248 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Insistence of Rights
Intention to leave a religious sect born of disgust with current practices or injustice does not sever one’s connection with the religion which he is nominally believed to profess.
“Surely, not all the present day Christians are true Christians. What about the Sunday parades in Europe where people who do not believe in Christianity or are indifferent or are rationalists demonstrate in front of Churches on Sunday morning ? They, too, are nevertheless Christians in the eyes of the State.
“You may call me a statutory Hindu if you like,” said Dr. Ambedkar humorously,” but I wilt insist on my political lights irrespective of the depth of my religious fervour.”
To support his contention Dr. Ambedkar cites two instances from the Punjab, where two sections of Depressed Classes have been classified as “Scheduled Castes” in spite of the proved fact that they are not Hindus. The instances mentioned are those of Ad Dharmis and Ramdasis. The first of these have gone out of their way formally to intimate to Government that they are not Hindus, and yet they have been classed under “Scheduled Castes” in the general constituency.
The Punjab Census Report of 1931 says :
“The most notable feature of the present census from the stand-point of return of religion has been the adoption of the term ‘ Ad Dharmi ’ by numberous Chamars and Shudras and other Untouchables. A new instruction to the religion was given this year, namely, ‘Persons returning themselves as Ad Dharmis should be recorded as such.’
“The Punjab Ad Dharmis Mandal had petitioned the Punjab Government before census operations started in
1930, representing that the Depressed Classes should be permitted to return Ad Dharmis as their religion at the time of the census, as they were the oborigines of India and while the Hindus kept them at a respectable distance, they did not believe in the Hindu religion. The President of the Punjab Ad Dharm Mandal was informed that a clause was