20 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
(b) The State shall not, while providing State aid to schools, discriminate against schools under the management of minorities whether based on religion, community or language.”
I move this clause for the acceptance of the House.
Shri Mohanlal Saksena (United Provinces : General) : Sir, with your permission, I would like to move that this clause be referred back to the Advisory Committee for reconsideration. There are certain aspects which require reconsideration, and, on the whole, I think it would be much better that this whole clause be referred to the Advisory Committee for their reconsideration.
Mr. President : Mr. Mohanlal Saksena has moved that this clause also be referred back to the Advisory Committee for further consideration.
*Mr. K. M. Munshi : I move that sub-clause (2) of clause 18 be referred back to the Advisory Committee. It was the general sense of many of the members that this clause should be reconsidered in the light of discussion that took place.
†Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Mr. President, Sir, I confess that I am considerably surprised at these amendments—both by Mr. Munshi as well as Mr. Tyagi. They have, I submit, given no reason why this clause 18 should be referred back to the Committee. The only reason in support of this proposal—one can sense—is that the rights of minorities should be relative, that is to say, we must wait and see what rights the minorities are given by the Pakistan Assembly before we determine the rights we want to give to the minorities in the Hindustan area. Now, Sir, with all deference, I must deprecate any such idea. Rights of minorities should be absolute rights. They should not be subject to any consideration as to what another party may like to do to minorities within its jurisdiction. If we find that certain minorities in which we are interested and which are within the jurisdiction of another State have not got the same rights which we have given to minorities in our territory, it would be open for the State to take up the matter in a diplomatic manner and see that the wrongs are rectified. But no matter what others do, I think we ought to do what is right in our own judgement and personally I think that the rights which are indicated in clause 18 are rights which every minority, irrespective of any other consideration is entitled to claim. The first right that we have given is the right to use their language, their script and their culture. We have stated that “there shall be no discrimination on the ground of religion, language, etc.” in the matter
*CAD, Vol. III. 1st May 1947, p. 504.
† Ibid., pp. 507-8.