they ever did in Europe out author apparently was not able to find any historically varified instances of an earlier period then the Rani of Jhansi and Chandbibi, who both belong to the most recent epochs of India’s history. But the most astonishing statement of the article under review is that “ it was, alas, the Buddhist theory that seems to have first thrust women into the background. ” What this “theory” is, has unfortunately not been revealed by the learned author, and though I have scrutinized the Budhist Sacred Texts and their teachings, I have found no special theory about women, but only about the human species in general. The Four Noble Truths, the Formula of Dependent Origination, and the Eightfold Path of Liberation make no distinction between man and woman. All through Buddhist history it was a special feature of Buddhist Society that woman had a far more favourable position than in most Non-Buddhist countries. The fundamental equality of man and woman has been the lodestar of Buddhist Society from its earliest beginnings. Anybody who has lived in Buddhist countries, be it Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Indo-China, Tibet, knows that the status of women is astonishingly high. Because the Buddhist wife does not look up to her husband as to a god, she is not expected to eat after her husband has finished his meal, or to immolate herself after her husband’s death as an alternative to a life of utter dejection and privation. On the contrary, she is free to leave her husband if she

497“THE POSITION . . . . . . . . . BUDDHISM feels that she cannot live with him, and she does not become a social outcaste after her husband’s death, but can re-marry if she desires so. Women may have their own affairs, in fact in Burma as well as in Tibet (of which countries I can speak of my own experience) women are perfect equals of men, socially as well as in respect of business affairs, and they often show more enterprise and ability than men, who gladly leave these things to their womenfolk. Such a position of women in Buddhist society would hardly have been possible if, as the author of the article under review assert, “the Buddha has a prejudice against women and was forever exhorting men to beware of them. ” To accuse the Buddha, who certainly was the most broadminded, most liberal and tolerant of all the great teachers of the past, and who due to this was and still is revered far beyond the confines of India as no other of her sons,—to accuse such a Teacher of prejudice is certainly an extraordinary feat of misjudgment. If of all the great sages of India was only the Buddha who had a world wide appeal, it was His complete lack of any prejudice (how otherwise, could He be acclaimed and recognized as the Enlightened One ? ) the universality of His outlook and His deep understanding of human nature, irrespective of caste, colour, or sex. It was He, in fact who laid the foundations for the emancipation of women (who under the laws of Manu were in a very unfavourable position) as our learned author admits, thus contradicting his own previous statement that the Buddhists were the first to thrust women into the background. It was the Buddha who declared in unmistakable words that a woman has as great a chance to attain sainthood as a man. This attitude of early Buddhism is confirmed by the fact that the Buddha on one occasion refused an invitation from princes, because He had already accepted that of a courtesan. The princes were shocked that a “ frivolous woman like Amrapali should be thus honoured by the Buddha and tried to dissuade Him. But the Buddha stuck to his word, and Amrapali become one of His most praised woman, disciples. If he had harboured any prejudice against, women here would have been the opportunity to show it.

498 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES “That the Buddha was forever exhorting meant to beware of women”, is one of those half-truths, which misled those who have not taken the trouble to read the Buddha’s words in their context. The Buddha did not exhort “men” in this case, but monks who had taken the vow of chastity in conformance with the ancient Indian sanyasi rule, accepted by Buddhist and Hindus alike. Nuns were equally exhorted to beware of men. The exhortation of the Buddha was therefore not due to a prejudice against women, but due to the knowledge of human weakness—in men and women alike. Buddhist women were the first in India who made a substantial and independent contribution to the religious literature and who were recognized as equals to the best authors of their time. This is shown by the fact that the songs of the Buddhist Sisters (under the title “Therigatha”) were given the honoured position of Canonical Scriptures and thus placed beside the words of the Buddha and His most prominent disciples. Both Hinduism and Buddhism have produced great women, and instead of trying to find fault with the customs and teachings of the past and the sages, who proclaimed them in accordance with the needs of their time and the capacity of understanding of their hearers, we should strive to emulate those great souls among Indian women whose names have survived many a mighty empire, whose thoughts were higher than statecraft and whose hearts greater than the power of monarchs. The figure of Savitri, whose profound love and wisdom vanquished even the King of Death, will ever stand out as a symbol of the noblest qualities of womanhood. The voice of Maitreyi and Gargi are forever heard in the immortal dialogues of the Upanishads, and the songs of the saintly Buddhist Sisters will live in the hearts of Indian women like the devotional songs of Mirabai and the heroism of Padmini.” 1 zz 1 : Appendix to the booklet published under title ‘ The Rise and Fall of the Hindu woman ; who was Responsible for it’ ?

APPENDIX—III THE CABINET MISSION “On 19, February 1946, the day following the outbreak of the revolt, Lord Pethick Lawrence announced in the House of Lords that “in view of the paramount importance, not only to India and to the British Commonwealth, but to the peace of the world, of a successful outcome of discussions with leaders of Indian opinion, the British Government would send out to India a special mission of Cabinet Ministers consisting of the Secretary of State for India (Lord Pethick Lawrence), the President of the Board of Trade (Sir Stafford Cripps), and the First Lord of Admiralty (Mr. A. V. Alexander) to act in association with the Governor-General in this matter. A similar statement was made in the House of Commons by Mr. Clement Attlee.” The Cabinet Mission, headed by Lord Pethick Lawrence, arrived in India on 23, March 1946 to find a solution to the problem of India. Its activities and the following events may be understood, “in the background of the Labour Government’s firm decision to quit India at a very early date after making the best possible arrangements for handing over power.” 1 The negotiations with party leaders did not bring an agreed solution. On 16, May 1946, the Mission gave a Scheme of its own. After fully examining the question of Pakistan, it concluded that neither a larger nor a smaller sovereign State of Pakistan would provide an acceptable solution for the communal problem keeping in view other consideration also— like administrative, economic and military and those relating to communications and the Indian States, and that the creation of Pakistan could not be advised. But Muslim apprehensions that their culture and political and social life might be dominated by the Hindus, could not be ignord. As regards the Indian States, the view of the Mission was that with the attainment of independence by British India, paramountcy over them could neither be retained by the British Crown nor transferred to the new Government: yet the States were willing to Co-operate 1 : Speeches and Documents of the Indian Constitution, Vol. 1, selected by Sir Maurice Gwyer and A. Appadorai, Introduction at P. Vii (1957).

500 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES in the new development of India. The precise form which their Co-operation would take must be a matter for negotiation during the building up of the new constitutional structure which might not be identical for all the States. The Cabinet Mission then indicated the nature of a solution which would be just to the essential claims of all parties and bring about a stable and practicable form of constitution for all India. It recommended that the constitution should take the following basic form : (1) There should be a Union of India, embracing both British India and the States which should deal with the following subjects : foreign affairs, defence and communications, and should have the powers to raise the finances required for the above subjects. (2) The Union should have an executive and a legislature constituted from British India and States representatives. Any question raising a major communal issue in the lagislature should require for its decision a majority of the representatives present and voting of each of the two major communities as well as a majority of all the members present and voting. (3) All subjects other than the Union subjects and all residuary powers should vest in the Provinces. (4) The States would retain all subjects and powers other than those ceded to the Union. (5) Provinces should be free to form groups with executive and legislatures, and each group could determine the Provincial subjects to be taken in common. (6) The constitutions of the Union and of the groups should contain a provision whereby any Province by a majority vote of its Legislative Assembly call for a reconsideration the terms of the constitution after an initial period of ten years and at ten yearly intervals thereafter. The Cabinet Mission proposed the following constitution making machinery to enable a new constitution to be worked out. In forming any assembly to decide a new constitutional structure, the first problem was to obtain as broadbased and accurate a representation of the whole population as was