THE TRANSFER OF POWER 459
under the terms contained in His Majesty’s proposals cannot but result in the caste Hindus having virtually the right to nominate the representatives of the Depressed Classes to the Constitutent Assembly. Such representatives of the Depressed Classes will be the tools of the caste Hindus. In the fourth place the Constituent Assembly will be filled with the Congressites who will form the dominant majority party able to carry out its own programme. There is no doubt that Mr. Gandhi, whatever may be said about his endeavours in the matter of the social uplift of the Depressed Classes is totally opposed to giving political recognition to the Depressed Classes in the constitution as a separate and distinct element in the national life of India. That being the case the programme of the majority party in the Constituent Assembly will be to wipe out the political safeguards already granted to the Depressed Classes in the present constitution.
Anyone who realises what is implied in the Constitutuent
Assembly will admit that His Majesty’s Government by their
proposals have literally thrown the Depressed Classes to the wolves.
It may be said that while there is the Constituent Assembly which
may deny constitutional safeguards to the Depressed Classes, His
Majesty’s Government have been careful to include in their proposals
in the provisions for a treaty with the Constituent Assembly
the object of which is to secure the interests of the Depressed
Classes. This proposal of a treaty is evidently borrowed from the
plan adopted by His Majesty’s Government for the settlement of
the Irish dispute. The proposal regarding the treaty does not say
what are the safeguards His Majesty’s Government will decide to
include in the treaty. This is an important point because there may
be a difference of opinion between His Majesty’s Government and
the Depressed Classes on the nature, number and method of the
political safeguards that may be necessary to protect the interests
of the Depressed Classes under the new constitution.
The second and equally important question about the
treaty is what is going to be the sanction behind the treaty.
Will the treaty be a part of the constitution framed by
the Constituent Assembly, so that any provision in the
constitution which is repugnant with the treaty will be null and void. Or, will the treaty be just a treaty between the two
Governments—the Indian National Government and His Majesty’s