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82 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Reducing these figures in terms of communities, we get the following percentage as it stood in 1930 :—
| Communities | Percentage in Infantry | Col3 | Percentage in Cavalry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Including Gurkhas | Excluding Gurkhas | ||
| 1. Hindus and Sikhs .. 2. Gurkhas .. .. 3. Muhammadans .. 4. Burmans .. .. | 60.55 … 35.79 3.66 | 50.554 16.4 29.974 3.072 | 61.92 … 30.08 … |
These figures show the communal composition of the Indian Army. The Musalmans according to Mr. Chaudhari formed
36% of the Indian Infantry and 30% of the Indian Cavalry.
These figures relate to the year 1930. We must now find out what changes have taken place since then in this proportion.
It is one of the most intriguing things in the Military history of India that no information is available on this point after 1930. It is impossible to know what the proportion of the Muslims in the Indian Army at present is. There is no Government publication from which such information can be gathered. In the past, there was no dearth of publications giving this information. It is very suprising that they should have now disappeared, or if they do appear, that they should cease to contain this information. Not only is there no Government publication containing information on this point, but Government has refused to give any information on the point when asked by members of the Central Legislative Assembly. The following questions and answers taken from the proceedings of the Central Legislative Assembly show how Government has been strenuously combating every attempt to obtain information on the point :
There was an interpellation on 15th September 1938, when the following questions were asked and replies as stated below were given :—
Arrangements for the Defence of India*
- Legislative Assembly Debates, 1938 Vol. VI, page 2462.