DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 673
Prabhavati Raje—she was a wonderful woman worker—leading the audience completely with her like the Joan of Arc of old, I saw the danger
of letting orthodoxy do this. On invitation I went there and I spoke for an hour, and I was taken to task for appearing on the opponent’s platform. I said, “What is the use of speaking to those who are converted ? I must convert those who are not converted.” I fully believe in educating
the people about this new Hindu Code Bill. You must not precipitate matters and decide this issue by force of majority. But whenever this may happen, it is our duty to educate the people. Let us produce the result by popular educational propaganda. After all you have not
nationalised the key industries. Where has this item gone ? The capitalists struck and we had no money and we had to eat our words,— I believe in patience. One of these days things will be all right. We are afraid to do any nationalisation now. We are hesitating to abolish the
zamindaries. We are hesitating to proceed with River Projects. We are hesitating to proceed with the development of cottage industries,—all because inflation is staring us in the face, and we cannot make all these
necessary improvements. We are face to face with conflicts, contradictions all round. Life is not a smooth path like a journey on a railway. It is like a motor car journey upon bad roads in the midst of congested traffic. I ask you whether it is not the duty of the members of this august house
to undertake the very useful and very fruitful task of educating their masters. What happened in the year 1878 when Robert Low said after the extension of the franchise. “Let us go and educate our masters.” Our masters are outside. We are not the masters. The Ministers are not our
masters. We can deal with them as we like. We may dispense with them tomorrow if we do not want them. That is our right and that is our privilege and our safety also. Therefore I say that this is a matter in which we should go slow. I am second to none with regard to my love
for social reform. I was a social reformer even in the year 1898 when I was in the B. A. class, which was 51 years ago, long before half of the audience was born, and ever since I have sustained that interest.
I very early came under the influence of the Brahmo social reformers and I have fully imbibed the reformist spirit from the Christian missionaries under whom I studied from my fourth form to my B. A. classes.
Therefore it is not what should be done on the subject that matters, but how we are going to do it. We have got to remember the political bearings as well. Tomorrow you are appearing before the Polls. What