SCHEDULED CASTES’................MANIFESTO— 387
Principles of the Party
- The attitude of the Party in public affairs will be governed by the following principles : (1) It will treat all Indians not only as being equal before the law but as being entitled to equality and will accordingly foster equality where it does not exist and uphold it where it is denied.
(2) It will regard every Indian as an end in himself with a right to his own development in his own way and the State as only a means to that end.
(3) It will sustain the right of every Indian to freedomreligious, economic and political– subject to such limitations as may arise out of the need for the protection of the interests of other Indians or the State.
(4) It will uphold the right of every Indian to equality of opportunity subject to the provision that those who have had none in the past shall have priority over those who had.
(5) It will keep the State ever aware of its obligation to make every Indian free from want and free from fear.
(6) It will insist on the maintenance of liberty, equality and fraternity and will strive for redemption from oppression and exploitation of man by man, of class by class and of nation by nation.
(7) It will stand for the Parliamentary System of Government as being the best form of Government both in the interest of public and in the interest of the individual.
- There are two considerations which should be borne in mind in assessing the implication and sincerity behind these principles. The first consideration is that these principles though adopted by the Federation are for the benefit of all the down-trodden humanity in India. The Federation in that sense cannot be accused of being a communal organization. It may be that it is not open to all, nonetheless it is out to serve all and co-operate with all who prove worthy of co-operation.