Vol. 17, Part III · pages 471–475

442 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES the high caste people you will be better off, then you are mistaken. The high caste people will always suppress the backward classes. High Caste people will enjoy the freedom whereas our people will remain as they are. Poor people can never flourish under the rich and must unite separately to achieve their purpose. To safeguard the interests of the Depressed Classes, we have formed our own political party called the Scheduled Castes Federation. Through our efforts we have secured certain privileges which have been incorporated in the Constitution itself. Certain seats have been reserved for the Scheduled Castes in the State Assemblies and the Union Parliament. Only Scheduled Castes people can be elected to those seats. But if our true representatives are not elected to the Assemblies and the Congress nominees are elected to the reserved seats, then our rights cannot be safeguarded. Our people elected on the Congress tickets will be tools in the hands of the Congress and they will serve their ownselves. Just take the case of the two Scheduled Castes Deputy Ministers who are in the PEPSU Ministry. They were elected on the Congress tickets. What have they done for you ? Our childern are uneducated. We are as poor as before. We have not got any lands. We are not treated like human beings in the villages. Have they done anything in this regard? I have come to know that as soon as they came to know that I am visiting Patiala, they started anti-propaganda. They asked the Scheduled Castes people to boycott the Conference. Now you can judge what the people elected on the Congress tickets can do for us. Those who seek Congress tickets are selfish and selfish people can never think of other. You cannot expect anything from them. To join Congress is easy. It was more easy for me to do so with my qualifications. Everybody will join Congress if it is beneficial to all. But if by joining Congress, we do not benefit, what is the use of our going over to Congress ? Well ! I was in Congress Government. I have never accepted any bribe, I have never tried to use unfair means to collect money. I challenge that there is not a single charge against me.

443POOR PEOPLE...............PURPOSE Our conditions have even worsened with the coming of the Congress into power. No practical steps have been taken to ameliorate our grievances. Every thing has been said but nothing has been done so far for the good of our people. We want to make it clear that we are very much depressed and if this thing continued further, a revolution is inevitable. We thought that our Hindu brothers will do something for the good of our people, but all our hopes have been duped us. Some seats have been reserved for the Scheduled Castes in the Assemblies but our true representatives are not allowed to be elected to these seats. This reservation is only for ten years and what will happen afterwards, we cannot say. Do you think that after ten years we will be well off to compete with the high caste people in the society? Will our people be so rich as to fight side by side with the Hindus ? I want to give a warning to these high caste people that if our conditions remained as they are today, then we will have to use some other means. Either they will live here or we will live. We are fed up with this sort of living and are not going to tolerate it any more. Brahmin and Baniya have never died for freedom although they are the only fortunate who are deriving benefits now. Let me know how many of them have died in the last war ? How many of them are in the army ? If there is conscription, our people will be the first to go to the army. They will do their duty as they have done previously. Poor have always protected the rich although rich have never shown any sympathy with them. Therefore I warn these high caste people that a revolution is inevitable unless something is done for the betterment of the backward classes. For thirty long years, I fought for the cause of my community. I have no selfish motives. I never complained that I am not a Minister and that I should be given some high post. I have never demanded anything for my own self. Gandhi always opposed me. When Gandhi demanded Swaraj, I told him that I entirely agree with his demand and will definitely support him but asked him only one question as to what will be the position of the Scheduled Castes in his so-called Swaraj. Will our people be given some good standard in life? Will they be educated ? Will there be no harassment of our people in Swaraj ? Now the people of India are free, what benefits have we derived

444 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES out of it ? If we are backward today, we are because of these high caste people, who have kept us away from society. They have not allowed us to make any progress simply because there was no other class to do their service. There was no other community to do the menial jobs which we are performing. There is no difference between them and we people. We are just like them. But the only difference is that according to their Dharma, we are in this world to serve them and not have equal right. These high caste people are putting mountains before us. We are put to all sorts of difficulties so that we may not make any progress. We have secured certain rights but these Congressmen are bent upon depriving us from the benefit of these rights. Against the seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes, they are putting their own candidates. When the Congress Party gives tickets to high caste people for the general seats, they ask them so many questions. They want to know first, how many times did the man concerned go to jail ? They want to know what interest he has taken in the Struggle for Independence. I ask these Congressmen, why these questions are not put to a Scheduled Caste candidate who seeks Congress ticket for the reserved seat ? Why his services to the Nation are not taken into account ? Why only illiterate and unpopular people are selected for the reserved seats ? What are the grounds for their selection ? They should ask them, whether they helped Congress in the Civil Disobedience Movement or not ? Why only fools are selected ? If our true representatives are elected to the Assemblies through the Scheduled Castes Federation, we can have our grievances redressed. If they do not do anything for us, we can put them to task. I have been in politics for 30 years now. Myself and Gandhi entered politics together. For eight years I was a Minister. Had I wished, I would have continued as a Minister in the Government for the whole of my life but I have no selfish motives. So I have left the Congress Government as I think I cannot serve my community while remaining there. If you did not pay any heed to my request and our true representatives are not elected, then we will have to suffer for ever. I may tell you this reservation is only for ten years i.e. for only two elections. After ten years, reservation will go. I wanted that

445POOR PEOPLE...............PURPOSE the reservation should remain so long as the Untouchability is there but our own members who were elected to the Parliament on Congress tickets opposed me leaving aside the other Caste Hindu members. I ask those people who seek Congress tickets, what will they do after the reservation is not there ? Will the Congress ask them to stand on general seats on its ticket ? Nobody will then even spit on them. During the past, these high caste people have treated us in a degrading manner and they will do it after the reservation is gone. I tell you if they are sympathising with us at the moment, it is only because they want to make us fools and put their yesmen at the reserved seats. After the reservation is abolished, they will again call us Chamars, Bhangis. Therefore, I tell you that you should be very cautious now and unite under the banner of the Scheduled Castes Federation. It is your duty to give your votes to the Federation candidates who will die for your cause. Now I want to tell you a few important things. Firstly, the election symbol of the Scheduled Castes Federation is ‘Elephant’. I have come to know that some other party has also selected this symbol with this distinction that our symbol is only ‘Elephant’ whereas they have a ‘Charkha’ (Spinning wheel) over the Elephant. So be careful about it. Do not be misled. Our Party Symbol is simply ‘Elephant’ without any Charkha. Secondly, we are very few in number. If we put our candidates, they will be pulled down by other parties as they have got majority of votes. Our strength is only 10 per cent in the villages and you will agree that with so little votes, we cannot succeed in the coming elections. So I would request you all that every man and woman should cast his vote on the polling day leaving aside other affairs. The result will be that we will at least get our votes. If even the few voters, did not cast their votes it will be very difficult for our candidates to succeed. Thirdly, I want to impress upon you that owing to our being minority, we shall have to join hands with some party in the elections. There will be distributive system of voting this time and where we have reserved seats, all the people will have two votes. One for the candidate who is standing on the general seat

446 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES and the other for the candidate who is standing on the reserved seat. We will give one vote to our candidate who is standing on the reserved seat and the second vote to the candidate of that party, who will cast their second vote to our candidate. We have not yet decided with which party we are making alliance. Negotiations are going on and in a few days it will be decided. But one thing should be clear in our minds that we are not joining hands with Congress at any cost. You should not fear of Congress now. It has weakened and its members are fighting against one another. Congress will die its natural death. In the end, I once again want to request you to vote for the candidate who is fighting on the Scheduled Castes Federation ticket. Federation candidates will be your true representatives, who will do everything for the welfare of our community. They will not be selfish. They will serve their community to the last.” zz