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704 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
in Bombay with the joint electorates, and practically no women at all but all men : the Depressed Classes and everyone voting and she topped the poll. That is in a municipal election. Then there was not only her but another lady, and we have had examples in elections in Universities in Patna where women have been elected by men, and no difficulty on the communal question has arisen.
C389. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : When the point is whether a woman will be elected, no doubt the communal feeling will be less in a direct election than it will be in an indirect election ?
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur : Certainly. Whenever the indirect election is going to be by means of the Council, it is going to be permeated by communalism.
†C406. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : In those Councils where they have actually been members I understand it has been by nomination ?
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur : Yes, there is no such thing as election.
C407. Sir Hari Singh Gour : To the Legislative Assembly they have never been nominated so far ?
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Never.
C408. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Is there a disqualification ?
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur : I think not.
Mrs. Hamid Ali : May I point out in connection with this that it is very lately that the Provinces have done away with the disqualification ?
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : It has been done very, very recently ; in some Provinces so recently that they have scarcely had time for another election since the disqualification was done away with.
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Mrs. P. K. Sen and Mrs. L. Mukerji
‡C588. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Is it to be inferred that these communal differences would very likely spread to the women if the women were to enter the professions ?
Mrs. L. Mukerji : I do not think so. I think that woman by nature is free from such communal feelings on account of her sex.
C589. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : For instance, today the struggle or scramble for jobs and professional appointments is really confined to the men ?
Mrs. L. Mukerji : Yes.
C590. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Largely, because women in India are not earning members of the family ?
Mrs. L. Mukerji : I quite see your point.
C591. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Therefore, to take the case of education, if a large section of women along with men were entering that profession, and other professions as a result of education, or your own analysis, perhaps the thing would develop among women ?
†Mintues of Evidence, Vol. II-C, 29th July 1933, p. 2327.
‡ Ibid., p. 2354.