970 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
30 ministers trained in the art of administration, while if you have one, you will have just 10 ministers—nothing more than that. The same thing will happen in Bihar and the same thing will happen in these big provinces. Therefore, in my judgement, there is a great disadvantage to this country in keeping these large provinces as they are. My Friend may perhaps listen to this argument if he does not listen to the other. His argument, if I have heard correctly, is’ Oh ! in a country where Ram and Krishna were both born, do not divide it.’ That is the argument. I think, he used sometimes. But that is not an argument of a statesman. Now Sir, I was saying about the Marathwada people, I mean the Maharashstrians, that the same thing is true of this Maharashtra. Maharashtra, except for a few Brahmins, is politically not upto the mark, I am sorry to say. I am not speaking with any personal venom of any kind. I know very well that I have had my full share of public life and I do not desire to compete with any one for more. But I like that my State should be well administered and in order that it may be well administered, it must have competent people. Now in a united Maharashtra you will not have more than five or six ministers. Some of them may be Brahmins and some of them may be non-Brahmins. Is that going to be enough for the future of Maharashstra ? Here you have a territory called Marathwada which has just been released from the reins of the Nizam. But you have only to just go and see the area in order to see its wretchedness, the condition of the people, with no clothes, hardly any food, no education. There is no primary school even there. I was told that there was one primary shcool in which there was only one chair and all the teachers ran early in the morning in order to capture that chair so as not to allow any other teacher to sit on it. I like to know whether this most backward area which has no irrigation, no food, no clothes, no school or anything of that kind, will fare better ? For some reason or other, the Nizam spent all his love and affection on other people, not on Marathwada. I like to know whether my friend Kaka Gadgil, if he become the Chief Minister of United Maharashtra would pay attention to the condition of the people of Marathwada or whether he would pay his attention