WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : A POLITICAL CHARITY 131
On this basis the Sangh’s expenditure comes to about Rs. 3,45,888 per year, which is 50 per cent, less than, what the Sangh hoped to collect. It will be seen that the Sangh is not as big as it is made out to be by its friends. The Sangh has been carrying on a very poor existence. A Budget of three lakhs per year for a population of 50 millions of Untouchables is not a matter on which the Untouchables need be very jubilant. Even this much show, the Sangh would not have been able to put up if during the two years that they were in office the Congress Governments in different Provinces had not given large grants to the Sangh.
The Sangh cannot be blamed for its poor finances. The blame lies with the Hindus. The stagnant, if not the deteriorating, condition of the Sangh shows how little the Hindus care for the welfare of the Untouchables. For political purposes they contributed one crore of Rupees which went to make up the Tilak Swaraj Fund. For General Welfare work they have very recently contributed one crore and
15 lakhs which will make up the Kasturba Memorial Fund. Compared with these the contributions made by the Hindus to the Harijan Sevak Sangh are paltry.
One may differ with the Sangh on the nature of the welfare work it does. Much of the work the Sangh does is obviously the work which any civilized Government is bound to undertake out of public revenues. It may well be asked: why should the Sangh ask Government to undertake this work and use its funds on projects which Government does not do and yet is urgently required to be done?
This however cannot give rise to feelings of animosity on the part of the Untouchables towards the Sangh. It may be admitted that such animosity does exist. This circumstance and its causes were referred [1] to by a writer in the Indian Social Reformer of 14th October 1944. He said :—
“A deputation of Harijans waited on Gandhiji at Sevagram with the request that members of the castes grouped under the head of ‘Scheduled Castes’ should be allowed representation on the governing body of the Harijan Sevak Sangh. Gandhiji
- The occasion for his comments was furnished by the report in the newspapers that on September 26, 1944 some Untouchables waited on Mr. Gandhi and urged upon him to appoint representatives of the Untouchables on the Governing Body of the Harijan Sevak Sangh and Mr. Gandhi refused. The writer is believed to be no other than Mr. K. Natarajan.