Vol. 9 · pages 501–505

472 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES and anxious not to stand in the way of national unity, came forward to surrender their privileges and to merge themselves in the common mass of people. In a memorial submitted to the Emperor on the 5th March 1869 they said 1:— “The Place where we live is the Emperor’s land. The food that we eat is grown by the Emperor’s men. How then can we claim any property as our own ? We now reverently offer up our possessions and also our followers (Samurai as well as ‘common folk’) with the prayer that the Emperor will take good measures, for rewarding those to whom reward is due, and for lining such as do not deserve reward. Let imperial orders be issued for altering and remodelling the territories of the various clans. Let the civil and penal codes, the military laws down to the rules for uniform and for the construction of engines of war, all proceed from the Emperor. Let all affairs of the Empire, both great and small, be referred to him.” How does the governing class in India compare in this behalf with the governing class in Japan? Just the opposite. Unfortunately, the history of the struggle of the servile classes in India against the governing class has not yet been written. But those who know anything about it will know that the governing class in India has no intention of making any sacrifice not even on the altar of Indian Freedom for which it is thirsting. Instead, the governing class is using every means to retain them. For this it is using two weapons. First is the weapon of nationalism. Whenever the servile classes ask for reservations in the legislatures, in the Executive and in Public Services, the governing class raises the cry of ‘nationalism in danger.’ What are these reservations for ? To put it briefly they are intended to provide floorings below which the governing class will not be able to push down the servile classes in their struggle for existence. There, is nothing sinister and nothing wrong in this demand for reservations. How does the governing class react to them ? It loses no occasion to deprecate them and to ridicule them. People are led to believe that if they are to achieve national freedom, they must maintain unity, that all questions regarding reservations in the Legislatures, Executives and the Public Services are inimical to national unity and that, therefore, for anyone interested in national freedom it is a sin to support -those who ask for such 1 Quoted in Romance of Japan by Japan by James A. B. Scherer.

473 WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : A PLEA TO THE FOREIGNER reservations. That is the attitude of the governing class in India. It stands in glaring contrast with that of the governing class in Japan. It is a misuse of nationalism. But the governing class does not feel any compunction for such misuse. The second means employed by the governing class is the writing of the lampoons and parodies calculated to pour ridicule on the demand for reservations. Such lampoons are by no means few and far between. Even the most respectable members of the governing class do not mind indulging in such compositions. Even Dr. R. P. Paranjpe, now India’s High Commissioner for Australia, who stands for an advanced type of liberalism, could not withstand the temptation of trying his hand in writing such a parody. 1 Among the parodies composed by members of the governing class his was the most colourful and had, when it appeared, excited the greatest resentment among the servile classes. The argument used by the governing classes to oppose the demand of the servile classes for reservations is based on the doctrine of efficiency. To give a patriotic look to the stand taken by the governing classes it is represented that what 1 The parody written by Dr. R. P. Paranjpe appeared in a magazine called Gujarathi Punch for May 1926 under the heading “A Peep into the Future.” As a specimen of this class of writing by members of the governing class it is worth perusal. It is a satire based on certain incidents which are imagined to have occurred under the principle of communal reservations. As the magazine is not easily available, I reproduce’ it below with a view to rescue it from oblivion:— ‘A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE’ The following extracts are taken from reports of Commissions, records of police courts oases, judicial trials. Council Proceedings, Administration Reports, etc., issued between the year 1930-50 and are published for the exclusive benefit of the readers of the Gujarati Punch. I Report of the Royal Commission on the Government of India, 1930 : We have given our closest consideration to the representations made on behalf of several communities in India. Taking the figures of the last Census as our basis we can only give an approximate satisfaction to all the claims made before us, for it is not possible to give an absolutely accurate solution to the problem of constructing a machinery of Government unless every single person in the country is made a member thereof, as the numbers of the several communities do not possess a common measure. We lay down the number 2375 as the fundamental number in the constitution and this number is divided into parts attached to the several communities as shown in the schedule attached to our report. The claims of each community will henceforward be represented by its proper number, and all appointments, memberships of various bodies, and in fact everything in the country will be awarded according to the proportion given in the schedule wherever possible. The Viceroy’s Executive Council will consist of 475 members selected as far as may be according to onefifth the numbers belonging to each community and three members will hold

474 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Indians must aim at is to maintain in India an efficient body politic and that this can be done only by insisting that every place of power and authority should be filled by none but the best man available. It is this argument which seems to impress the foreigner and which makes him a critic if not an adversary of the demand for reservation. It is therefore office for one year so that each community will have attained its exact share of membership in five years. There will be 125 Judges in each High Court, each judge holding office for one year, though according to this arrangement, each section will have obtained its exact share only after the lapse of 19 years. The number of other kinds of appointments will be determined on the same basis for the accurate adjustment of all claims. To allow for the proper functioning of all bodies with these numbers as manyexisting Government buildings as may be necessary may be pulled dowu and rebuilt so as to be of the proper size. II (Notification of the Government of India, 1932) In accordance with the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1931. His Majesty the King Emperor has been pleased to appoint the following 475 gentlemen as members of the Executive Council of the Governor-General: 267. Matadin Ramdin (caste Barber) member in charge of the Surgical Branch of the Medical Department. 372. Allabux Peerbux (Mahomedan Camel driver) in charge of the camel transport division of the Army Department. 433. Ramaswamy (caste, Andhra Sweeper) in charge of the road cleaning branch of the P.W.D. 437. Jagannath Bhattsoharya (Kulin Brahmin Priest) in charge of the domestic section of the Registration Department. * * * IV (Letter to all Local Governments , 1934) In response to a resolution passed by the Legislative Assembly, with which the Government of India are in full agreement, I am directed to say that henceforward every appointment under Government should go by rotation to each community irrespective of the merits of the applicants. V (Notification in the Bombay Government Gazette, 1934) The Government of Bombay will proceed to make the following appointments in December. The applicants for the several appointments should belong to the castes mentioned against each according to the rotation fixed by Government Order No. , dated November 30th, 1934. 1. Chief Engineer for Irrigation (Sind) : Kunbi from North Kanara. 2. Professor of Sanskrit, Elphinstone College, Bombay : Baluchi Pathan from Sind. 3. Commandant of His Excellency’s Bodyguard : Marwari from North Gujarat. 4. Consulting Architect to Government: Wadari (wandering gypsy) from the Deccan. 5. Director of Islamic Culture : Karhada Brahmin. 6. Professor of Anatomy : (Grant Medical College) Mahomedan Butcher. 7. Superintendent of Ycravda Jail : Ghantichor. 8. Two organizers of prohibition : Dharala (Kairs District Bhil) (Panch Mahals).

475 WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : A PLEA TO THE FOREIGNER necessary to examine the validity of the argument and the sincerity of those who use it. Nobody will have any quarrel with the abstract principle that nothing should be done whereby the best shall be superseded by one who is only better and the better by one who is merely good and the good by one who is bad. But the argument completely fails to carry conviction when in practice one finds that having regard to the historical circumstances of India every time the ‘best man’ is chosen he turns out to be a man from the governing class. This may be alright from the point of view of the governing class. But can it be right from the point of view of the servile class ? Could the ‘best’ German be the ‘best’ for the French ? Could the ‘best’ Turk be ‘best’ for the Greeks ? Could the ‘best’ Pole be regarded VI (Report of a Case from the High Court, 1935) A.B. (caste Teli) was charged with the cold-blooded murder of his father while he was asleep. The judge summing up Against the accused, the jury brought in a verdict of guilty. Before passing sentence the judge asked the pleader for the acoused if he had to say anything. The pleader, Mr. Bomanji, said he agreed with the verdict but that according to Law the aocnaed could not be sentenced at all, much less sentenced to death, as during the current year seven Telia had already been convicted and sentenced two of them with death, that several other communities had not yet reached their quota of convictions as given in the Government of India Act, while the Telis had already reached theire. His Lordship accepted the contention of the defence pleader and acquitted the acoused. VII (Extract from the ‘Indian Daily Mail, ’ 1936) Annaji Ramchandra (Chitpavan Brahmin) was found wandering in the streets of Poona with a long knife attacking whomsoever he met. When brought up’ before the Magistrate he was shown by the police to have been recently let off from the Mental Hospital. The Superintendent of the Hospital in his evidence said that Annaji had been in the hospital as a dangerous insane for three years, but as there was the quota for the Chitpavanas and as the inmates belonging to other communities had not finished their year-quotas he could not keep him any longer and show any special favouritism to the Chitpavans and he had therefore let him off according to Government Order No. ... in the Medical Department. The Magistrate ordered Annaji to be discharged. VIII (Extract from the Report of the Administration of Jails in the Bombay Presidency, 1937) In Spite of every precaution the numbers in the jails did not correspond to the quotas fixed for each community. The Superintendent had already asked for instructions from Government with a view to remedying the discrepancy. Resolution of Government : Government view with serious displeasure this grave dereliction of duty on the part of the I. G. of prisons. Immediate steps should be taken to arrest and put in jail as many members of the various com-

476 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES ‘best’ for the Jews ? There can hardly be any doubt as to the correct answer to these questions. In answering this question two things cannot be overlooked. One is that a great man is not necessarily a good man. The other is that man is not a mere machine without any feelings. This is even true of the ‘best’ man. He too is charged with the feelings of class sympathies and class antipathies. Having regard to these considerations the ‘best’ man from the governing class may well turn out to be the worst from the point of view of the servile classes. Mere efficiency can never be accepted as a test. If it was accepted as the only test the result would be that the affairs of the French might well be run by the Germans, of Turks by the Russians and of Chinese by the Japanese. Those who hold out the theory of naked efficiency and nothing but efficiency as the test of good Government should ask the French, the Turks and the Chinese as to what they have to say about it and how they like the result which follows from its application. munities as are required to bring their quotas up to the proper level. If enough persons required cannot be caught, a sufficient number of inmates should be let off to bring down all to the same level. IX (Proceedings of the Legislative Council, 1940) Mr. Chennappa asked : Has the attention of Government been called to the fact that class list of the recent M.A. Examination in Pali do not show the proper quota for mang-garudis ? The Hon. Mr. Damu Shroff (Minister of Education) : The University Registrar reports that no candidate from among Mang-garudis offered himself for examination. Mr. Chennappa: Will Government be pleased to stop this examination until such a candidate offers himself and if the University disobeys the order of Government to take away the University grant and amend the University Act ? The Hon. Member: Government will be pleased to consider the suggestion favourably. (Cheers). X (Extract from ‘The Times of India, ’ 1942) The Coroner Mr...... was suddenly called last evening to inquire into the death of Ramji Sonu at the J.J. Hospital as the result of n surgical operation. Dr. Tanu Pandav (caste Barber) deposed that he had conducted the operation. He wished to open an abscess in the abdomen but his knife pierced the heart and the patient expired. Asked whether he had ever carried out any operation of this nature before, he said that he was appointed as the principal surgeon to the hospital only one day before as it was then the turn of his community and that he had never held a surgical instrument in his hand before except a razor for shaving. The jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure.