462 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
These are constitutional proposals. They are intended to lead India to wage a total war in which Hindus, Musalmans, Depressed Classes and Sikhs are called upon wholeheartedly to participate. Yet Sir Stafford Cripps, either with the consent or without the consent of His Majesty’s Government has been making discrimination between major parties and minor parties. The major parties are those whose consent is necessary. Minor parties are those with whom consultation is believed to be enough. This is a new distinction. Certainly it was never made in the prior pronouncements either of His Majesty’s Government or of the Viceroy. The pronouncement spoke of the “consent of the principal elements in the national life of India.”
So far as the Depressed Classes are concerned I am not aware of any pronouncement in which the Depressed Classes were placed on a lower plane than the one given to the Mussalmans. I quote the following from the speech of Viceroy made in Bombay on January 10, 1941 from which it will be seen that the Depressed Classes were bracketed with the Mussalmans.
“There are insistent claims of the minorities. I need refer only to two of them; the great Muslim minority and the Scheduled Classes; there are the guarantees that have been given to the minorities in the past, the fact that their position must be safeguarded and that those guarantees must be honoured.”
This invidious distinction now sought to be made is a breach of faith with those minorities whose position has been lowered by this discrimination. From a constitutional point of view it is an obnoxious distinction. From the point of view of total war it is bound to cause more disaffection and disloyalty in the country. It is for the British to consider whether in this attempt to win the friendship of those who have probably already decided to choose other friends they should lose those who are their real friends. The proposals show a sudden volte face on the part of His Majesty’s Government. The putting forth of those proposals which were denounced by them as an invasion of minorities’ rights is an indication of their complete surrender of right to might. This is Munich Mentality, the essense of which is to save oneself by sacrificing others. It is this mentality, which is writ large on those proposals. My advice to the British Government is that they should withdraw these proposals. If they cannot fight for right and justice and their plighted word they should better make peace. They can thereby at least save their honour.”
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