Vol. 9 · pages 171–175

142 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Untouchables which is independent and opposed to the Hindus and the Congress and is out to destroy it. Anticipating that such would be the consequences of the change in the aims and objects, I retired from the Sangh. Since the first batch of the Untouchables left the Sangh no attempt was made by Mr. Gandhi to appoint other Untouchables in their places. Instead, the management of the Sangh has been allowed to pass entirely into the hands of the Hindus of the Congress persuasion. Indeed, it is now the policy of the Sangh to exclude Untouchables from the management and higher direction of the Sangh. As will be seen from the refusal of Mr. Gandhi to agree to the suggestion made by deputation of Untouchables 1 requesting him to appoint Untouchables to the managing body. Mr. Gandhi has propounded a new doctrine to console the deputations. He says: “the Welfare work for the Untouchables is a penance which the Hindus have to do. for the sin of Untouchability. The money that has been collected has been contributed by the Hindus. From both points of view the Hindus alone must run the Sangh. Neither ethics nor right would justify Untouchables in claiming a seat on the Board of the Sangh.” Mr. Gandhi does not realize how greatly he has insulted the Untouchables by his doctrine, the ingenuity of which has not succeeded in concealing its gross and coarse character. If Mr. Gandhi’s point is that the money is collected by the Hindus and the Untouchables have therefore no right to say how it shall be spent, no self respecting Untouchable will bother him arid fortunately those Untouchables who have gone to him for such favour are just unemployed loafers who are seeking to make politics a source of their livelihood. But Mr. Gandhi must realize that what he says is only a justification for the change. It does not explain what has been the cause of this profound change in the original conception of the Sangh. It is pertinent to ask: why at one time he was anxious to have Untouchables on the Governing Body of the Sangh and why he is determined now to exclude them? V The writer of the letter in the Indian Social Reformer is right when he says the Untouchables felt no hostility towards 1. The deputation of the Untouchables that waited on Mr. Gandhi is not the first of its kind. Others have done so previously with the same result.

143 WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : A POLITICAL CHARITY the Depressed Classes Mission Society which like the Harijan Sevak Sangh was also engaged in doing welfare work among the Untouchables. Hindus and Untouchables both worked together in perfect harmony towards furthering the work of the Mission. The writer is not quite correct when he says that this was due to the Depressed Classes Mission having always taken care to have on its Managing Committee a certain number of Untouchables. This is quite true. But the reason why there was no hostility between the Mission and the Untouchables and why there is between the Untouchables and the Sangh is quite different. It lies in the fact that the Mission had ho political objective behind its work but the Sangh has. It is true that the original intention was to keep the Sangh scrupulously aloof from politics. It was stated in the statement issued on 3rd November 1932 that:— “The League may be able to carry on its work on a nonparty basis, it has decided not to associate itself with politics or religious propaganda of any kind. The heads of Provincial as well as Central Executive will, therefore, have to be very careful in the selection of their active workers. With this object in view it is necessary that all whole-time paid workers of the League should not take part in politics or in any sectional or religious propaganda.” But this pronouncement was respected more in its breach than in the observance thereof. It may be that it was impossible to resist the temptation of using the Harijan Sevak Sangh for bringing the Untouchables into the Congress fold, make them accept Congress politics and impress upon them Congress ideologies, especially when the sense of gratitude for service rendered, no matter how petty, would make them receptive for such processes. It may be that it was necessary to make the Harijan Sevak Sangh a political manufactory in addition to its being a service station for the Untouchables. To have equipped the Untouchables for their struggle in life and to have left them free to choose their politics would be charity pure and simple. But how long would the Hindus have supported such a charity ? Not very long. There being no sense of sin behind the treatment of Untouchables by the Hindus and no cause for repentance or expiation, the charity on which the Sangh lives would have dried out. To prevent this the Sangh may have felt that to get continued charity it

144 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES must show results i.e. to prove to the Hindus that the Untouchables are no longer independent of and opposed to the Hindus in the matter of religion and politics. My analysis of the causes may not be accurate. But there is no denying the fact that the Harijan Sevak Sangh is a political organization the aim and object of which are to draw the Untouchables into the Congress fold. I can give only a few instances which strike me as important. The Harijan Sevak Sangh holds Conferences of its workers. These Conferences were ostensibly “organized for the purpose of examining the progress of work in different linguistic provinces and for exchanging ideas and experiences.” One such conference was held in Poona in the first week of June 1939. It was found that this Conference had planned to pass a resolution asking Government to change the system of voting under the Poona Pact by substituting distributive system for cumulative voting. I have already pointed out how after its surrender marked by the Poona Pact, the Congress insisted upon the adoption of the distributive system of voting and how dangerous it was to the Untouchables and how it would have nullified the Poona Pact. The Congress failed. What the Congress failed to do the Sangh took upon itself to advocate knowing full well that it was opposed by the Untouchables. A strange resolution for a non-political body ! It is like a drunkard with a red nose trying to convince his neighbours that he is a teetotaler. The Sangh was prevented from pursuing the course by a demonstration of the Untouchables. I am in a position to state that the Bombay Branch of the Harijan Sevak Sangh had followed the policy of black listing some of the Untouchable communities residing in Bombay, on account of its Anti-Congress attitude. Students from communities which were black listed were refused scholarships and other educational aids. The Mahar Community, which forms the spearhead of the political movement of the Untouchables and has all along fought with the Congress, was black listed and Mahar students were generally subjected to discrimination unless the student proved that he did not. share the Anti-Congress sentiments of the Community. The last instance I would refer to has reference to Mr. A. V. Thakkar the General Secretary of the Harijan Sevak Sangh. Mr. Thakkar is also a member of the Backward Classes Board

145 WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : A POLITICAL CHARITY of the Bombay Government. It was established in 1929. It meets periodically and advises Government on matters affecting the Untouchables and other backward Classes. Mr. Thakkar brought a resolution in the meeting of the Board recommending to Government that scholarships set apart by Government for Untouchable boys should not be given to the Mahar boys alleging that the Mahar Community had become very much advanced in education and was appropriating—or according to him misappropriating—the share of Government funds which ought to be reserved for other Untouchable Communities. The resolution was sent down for investigation of the facts on which it was found. The inquiry showed that the facts were wrong and that the Mahars instead of being forward were really backward in education as compared with other Untouchable Communities. The resolution was nothing but a political manoeuvre by no less a person than the General Secretary of the Harijan Sevak Sangh to punish the Mahars for their Anti-Congress politics. What does all this show ? Does it not show that the Harijan Sevak Sangh is a charitable organization only in name, and that its real aim is to ensnare the Untouchables, to make them the camp-followers of the Hindus and the Congress and to scotch any movement by them the aim and object of which are to free themselves from the social, religious, economic and political domination of the Hindus ? Is there any wonder if the Untouchables look upon the Harijan Sevak Sangh as an abomination, the object of which is to kill them by kindness ? zz

CHAPTER VI A FALSE CLAIM I THE Congress has been loudly and insistently claiming that it is the only political organization in India which is representative of the people of India. At one time it used to claim that it represents the Musalmans also. This it does not now do, at any rate not so loudly and insistently. But so far as the Untouchables are concerned the Congress maintains most vehemently that it does represent them. On the other hand, the non-Congress political parties have always denied this claim. This is particularly true of the Untouchables who have never hesitated to repudiate the Congress claim to represent them. In this rivalry the Congress has been able to beat down the Untouchables and the other non-Congress Parties by the sheer strength of the resources in publicity and propaganda. The result has been that most foreigners interested in Indian affairs have become infected by this propaganda, and have come to believe in the validity of the Congress claim. So long as the world had to depend upon nothing but propaganda, the Congress could very easily fool the foreigner and there was no help for those who denied the Congress claim to represent all. They had no means of coping with the situation. But since the Election of 1937 to the Provincial Legislatures the situation has been altered. Instead of depending upon general statements backed by propaganda, one can now determine the issue in terms of seats and votes which is a more concrete measure of appraisement than mere propaganda. What do the election returns show ? What is the total number of seats captured by the Congress ? What is the total number of votes secured by the Congress ? First, let us ascertain the number of seats captured by the Congress. Soon after the elections had taken place, the Congress held a Convention of all those who were elected to the Provincial Legislatures on the Congress ticket, which met