Vol. 17, Part II · pages 551–555

526 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Mr. Butler added, “I welcome the Government’s last statement and in particular the last part of it that it is not contemplated that any constitution will be forced on unwilling parts of country. I should, however, like clarification on one or two points. The statement refers to a large section of Indian population inhabiting parts of the country. These words are new to those of us who are versed in Indian affairs. Sir Stafford Cripps speaking in the debate used a rather different language, which I maintain is too narrow in its terms and there may be confusion in India if this matter is not cleard up. “Sir Stafford Cripps said that if the Muslim League cannot be persuaded to come into the Constituent Assembly then parts of the country where they are in a majority cannot be held to be bound by the result, I do not think the Government ought to confine themselves solely to the Muslim League. It is much fairer to use the expression Muslims as a whole and I hope that the Minister replying today will confirm that the original sense prevails and that communities and elements are in question and not simply a League, a party of representative of a community.” Mr. Butler said, the Opposition was not thinking only of the Muslim community, but other minorities whose case had been put in Parliament and would be put again. “In order that Britain’s mission should be well, honourably and successfully discharged it seemed to be essential that a proper understanding should be established between Parliament and the Indian people. There was every reason why all points of view should be put clearly round the table and no facts left unfaced. Mr. Buttler said that no section of Sir Stafford Cripps speech had been less convincing and more reprehensible than his skating over the manner in which Scheduled Castes representation had been introduced into the Assembly. He had never been able to understand the facile acceptance by the labour movement of the position in which the interests of poorest and most under-privileged section in India had been neglected and sold to their long-time oppressors and he was astonished that the Prime Minister had been able to lend himself to this bargain. The Government ought never to have accepted this positions.

527UNDER-PRIVILIGED . . . . . . . . . OPPRESSORS Mr. Alexander (intervening):—Does Mr. Butler realise that in the provincial elections there was a very large proportion of Independent Scheduled Castes elected apart from other two categories he mentions and secondly, that we had to act in the way we did to deal with an urgent situation ? Mr. Alexander continued, “Franchise is not merely the Poona Pact, but what the Government of 1935 put in the 1935 Act. “Thirdly, would he suggest that we should go into an entirely new basis of new franchise and India wide compilation of new register and put off for a long time a possible new settlement ? Shall we not face those facts now ?” SCHEDULED CASTES’ REPRESENTATION Mr. Butler: The first point about Independent members is certainly correct. From all opinions I have been able to gather in investigating this point, there is no doubt that the Scheduled Castes have been so terrorised by Congress discipline that many of them have decided to stand as Independents rather than take the label of the Congress. Mr. Butler said that he did not think it right that the Scheduled Castes should be represented in the Assembly by representatives of the Congress. The Government were reposing most of their confidence for obtaining justice for the minorities on the Advisory Committee and he asked if the Committee’s decisions about minorities would be embodied in the Constitution. If a spirit of compromise and give and take was absent in India, the Government would be faced with a very serious situation but he trusted that if there was a breakdown, the Government would give a further lead. If a new initiative proved necessary, it would have to be towards simplification of the scheme and a clearer acknowledgment of British responsibilities in the period before a successful issue of the negotiations, there was still a chance of orderly solution, but it depended upon how determined the Government was and would be and how clearly it saw the dangers of the situation. “We cannot, at the moment, shuffle off our obligations. They remain and upon their adequate discharge, depends the future happiness of the Indian people,” Mr. Butler concluded.

528 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES MR. ALEXANDER’S REPLY TO DEBATE Mr. A. V. Alexander, Minister designate of Defence, replying to the debate, said, it was taking place in the most crucial hour in the history of India and its people, as well as the British Commonwealth. He asked responsible leaders of all parties in India to take note that the great majority of the speakers in the debate desired nothing more than that India should achieve her freedom on the basis of the good-will and co-operation of all concerned. Replying to Mr. Churchill’s question whether it was the Government’s policy for the Depressed Classes to be treated as a separate political entity, Mr. Alexander said that in the Act of 1935 the Depressed Classes were treated as a separate political entity and whether or not any separation of that kind should be given to them in the new Assembly was a matter for the Constituent Assembly. The Government, he declared, did not consider it desirable or in the interests of the Depressed Classes that they should attempt to influence the Assembly in that matter. Their view was that provisions in the Constitution were the right methods for providing safeguards over the rights of minority elements. He reminded the House of what the Cabinet Mission said namely that when the Constituent Assembly completed their labours the British Government would recommend to Parliament to take necessary action to enable the new Constitution to come into operation subject to two matters. One of them was adequate provision for the protection of minorities. Both the major parties had declared their intention of making proper provision for protection in the Constitution and the Government saw no reason to doubt that the Constituent Assembly would do so. Mr. Alexander said that he agreed with Mr. Hugh Molson (Conservative) that it was the Government’s intention that protection of minorities must be provided for in the Constitution. He added : “I understand that Dr. Ambedkar argued strongly for that during the Cripps Mission. In the last paragraph of our statement last week we made it clear we would not contemplate forcing upon an unwilling community anything they did not want. The Congress itself accepts that. In our statement of May 25 we have agreed to leave Constitution making to Indians provided we get proper protection for minorities. We want that in the Constitution. We shall adhere to our pledges to the Indian people.”1 zz 1. : Jai Bheem, dated 1st January 1947.

APPENDIX—VIII SECRET 1934/34 S. B. Memo No. 39-Bihar-37* THE BIHAR PROVINCIAL DEPRESSED CLASSES LEAGUE It is learnt confidentially that Jagjiwan Ram, B. Sc. President, Bihar Prov. Depressed Classes League, Patna has sent a letter, dated 8th March 1937 to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Bar-at-Law, Rajgraha, Dadar, Bombay. The contents of which are given below :— “UNITE AND ORGANISE” Bankipur, Patna, the 8th March 1937. No. 41 My dear Doctor Saheb, I have your kind letter of the 3rd instant. If your brochure on caste has run out, kindly send one copy of it so that I may commence its translation. As desired by you, I am sending a list of candidates who contested the election. I must admit that we made a pact with the Congress and as a result of the pact 9 persons of the League have been returned. They have signed the League pledge and also the Congress pledge with certain reservations. Perhaps you know that here in Bihar there is no organised party except the Congress. The minister of Local Self-Government i.e. Sir Ganesh Dutt Singh was trying to have his party but he could not organise it. We made the pact with the Congress at the eleventh hour i.e. on the 29th October 1936 and the nomination papers were to be filed by the 3rd November 1936. We the Depressed Classes have begun our movement very late here and have got little organisation. But the experience we have gained in the recent election goes to show that if we carry on our work for the coming * BIHAR C I. DEPARTMENT S PECIAL B RANCH, Patna, dated the 10 March 1937. Copy of a Special Officer’s report, dated 9th March 1937.

530 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES 5 years, we can very well contest independently in the next election and with success. You know Mr. Baldeo Prasad Jaiswal of Allahabad. He has come to Patna and wants to hold an All-India conference. Here it has been given in papers by him that the conference will be presided over by Diwan Bahadur Srinivasan and that you will attend the conference. I do not know the truth nor can I believe the man. Last year a conference was held at Lucknow and Mr. Jaiswal was the moving figure in convening the conference. I went all the way to Lucknow simply to see you but was greatly disappointed. Now he is seeking my help but openly I cannot help him and cannot give him any help in any way unless I know that you will attend the conference. This conference is to be held on the 9th, 10th and 11th April 1937. No person of Bihar is with him. He has his office located in a Catholic Church here and everything is being manoeuvred by missionaries. The W. C. of the Depressed Classes League has decided to call a Provincial conference at Patna between 15th April and 15th May 1937 and it has also decided to invite you. But in case you are coming to attend the conference of Mr. Jaiswal, which I doubt, we will fix the date of our conference near about 12th April. Will you let me know as soon as you get this letter whether you will attend the conference convened by Mr. Jaiswal. One thing, he will not be able to have a gathering of more than one hundred Depressed Classes. He can, of course, invite thousands of Muhammamidans and Christians as he did at Lucknow. I take strong objection of this method. We should have genuine Depressed Classes conferences. Let me hear from you very early. With regards. Yours sincerely, (Sd.) JAGJIWAN RAM.