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SECURE ADEQUATE SAFEGUARDS FOR THE UNTOUCHABLES
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar expressed his thoughts regarding the safeguards for Scheduled Castes in the letter addressed to Jogendra Nath Mandal. Letter follows : Editors.
“CONFIDENTIAL
BHIMRAO R. AMBEDKAR ‘RAJGRAHA’
M.A., Ph.D., D.Sc, Dadar, Bombay-14
Barrister-at-Law
Bombay-2nd June 1947
My dear Mandal,
Your letter of the 30th May, 1947 was delivered to me by Mr. Meshram yesterday. I am sorry that for the whole of last month owing to severe pain in my left leg I have been confined to bed and disabled from taking any active interest in public affairs. I wish to come to Delhi on the 4th by air to attend the Union Constitution Committee to which I have been appointed. But that depends upon my fitness to move. In case I am still advised by Doctors not to move, I shall let you know my views about the question of partition of Bengal. I have always felt that the British have refused to recognise the Scheduled Castes as a separate and independent entity. The Scheduled Castes were incapable of doing anything precisely with regard to the question of partition. They could neither force partition nor could they prevent partition if it was coming. The only course left to the Scheduled Castes is to fight for safeguards either in a United Bengal or a Divided Bengal. I also hold the view that the Muslims are not greater friends of the Scheduled Castes than the Hindus and that if the Scheduled Castes should by their own circumstances are destined to live in a minority whether a Hindu Bengal or a Muslim Bengal, the only one course is to fight for safeguards for every possible emergency. It is possible for the reasons you have mentioned that the Scheduled Castes in Eastern Bengal