Vol. 9 · pages 486–490

457 WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : A PLEA TO THE FOREIGNER Table 20 Classification of the Congress Members of the Provincial Legislatures in terms of Occupation Province Lawyers Medical Practiti- oners Land- lords Business- men Private Officials Money Lenders Nil Not Stated Total Assam … … … 16 2 2 1 — — 3 9 33 Bengal … … … 9 2 16 5 2 — 16 4 54 Bihar … … … 14 4 56 6 3 — 1 14 98 Central Provinces … 20 2 25 10 — — 8 5 70 Madras … … … 52 2 45 18 2 1 3 36 159 Orissa … … … 8 1 17 4 4 1 1 — 36

458 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Table 21 Composition of the Cabinets in the Congress Provinces* Province Total No. of Cabinet Ministers Total No. of Non-Hindu Ministers Hindu Ministers in the Cabinet Prime Minister Total Brahmins Non-Brahmins Scheduled Castes Assam … … … … 8 3 5 ? ? Nil Brahmin Bihar … … … … 4 1 3 ? ? 1 Brahmin Bombay … … … … 7 2 5 3 2 Nil Brahmin Central Provinces … … 5 1 4 3 1 Nil Brahmin Madras … … … … 9 2 7 3 3 1 Brahmin Orissa … … … … 3 Nil 3 ? ? ? Brahmin United Provinces … … 6 2 4 4 Nil Nil Brahmin * This table represent the position as it stood in May 1939 and as reported in the Issue of July 15, 1939, of the Indian Information. Question mark indicates inability to classify whether Brahmin or non-Brahmin.

459 WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : A PLEA TO THE FOREIGNER Table 22 Classification of Parliamentary Secretaries in Congress Provinces* Province Total No. of Parliamentary Secretaries Total No. of Non-Hindu Parliamentary Secretaries Hindu Parliamentary Secretaries Total Brahmins Non- Brahmins Scheduled Castes Assam … … … … Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Bihar … … … … 8 Nil 8 2 5 1 Bombay … … … … 6 Nil 6 1 5 Nil Central Provinces … … Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Madras … … … … 8 1 9 3 4 1 Orissa … … … … 3 Nil 3 ? ? Nil United Provinces … … 12 1 11 2 8 1 Compiled from Indian Information Issue of July 15, 1939. Question mark indicates inability to classify whether Brahmin or non-Brahmin.

460 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES the Cabinet. In all the Hindu Provinces, the Prime Ministers were Brahmins. In all Hindu provinces, if the non-Hindu ministers were excluded, the majority of ministers were Brahmins and even parliamentary secretaries were Brahmins. What has been said so far makes two things as clear as daylight. First is that there is in India a well defined governing class, distinct and separate from the servile class. Second is that the governing class is so powerful that though small in number in the elections of 1937 it quite easily captured political power and established its supremacy over the servile classes. There remains only one more point for me to establish to be able to put my thesis across. It is to show how far Congress was responsible for the victory of the governing class in the elections of 1937. I know I must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the Congress is responsible for placing the governing class in the position of supremacy over the servile class. For it might be said that the Congress had nothing to do with this, that even if the Congress was responsible for it the result was an accident and that there was no intention on the part of the Congress to help the governing classes to win this position of supremacy. V The first line of these suggested defences can be easily disposed of. It is probable that those who raise this defence do not know the political colour of the province to which the figures given in Tables 19, 20, 21 and 22 relate. If they knew it they would give up this line of defence. For they relate to what are called the Congress Provinces. In these provinces the majority party was the Congress Party and the Cabinets were Congress Cabinets. Obviously, if in these Congress provinces the governing classes succeeded in establishing their rule over the servile classes it is difficult to see how the Congress could be absolved from responsibility for such a result. The Congress is a well disciplined party. It had a plan for fighting the elections. In every province there was established a Parliamentary Board, the functions of which were (1) to choose candidates for elections, (2) to decide upon the formation of Cabinets, and (3) to control the actions of ministers. Over and above these Provincial Parliamentary

461 WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : A PLEA TO THE FOREIGNER Boards there was a Central Parliamentary Board to superintend and control the work of the Provincial Parliamentary Boards. It was an election which was planned and controlled by the Congress. It is therefore futile to argue that if the governing classes captured power in the elections of 1937 in the Congress Provinces the Congress is not responsible for the result. The second line of defence is as fragile as the first. Those who wish to argue that the dominance of the governing class in the Congress provinces is accidental and not intentional should know that they are advancing an argument which will not stand. I would invite the attention of those who are inclined to treat it as an accident to consider the following circumstances. First let them consider the mentality of the leading members of the Congress High Command who have guided the destiny of the Congress in the past and who are at present running the affairs of the Congress. It would be well to begin with Mr. Tilak. He is dead. But while he was alive he was the most leading man in the Congress and exercised the greatest sway over it. Mr. Tilak was a Brahmin and belonged to the governing class. Though he had acquired the reputation of being the father of the Swaraj movement his antipathy to the servile classes was quite well known. For want of space I will cite only one instance of his mentality towards the servile classes. In 1918, when the non-Brahmins and the Backward classes had started an agitation for separate representation in the legislature, Mr. Tilak in a public meeting held in Sholapur said that he did not understand why the oil pressers, tobacco shopkeepers, washermen, etc.—that was his description of the Non-Brahmins and the Backward classes—should want to go into the legislature. In his opinion, their business was to obey the laws and not to aspire for power to make laws. Next after Tilak I may take Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel. Here again, I will cite only one instance to indicate his mentality. In 1942, Lord Linlithgow invited 52 important Indians representing different sections of the people to discuss the steps that might be taken to make the Central Government more popular and thereby enlist the sympathy and co-operation of all Indians in war effort. Among those that were invited were members belonging to the Scheduled Castes. Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel could not bear the idea that the Viceroy should have invited such a crowd of mean men. Soon