364 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Untouchables and a false absolution to the Hindus. Thirdly there is also the feeling that the name Harijan is indicative of pity. If the name meant ‘chosen people of God’ as the Jews claimed themselves to be it would have been a different matter. But to call them ‘children of God’ is to invite pity from their tyrants by pointing out their helplessness and their dependent condition. The more manly among the Untouchables resent the degrading implications of this new name. How great is the resentment of the Untouchables against this new name can be seen from the fact that whole body of the representatives of the Untouchables in the Bombay Legislative Assembly walked out of the House in protest when the Congress Government introduced a measure giving to the name Harijan the sanction of law.
This new name Harijan will remain until the downfall of Mr. Gandhi and the overthrow of the Congress Governments which are his creatures. That it was forced upon the Untouchables and that it has done no good are however facts which cannot be disputed.
Having discussed the blessings of this new name I must now proceed to examine the work of the Harijan Sevak Sangh. The Sangh is spoken of as a memorial to Gandhi’s labours in the cause of the Untouchables. What are the achievements of the Sangh.
The Sangh is an All-India Organization. It has a Central Board. Then there are Provincial Boards and under the Provincial Boards there are District and Local Committees. The number of Provincial Boards and Local Committees is given below:
1932-33 1933-34 1934-35
Provincial Boards 26 26 29
District & Local Committees 213 313 372
The financial resources of the Sangh are mainly drawn from the collections made on an All-India tour specially undertaken for the purpose by Mr. Gandhi between November 1933 to July 1934. The total amount collected on this tour came to about 8 lacs of Rupees and is known as the Gandhi Purse Fund and forms the principal reserve for the Sangh to draw upon. The rest of the resources are made up of annual donations.
The total expenditure of the Sangh under all heads from year to year is as follows:
1932-33 1933-34 1934-35 1935-36
Rs. 2,31,039.00 3,31,791.00 4,48,422.00 3,99,354.00