CHAPTER IV
HINDU OPPOSITION
T HE demands set forth in those resolutions fall into three categories (1) Political, (2) Educational and (3) Economic and Social.
Taking the political demands first it is obvious that they ask for three safeguards :–
(1) That the Legislature shall not be merely representative of the people but it shall be representative separately of both categories Hindus as well as Untouchables.
(2) That the Executive shall not be merely responsible to the Legislature, which means to the Hindus, but shall also be responsible both to the Hindus as well as to the Untouchables.
(3) That the administration shall not be merely efficient but shall also be worthy of trust by all sections of the people and also of the Untouchables and shall contain sufficient number of representatives of the Untouchables holding key positions so that the Untouchables may have confidence, in it.
These Political demands of the Untouchables have been the subject matter of great controversy between the Untouchables and the Hindus. Mr. Gandhi, the friend of the Untouchables, preferred to fast unto death rather than consent to them and although he yielded he is not reconciled to the justice underlying these demands. It will be well if I set out at this stage what the Hindu or the Congress Scheme of representative Government is. It is as follows :–
(1) The Legislature to be elected by Constituencies which are to be purely territorial.
(2) The Executive to be drawn solely from the Majority party in the Legislature.
(3) The Administration to be run by a public service based entirely upon considerations of efficiency.