Party, Parliament and the Labour Ministry

By 1936 Dr. Ambedkar had spent years arguing for the rights of the “Depressed Classes”, the communities that the caste system treated as “untouchable”. In the next ten years he tried every tool he could find: a fierce pamphlet, a new political party, bills in the Bombay legislature, a strike, a seat in the British government of India, books and colleges. This chapter follows that decade. The making of the Constitution and his turn to Buddhism are told in other chapters.

A speech that was never given (1936)

In December 1935 the Jat-Pat-Todak Mandal of Lahore, a group of Hindu reformers working against caste, invited Dr. Ambedkar to preside over its yearly conference Columbia University – Pritchett timeline. When the organisers read his speech, they objected to his attack on the Hindu scriptures and to his statement that he would leave Hinduism. They asked him to cut those parts BAWS Vol. 1, pp. 29–31. He refused, the conference was cancelled, and on 15 May 1936 he published the speech himself as Annihilation of Caste BAWS Vol. 1, p. 28 Columbia University – Pritchett timeline.

Put simply, the speech makes three arguments. First, caste blocks every other kind of progress:

“turn in any direction you like, caste is the monster that crosses your path. You cannot have political reform, you cannot have economic reform, unless you kill this monster.”

— Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste (1936) BAWS Vol. 1, p. 47

Second, caste is not a brick wall but an idea: “Caste is a notion, it is a state of the mind.” Shared meals cannot end it. He calls inter-marriage the real remedy, then goes further: people will only change when they stop treating the scriptures that teach caste as sacred BAWS Vol. 1, pp. 67–68. Third, he offered a goal: “my ideal would be a society based on Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” BAWS Vol. 1, p. 57.

The first 1,500 copies sold out within two months. The 1937 edition added his debate with Mahatma Gandhi, who had reviewed the speech in his paper Harijan BAWS Vol. 1, p. 25 Columbia University – Pritchett timeline.

A party for workers (1936–1937)

In August 1936 he founded the Independent Labour Party (ILP) to fight the first elections under the Government of India Act, 1935 Columbia University – Pritchett timeline. He told The Times of India that he chose the word “labour” because labour included the Depressed Classes and others too. The party was open to people of every caste and creed BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, pp. 414–415. It promised land mortgage banks, new industries, limits on working hours, social insurance, free and compulsory primary education, and protection for tenants under the Khoti and Talukdari land systems BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, pp. 416–419.

In the 1937 Bombay elections the ILP contested 17 seats and won 15 Columbia University – Pritchett timeline The Leaflet. By Dr. Ambedkar’s own count, that was 13 of the 15 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes in the province, plus 2 general seats BAWS Vol. 9, preface p. iii. He himself sat for Bombay City (Byculla and Parel) BAWS Vol. 2, p. 101.

Fighting for tenants and village servants

On 17 September 1937 he introduced two bills in the Bombay Legislative Assembly.

The first would abolish the Khoti system. In Ratnagiri and parts of Kolaba and Thana, the government collected land tax through landlords called khots, who were free to squeeze the farmers under them. His bill said these farmers had been “reduced to a state of abject slavery”. It proposed that the government deal with farmers directly, pay the khots limited compensation, and make the real tillers the legal holders of their land BAWS Vol. 2, pp. 96–103.

The second bill dealt with the Mahar watan. Under this hereditary system, Mahar families had to serve the village and the government in return for small plots of land and grain from farmers. The bill would let a family give up the service but keep the land by paying normal tax, and would make sure the remaining duties were defined and paid for BAWS Vol. 2, pp. 94–95. His collected works record both bills being introduced, but not passed.

He also took the fight to the streets. On 10 January 1938 he led peasants from Thana, Kolaba, Ratnagiri, Satara and Nasik to the Council Hall in Bombay, carrying posters reading “Down with the Khoti System” BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 170. In December 1939 he told a conference of Mahar watandars at Haregaon that the watan was “a system of heartless exploitation” BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, pp. 213–214.

The 1938 strike

In 1938 the Congress government of Bombay brought the Industrial Disputes Bill, which allowed jail terms for illegal strikes The Leaflet. Dr. Ambedkar argued that punishing a strike meant forcing people to work against their will:

“the right to strike is simply another name for the right to freedom.”

— Speech in the Bombay Legislative Assembly, 15 September 1938 BAWS Vol. 2, p. 208

On 7 November 1938 a one-day protest strike was held in Bombay. Dr. Ambedkar condemned police firing and lathi charges on the strikers and demanded a public inquiry. The government set up an inquiry committee BAWS Vol. 17 Part I, pp. 285–286 BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 201.

Thinking aloud about Pakistan (1940 and 1945)

After the Muslim League demanded Pakistan in 1940, the ILP asked Dr. Ambedkar to study the question. His report became Thoughts on Pakistan (December 1940), enlarged in 1945 as Pakistan or the Partition of India BAWS Vol. 8, pp. 5–6 BAWS Vol. 8, edition note.

The book lays out the Muslim case for Pakistan, the Hindu case against it, and the alternatives. In 1945 he gave his own view. If Muslims were truly determined to have Pakistan, “the wise course would be to concede the principle of it” BAWS Vol. 8, p. 368. But borders should be redrawn so that non-Muslim areas were not forced in, and minorities should get safeguards or the choice to move BAWS Vol. 8, pp. 379–380. As he put it, “I prefer Freedom of India to the Unity of India” BAWS Vol. 8, p. 367. He noted that the book upset both Hindus and Muslims BAWS Vol. 8, p. 2.

The Scheduled Castes Federation (1942)

At a conference in Nagpur in July 1942, a resolution passed on 19 July founded the All India Scheduled Castes Federation (SCF) BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, p. 455. Its constitution, as revised in 1955, lists its first aim as “to organise the Scheduled Castes of India” BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, p. 457. It remained his main party until 1956.

Labour Member in the Viceroy’s Council (1942–1946)

On 20 July 1942 Dr. Ambedkar joined the Viceroy’s Executive Council, the British government’s cabinet in India, as Labour Member BAWS Vol. 10, p. 10. A journalist wrote that no one from the Depressed Classes had held so high an office before Round Table India. He also looked after the Central Public Works Department BAWS Vol. 14 Part II, p. 1318. That same year he criticised the Congress’s Quit India movement Columbia University – Pritchett timeline.

Talking across the table. On 7 August 1942 the government brought provincial governments, employers and workers together in a Tripartite Labour Conference. It became a permanent forum: the Indian Labour Conference and the Standing Labour Committee BAWS Vol. 10, pp. 100–102.

Shorter hours and paid holidays. In 1944 he moved a bill for holidays with pay for factory workers, which became the Factories (Amendment) Act, 1945 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 201 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 292. In November 1945 the Indian Labour Conference backed a 48-hour week. On 21 February 1946 he moved a bill cutting the legal week in year-round factories from 54 to 48 hours BAWS Vol. 10, p. 299 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 326.

Welfare and wages. He amended the Mines Maternity Benefit Act in 1943 and 1945 BAWS Vol. 10, pp. 87, 274. He set up a welfare fund for coal miners (1944) and brought a bill for a similar fund for mica miners (1946) BAWS Vol. 10, p. 137 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 373. In April 1946 he brought forward a Minimum Wages Bill and a bill requiring employers to write down workers’ service rules BAWS Vol. 10, p. 1063 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 385. Wartime dearness allowance (extra pay to cope with rising prices) was also debated. In 1943 he told critics that the government’s figures were not final BAWS Vol. 10, p. 50.

Jobs and fair shares. By early 1945 employment exchanges were working in ten cities. A national resettlement and employment service followed for soldiers and war workers BAWS Vol. 10, p. 846 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 336. Reserved posts for Scheduled Castes in central government recruitment rose from 8⅓ per cent (1943) to 12½ per cent (1946) BAWS Vol. 10, p. 755 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 398.

Water and power. The Central Water Commission says it began in 1945 as the Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission, set up on Dr. Ambedkar’s advice Central Water Commission. He chaired conferences that turned the Damodar flood plan into a multi-purpose project for flood control, irrigation and electricity BAWS Vol. 10, p. 220 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 284. He also chaired a meeting at Cuttack on Orissa’s rivers BAWS Vol. 10, p. 302. In early 1946 he and Viceroy Wavell agreed to go ahead with the foundation stone of the Sambalpur dam, later known as Hirakud BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, pp. 345–346.

A hard choice. In 1943, during a wartime coal shortage, the government let women work underground in coal mines again. Dr. Ambedkar called it “a great misfortune” but defended it. Women legislators such as Renuka Ray attacked it, and the ban returned on 1 February 1946 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 139 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 253 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 997.

He urged India not to wait a century for labour laws, as Britain had:

“History is not always an example. More often it is a warning.”

— Address to the Indian Labour Conference, November 1945 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 296

His term ended when the Viceroy accepted the Council’s resignations on 24 August 1946 BAWS Vol. 10, p. 399.

Books as arguments (1945–1947)

• What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables (June 1945) began as a study of the 1937 election results. It grew into a sharp critique of how Congress and Gandhi had handled the Untouchables’ demands BAWS Vol. 9, preface.
• Who Were the Shudras? (preface dated 10 October 1946) is dedicated to Jotiba Phule. It argues that the Shudras were once part of the Kshatriya (warrior) group and were pushed down after Brahmins refused them the sacred-thread ceremony BAWS Vol. 7, preface.
• States and Minorities (preface dated 15 March 1947) was written for the Federation to give to the Constituent Assembly. It is drafted as articles of a constitution: fundamental rights, minority rights, safeguards for Scheduled Castes, and state ownership of key industries and farmland BAWS Vol. 1, pp. 383–385 BAWS Vol. 1, p. 408.

Colleges of his own (1945–1946)

On 1 February 1945 he asked the Government of India for an interest-free loan of six lakh rupees to start a college in Bombay. He explained that Scheduled Caste students dropped out at the college stage because of poverty and unfair admissions. The college would be open to all castes BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, pp. 423–428. The People’s Education Society was established on 8 July 1945 BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, p. 429. Its first college, Siddharth College, opened on 20 June 1946 The Mooknayak Columbia University – Pritchett timeline.

1946: losing at the polls, finding a seat in Bengal

In the provincial elections of early 1946 the Congress won most seats reserved for Scheduled Castes, and the Federation did badly The Caravan BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, p. 226. Dr. Ambedkar argued that the “primary” rounds, where only Scheduled Caste voters voted, told another story. There the Congress got only 28 per cent of the votes BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, pp. 227–228.

Members of the new Constituent Assembly were chosen by the provincial assemblies in July 1946. Unable to win enough support in Bombay, Dr. Ambedkar was elected by the Bengal legislature Law and Other Things – Vikram Raghavan Dwaipayan Sen, Cambridge University Press. He depended on Federation activists in Bengal. Jogendranath Mandal, a Dalit leader from eastern Bengal, is widely credited with a big role in this ThePrint. What he did in the Assembly is the subject of the Constitution chapter.

Where sources disagree

• Working hours. Some articles say he cut the working day “from 14 to 8 hours” at a conference on 27 November 1942 The Leaflet. His recorded speeches show something different. The cut was from 54 to 48 hours a week; the conference that backed it met on 26–28 November 1945; and the bill came in February 1946 BAWS Vol. 10, pp. 293, 299, 326. A December 1945 letter from Viceroy Wavell speaks of a plan to go from 56 to 50 hours BAWS Vol. 10, Transfer of Power extract.
• When he joined and left the Council. The King’s warrant is dated 9 July 1942, and he took office on 20 July BAWS Vol. 10, p. 10. One article calls 20 July the warrant date The Leaflet. For his exit, the Columbia timeline says he resigned in June 1946 Columbia University – Pritchett timeline, while a Viceroy’s House statement of 24 August 1946 accepts the Council members’ resignations BAWS Vol. 10, p. 399.
• 1937 seats. Most sources say 15 of 17 Columbia University – Pritchett timeline. Congress publicity at the time said the ILP won only 12 of 151 reserved seats across India; Dr. Ambedkar called this a distortion BAWS Vol. 9, preface.
• Women in mines. Some tributes list “lifting the ban on women in mines” as a reform The Leaflet. In fact the 1943 decision let women work underground again, and it was widely criticised BAWS Vol. 10, p. 253.
• Federation’s 1946 seats. Exact figures differ. One account says it won 14 of 148 reserved seats Law and Other Things; other accounts simply say it did badly The Caravan.
• The Bengal election. One historian dates it “late 1946” Dwaipayan Sen; another places it in July 1946 Law and Other Things. Who supplied his votes is also unclear. Raghavan only guesses that some may have come from Anglo-Indian, independent Dalit or Muslim League members.
• SCF founding meeting. The BAWS editors give the Nagpur conference as both 17–20 and 18–20 July 1942 BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, p. 455.

Read more

• Annihilation of Caste, BAWS Vol. 1 — the full text, with his reply to Gandhi.
• BAWS Vol. 2: Dr. Ambedkar in the Bombay Legislature — his Khoti, watan and strike speeches.
• BAWS Vol. 10: as Labour Member, 1942–46 — every speech and answer from his time in government.
• Pakistan or the Partition of India, BAWS Vol. 8 — the 1946 text.
• Columbia University – Pritchett timeline, 1940s — a short year-by-year guide.
• Central Water Commission – 75 years — the official account of the water commission he proposed.