132 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
On May 26 Dr. Ambedkar left for England to see the British Prime Minister and other Cabinet Ministers before the decision on the communal issue was announced. He left by the Italian steamer, ss. Conte Roso. The news about his departure was kept a closely guarded secret as he had enjoined upon his men not to divulge it to anybody. Still a representative of the Bombay Chronicle screwed it out of some source and cast a revealing light upon Dr. Ambedkar’s new move. Dr. Ambedkar travelled first class, carried very little luggage, and expected to return by the end of August 1932.
It was true that the sudden change in Rajah’s attitude worried Dr. Ambedkar much, and the Lothian Committee’s findings also were not much favourable to him. He thought that this was the moment which came once in an age. He therefore resolved to do his utmost and to stake his all. He was confident that his presence in London would add weight to his demands. In the letters written home, on his way to London, he expressed poignant anxiety for the safety of his press which, he feared, the thoughtless Caste Hindus from the Congress camp might burn down. He instructed Shivtarkar to procure a new room and to remove the boxes of new books or to keep them in safety elsewhere. All the while the thought of the safety of his books haunted his mind. Dr. Ambedkar reached London on June 7, 1932. In a week he saw every big British official and all Cabinet Ministers in connection with his mission and pleaded his case with heart and soul. He presented to the British Cabinet a representation consisting of twenty-two typed pages. But he could not say anything just then about the outcome of his efforts. He said that discussions were held and decisions were taken at a very high level; and it was in the air that the Depressed Classes in the Provinces of Bombay, Madras and C.P would get Separate Electorates. By June 14 he had done everything possible to achieve his end and wanted to return. But, as some of his supporters wished him to prolong his stay, he decided to stay for a month more for convalescing in a German Sanatorium conducted by Dr. Moller at Dresden, so that he could run to London if necessary. Dr. Ambedkar was in need of money. The indefinite period of his stay was causing him worry in matters of health and expense. So he asked Shivtarkar to make some arrangements for a remittance, if possible.