PART III
OTHER GRIEVANCES
VII. Neglect in the Matter of Publicity
It is quite well known that the Government of India engages itself very largely in giving publicity to the saying and doings of different individuals and parties who represent the main forces operating in India. As an illustration of this I would refer to the Volume called “India and the Aggressor” (The Trend of Indian Opinion Between 1935-40) issued by the Bureau of Public Information of the Government of India. The name of the Volume is very misleading. It has nothing to do with the Aggressor. It is a collection of sayings and doings of the Political Parties and Politicians in the country and presents a full resume of the views of the majority and minority in India.
Now the most annoying part of this volume is the complete neglect of the sayings and doings of the Scheduled Castes. Out of the 940 pages, 158 pages are given to the Congress, 85 pages are allotted to the Muslims. The Hindu Mahasabha and the Hindu League are given about 10 pages. The Liberal Federation has received 16 pages. The Sikhs are spread over 6 pages, Indian Christians over 2 pages and the Scheduled Castes are disposed of in about 3 pages and what is surprising is that in these 3 pages devoted to the Scheduled Castes the material which is included is of a trifling character. It omits altogether to take notice of some of the most important events that have taken place during this period and important pronouncements made by leading individuals from the Scheduled Castes. I may mention only one such event viz., the movement for conversion. Beyond question it was a movement which shook the Hindu Society to its very foundations and attracted the notice of the whole world. To emphasize the trumpery sort of publicity given to the Scheduled Castes in this