124 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
“When the British Premier saw that there was no unanimous solution to the Minorities problem, he asked all the Members of the Minorities Committee to sign a requisition authorising him to settle the communal problem and to pledge themselves to accept his decision. Gandhi singned this pledge alongwith other Members. Dr. Ambedkar did not sign this requisition as he believed in the justice of his demands. The Prime Minister then adjourned the Conference on December 1. Just before this requisition Dr. Ambedkar had a talk with Gandhi at the residence of Sir Mirza Ismail. Gandhi suggested a novel method to win the support of Dr. Ambedkar. He said that if the Untouchable candidates failed in the general election held on the basis of joint electorates without reservation of seats, the Depressed Classes should prove their bona fides in a Court of Law.” [1]
After the adjournment of the 2nd Round Table Conference, various Comments were made by the different people and the press. The Comments are as follows :
“Mr. T. A. Raman a well known Journalist from India was travelling back to India. One of the fellow passenger told Mr. T. A. Raman that if he even murdered anybody it would be Dr. Ambedkar” [2] ‘Subodha Patrika’ weekly in its issue dated
15th November 1931 said :
“We fail to understand Mahatma Gandhi’s stand with respect to the demands of the Depressed Classes. To say the least, it is unreasonable and extremely irritating. If there is any community that needs the fullest protection it is that of the Untouchable classes. The Muslims and the Sikhs are well protected and ‘Their avowed fears as a contemporary puts it’ are but a mask for winning a privileged position in the commonwealth. Now we ask, is it right for Mahatmaji to yield to the false claims of the stronger communities and turn down the Untouchable ? It is no use quibbling ; if Mahatma Gandhi’s attempts to solve the communal problem have been futile so far, he is to blame also. Unpalatable though Dr. Ambedkar’s outbursts may be, they are intelligible, if not well-grounded. It is no use taking shelter behind the so-called Congress mandate which is to all practical purposes, as elastic as Gandhiji would like to have it. We feel that the Congress has been
1 : Keer, Pp. 190-191.
2 : Ibid. P. 183.