WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : APPENDIX V 321
The Government nominates every year, for the election of members of the Assembly, one member from each Harijan Community. Though they are elected to present the grievances of the Harijans before the Assembly, they are found to be the machinery of the Government, viz., the toys of the Savarna officers, who are benefited by them. Thus the grievances of the Harijans cannot be redressed any way.
All the Harijans of Travancore are labourers in the fields and compounds. They are the servants of the Savarnas who behave with them as beasts—nobody to look after for protection. Every Harijan gets only 2 chs (one anna) as the wage in most parts of the State. The social disabilities are the same to them even after the Temple Entry. The workers in the factories in various parts of the State of Travancore and the Officers of the State are all Savarnas and they arc at present agitating for responsible Government. Now the Harijans are demanding jobs in Government and in factories but the agitation in Travancore is a Savarna agitation by which the Savarnas are making arrangements to get rid of Harijans in Public Service and factories. They plead for higher salaries and more privileges. They pay the least care to the Harijan labourers while the people of Travancore are maddened with the agitation of the workers in the factories. The standard of salary of Harijan worker is very low while the standard of a factory worker is thrice the former.
Due to starvation and want of proper means of livelihood, the heads of the children of Harijans are heated as a result of which they are likely to fail in school. Before proclamation, the duration of Concession in high schools was for 6 years; now, it has been reduced to three years by which a good number of students stopped their education after their failure.
There is a department for the Depressed Classes, the head of which is Mr. C. O. Damodaran (the protector of the Backward Communities). Though every year a big amount is granted for the expenditure, at the end of the year, two-thirds of the sum is lapsed by his sagacity. He used to submit reports to the Government that there is no way of spending the amount. Ninety-five per cent of the sum allotted for the Depressed Class is spent as the salary of the officials who are always Savarnas and 5 per cent, is benefited. Now the Government is going to make some colonies in three parts of Travancore. The officers are Savarnas. This scheme is, in my opinion, not a success for the Government do not pay greater attention to it. I regret that Travancore Government spends one anna for the Harijan cause, while Cochin State spends a rupee for the same.
The majority of the subjects of Travancore are now agitating strongly for Responsible Government under an organization ‘The