WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO THE UNTOUCHABLES : APPENDIX XI 347
that they are a religious minority in a sense far more real than the Sikhs and Muslims can be and within the meaning of the Cripps Proposals. The Working Committee desires to point out that what has been stated by Lord Wavell in his letter to Mr. Gandhi has been the position of His Majesty’s Government from the very beginning and was enunciated in clear terms as early as 1917 by the authors of the Montagu-Chelmsford Report simultaneously with the enunciation by them of Responsible Government as the goal of India’s political evolution and has been confirmed by subsequent action of His Majesty’s Government such as the grant of separate representation to the Scheduled Castes at the Round Table Conference, Joint Parliamentary Committee and in the Government of India Act,
1935, as a recognized minority, separate from the Hindus. The Working Committee has, therefore, no hesitation in saying that it is a false and malicious propaganda to allege that this is a departure from the policy of His Majesty’s Government and regards it as a manoeuvre on the part of the enemies of the Scheduled Castes to defeat their just claims for constitutional safeguards and calls upon Indian political leaders and particularly the Hindu leaders to accept this fact, in the interests of peace and good-will between the Hindus and the Scheduled Castes, and for the speedy realization of India’s political goal.
R ESOLUTION N O . 2
S UBJECT :— Declaration by His Majesty’s Government relating to the Scheduled Castes and the Constitution.
The Working Committee of the All-India Scheduled Castes Federation welcomes the declaration made by His Majesty’s Government and recently reiterated by His Excellency the Viceroy that His Majesty’s Government regards the consent of the Scheduled Castes, among others, to the Constitution of a free India, as a matter of vital importance and as a necessary condition precedent to the transfer of power to Indian hands. At the same time, the Working Committee wishes to draw the attention of His Majesty’s Government to the attitude of the Congress and other political organizations in the country which treats this declaration of His Majesty’s Government as not being a bona fide declaration and made without any intention to honour it and as a mere matter of tactics adopted to postpone transfer of power, and which is in all probability responsible for the unwillingness of the Majority Community to seek for a settlement with the Scheduled Castes. The Working Committee regards this allegation as baseless and calls upon His Majesty’s Government not to give any ground for such suspicion and make it clear that they will stand by the declaration at all times and under all circumstances.