Vol. 17, Part III · pages 341–345

312 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES that this country should get its freedom. But any new Government, the Swaraj Government, must be a Government in which Hindus, Muslims and the Scheduled Castes are all heirs to sovereignty. .... It seems to me the policy of Mr. Gandhi who acquires strength from the Congress, the largest party in the land, is to intimate the British Government and force it to come to terms without being obliged to grant the demands of the Scheduled Castes. Mr. Gandhi’s whole aim in his political career ever since the minority problem began to loom large, has been one and one only, to neglect the Scheduled Castes, to by-pass them. I have had very unpleasant experience of Mr. Gandhi’s tactics in this matter. Dr. Ambedkar stated that at the Round Table Conference Gandhi tried to isolate him, to cut off every kind of support to his efforts. Every time Gandhi failed but ultimately he used a weapon, “which I am sorry to say no honest man would have used. He went to the Muslims and told them that he was prepared to concede the 14 points of Mr. Jinnah, provided the Muslims agreed not to support these dirty dogs, the Untouchables.” Dr. Ambedkar said that he had got in his possession an agreement which was drawn up between Gandhi and the Muslims at the Round Table Conference. Fortunately, the Muslims had a certain amount of sense of shame and did not support Gandhi. ” 1 However there were additional dimensions in the speech of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar which were covered by the Times of India. The dimensions were as under—Editors. “He wanted to make it clear to the British Government that a real National Government would be one that was composed of Hindus, Muslims and the Depressed Classes. The Depressed Classes were not part of the Hindu community but constituted a different nation. The Depressed Classes were prepared to agitate and fight to gain their objects. Dr. Ambedkar warned his community that great obstacles lay in their path. While Mr. Gandhi and the Hindus had accepted the demand of the Muslims for a due share in the Government, they had not accepted a similar demand made by the Depressed Classes. 1 : Hyderabad Bulletine, 20th September 1944. Reprinted : Bharill Chandra, Pp. 63-65.

313DEPRESSED...............COMMUNITY Dr. B. R. Ambedkar declared that the Depressed Classes did not lag behind any other community in their love for India’s freedom but they wanted the independence of their Community alongwith the independence of the country. The address presented to Dr. Ambedkar by the Hyderabad State Scheduled Castes Federation referred to the GandhiJinnah talks and said that no understanding or agreement, whether openly or tacitly concluded, would be binding on the Depressed Classes unless it had the support of Dr. Ambedkar as their accredited leader.” 1 zz 1 : The Times of India, dated 22nd September 1944.

91 I AM NO OPPONENT OF NATIONALISM BUT.... “ The Municipal Corporation Madras decided to present Civic Address to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Labour Member, Govt. of India, on Friday, the 22nd September 1944. It was arranged in the Ripon Buildings. The chief guest, on arrival, was received by the Mayor, Commissioner and the Councillors. There was a large gathering present. The members of the Congress Principal Party were conspicious by their absence. The address which was read out by Dr. Syed Nijamathulla, Mayor, was presented enclosed in a beautiful silver casket. Dr. Ambedkar was garlanded and introduced to the Councillors present.1 While replying to the address, Dr. Ambedkar said, “ The Governing class in this country is the Brahmin commnity. The 1937 elections resulted in our having Brahmin Prime Ministers in seven provinces with half the Ministry as Brahmin. If National Government was formed and if it goes into the hands of the Governing Class, do you really think that it will do better than the present Government of India which was criticised so much ? It is a very kind thought on your part to have decided to present me this address of welcome to your city. I am not a resident of Madras, and having played no part in civic life as such, I have no claim on your consideration. Nonetheless you have decided to present this address to me. I feel deeply grateful because it is something to which I cannot lay any claim. If I may refer to the fact and I do so without any spirit of controversy or criticism, I read in the papers that this address was not voted unanimously and that there was some amount of dissent (Laughter). I refer to this because I feel that I should welcome the address all the more than I would have done, if it was voted unanimously. Most of the acts which we do unanimously are either formal or acts which are nothing more than “conventional lies of civilisation” which we practically do every day which have no meaning at all (cheers). It is an indication at any rate that there v/as a part of the corporation which was sincere and insistant on presenting me this address. 1 : Khairmode, Vol.9, P. 337.

315I AM...................BUT........... You have very kindly referred to my university career, the work I have done as a teacher, lawyer and Member of the Bombay Legislative Council in terms which are to my mind somewhat extravagant. Let me assure you that I am not so vain as to believe that what you said is really my due. I make it that the language you have used is indicative of the great sympathy which you have for the cause in which I have laboured so long and that what you have said is really in support of the cause than of my own individual personality. Reference had been made to the work of the Madras Corporation in respect of the slum clearance, food for the children of working classes. It would not be appropriate if I were to parade what the Government of India has done in this connection. However, just to ward off criticism that has been sometimes levelled against the Government of India that it is a very slow machine and grinds very slowly. I my say that the Government of India during the last few years has not been an ideal body waiting upon time to carry out some of the most necessary reforms which every Government is bound to perform. I wish to refer to a great piece of work which Government of India has done for the working population during the last few years. I would refer to the scheme of technical training which has imparted skill to unskilled men to the extent of 68,000 people. There are three to four hundred training centres spread throughout India and it is our hope and aspiration that the scheme of technical training which we have built up will not be scrapped at the end of the war and that it would be a permanent part of the educational system of this country whereby childern of the working classes who had no opportunity of reaching university education could have the opportunity of having better skill and thus improving their earning capacity (cheers). There are several places of legislation which the Government has put through during war. For instance, there is the provision of compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes. Hitherto the Government of India has no authority to prescribe terms and conditions of employment of workmen. It was only a matter for the private individual with nothing more than a private contract

316 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES between a worker and employer to determine the wages and conditions of employment. Today we have a law whereby if the Government of India was satisfied that the terms and conditions of employment were not satisfactory they had the authority to impose terms and conditions which they thought were right and proper. I hope that although this piece of legislation has emerged as a result of the war, it will not die with the war and that it would become a permanent of our legislation system in the country (cheers). What we have done, we are conscious, is indeed very small. But I do want the public to understand that the Government of India in the matter of legislation is not in a very happy position. In the first place, a large part of the labour legislation is written has the authority and jurisdiction of the provinces. It is they who are in a position to make labour laws. The authority of the Government is found in what is called the concurrent piece of legislation. You are all aware that although the Government of India has been given a concurrent right to pass labour legislation, there is a definite provision in the Government of India Act that whether the legislation proceeds from provincial authority or from the concurrent jurisdiction of the central legislature, the administration of labour is entirely in the hands of the provincial Government. Consequently . . . when the Government of India thinks that it should undertake legislation through its concurrent powers of legislation, it has to consult the provincial Governments before it can do so. After all when the legislation is passed, it is to be carried out by the provincial Government and unless the Government of India has the prior consent of the provisional Government, it thinks, that there is no use of passing the legislations which the administrative bodies are not prepared to look at. These are our difficulties. Our legislative speed is not as fast as other people expect. But I would say and assure that the Government has no deadend heart. It is quick and is thinking of re-organisation in labour matters (Applause). Many people criticise the Government of India and I wonder whether it is worthwhile doing so. The Government of India may not have done much; but does it matter? To me, it seems,