58 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
agree that so far as the priority is concerned families must take a second place as compared to the officers themselves. At the same time, the Government of India is aware how separation of husband and wife, father and children is likely to affect the mentality, the ease of mind of an officer who is required to do war effort. In order to relieve whatever distress such an arrangement might be causing, the Government of India has undertaken to open three boarding houses in Simla in order to accommodate the wives of officers who cannot leave their stations and I hope that Sir Frederick James will accept this as a token of goodwill of the Government of India towards this very acute problem.
Then, Sir, I come to the third point which was raised by my Honourable friend, Sir Jamnadas Mehta.
Mr. Jamnadas M. Mehta : I beg your pardon.
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : I hope you will be on the way to Knighthood. I won’t withdraw, nor apologize; I only say that it is in anticipation.
Maulana Zafar Ali Khan (East Central Pubjab : Muhammadan) : Coming events cast their shadows before.
The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar : Mr. Jamnadas Mehta in the course of the debate referred to the Session of the Dominion Labour Trade Union Congress which is being held in England or which is about to be held, and he complained that Indian Labour was not represented at that Dominion Conference. Sir, I share the regret and the sorrow which Mr. Jamnadas Mehta feels at the omission of representation of Indian labour at this important labour conference, but I would like to tell Mr. Jamnadas Mehta that the Labour Department is in no sense responsible for this unfortunate result. I would also like to tell him that the Labour Department was not consulted by the conveners of this Conference and I am sure that Mr. Jamnadas Mehta will admit that we really could not do anything in this matter since we were not consulted. Why they omitted to consult us and why they did not directly consult the heads of the labour movement in this country, who are quite well known to the gentlemen who are working for this Conference, I can more than understand. But, I think, Mr. Mehta will agree that the Labour Department is as watchful as any department can be in the matter of safeguarding the interest and the position of the Labour Department. Sir, I have done.
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