A PLEA TO THE FOREIGNER - Page 477

448

DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES

they cannot ignore without peril to democracy. For the sake of clarity these considerations may be set down in serial order.

First is the recognition of the hard fact of history that in every country there exist two classes,—the governing class and the servile class between whom there is a continuous struggle for power. Second is that by reason of its power and prestige the governing class finds it easy to maintain its supremacy over the servile class. Third is that adult suffrage and frequent elections are no bar against governing class reaching places of power and authority. Fourth is that on account of their inferiority complex the members of the servile classes regard the members of the governing class as their natural leaders and the servile classes themselves volunteer to elect members of the governing classes as their rulers. Fifth is that the existence of a governing class is inconsistent with democracy and self-government and that given the fact that where the governing class retains its power to govern, it is wrong to believe that democracy and self-government have become realities of life. Sixth is that self-government and democracy become real not when a constitution based on adult suffrage comes into existence but when the governing class loses its power to capture the power to govern. Seventh is that while in some countries the servile classes may succeed in ousting the governing class from the seat of authority with nothing more than adult suffrage, in other countries the governing class may be so deeply entrenched that the servile classes will need other safeguards besides adult suffrage to achieve the same end.

That there is great value in having these considerations drawn up and hung up, so to say on the wall, before every lover of democracy, so that he may see them and note them, goes without saying. For they will help, as nothing else can, to make him realize that in devising a constitution for democracy he must bear in mind : that the principal aim of such a constitution must be to dislodge the governing class from its position and to prevent it from remaining as a governing class for ever ; that the machinery for setting up a democratic government cannot be a matter of dogma ; that ousting the governing class from power being the main object the machinery for setting up a democratic government cannot be uniform and that variations in the machinery of Democracy must not merely be tolerated but accepted for the reason that