z:\ ambedkar\vol-02\vol2-06.indd MK SJ+YS 21-9-2013/YS-8-11-2013 431
SAFEGUARDS FOR DEPRESSED CLASSES 431
own hands or that the Legislative Council represent and consider his interests, we must retain power to protect him. So with the Depressed classes, we intend to make the best arrangements we can for their representation in order that they too may ultimately learn the lesson of self-protection. But if it is found that their interests suffer and that they do not share in the general progress, we must retain the means in our hand of helping them ..... ”
- The Sabha regrets that all these promises were thrown to the wind by the Southborough Committee which was subsequently appointed to devise franchise, frame constituencies and to recommend what adjustments were needed to be made in the form of the proposed popular Government as a consequence of the peculiar social conditions prevalent in India. So grossly indifferent was the Southborough Committee to the problem of making adequate provision for safeguarding the interests of the Depressed classes that even the Government of India which was not over-particular in this matter felt called upon in paragraph 13 of their Despatch on the Report of the Southborough Committee to observe : “ We accept the proposals (for non-official nomination) generally. But there is one Community whose case appears to us to require more consideration than the Committee gave it. The Report on Indian Constitutional Reforms clearly recognised the problem of the Depressed classes and gave a pledge respecting them. The castes described as ‘Hindus—others’ in the Committee’s Report though they are defined in varying terms, are broadly speaking all the same kind of people. Except for differences in the rigidity of their exclusion they are all more or less in the position of the Madras Panchamas, definitely outside that part of the Hindu Community which is allowed access to their temples. They amount to about one-fifth of the total population, and have not been represented at all in the Morley-Minto Councils. The Committee’s Report mentions the Depressed Classes twice, but only to explain that in the absence of satisfactory electorates they have been provided for by nomination. It does not discuss the position of these people or their capacity for looking after themselves. Nor does it explain the amount of nomination which it suggests for them. Paragraph
24 of the Report (of the Franchise Committee) justifies the restrictions of the nominated seats on grounds which do not suggest that the Committee were referring to the Depressed Classes. The measure of representation which they propose for this Community is as follows :
Population of Depressed classes in millions
Seats for the Depressed classes
Province
Total population in millions
Total seats
Madras .. 39.8 6.3 120 2
Bombay .. .. .. 19.5 0.6 113 1 Bengal .. .. .. 45.0 9.9 127 1 United Provinces .. .. 47.0 10.1 120 1 Punjab .. .. .. 19.5 1.7 85 .. Bihar and Orissa .. .. 32.6 9.3 100 1 Central Provinces .. .. 12.0 3.7 72 1 Assam .. 6.0 0.3 54 .. Total .. 221.4 41.9 791 7