I AM A GREATER . . . . . . ANYBODY ELSE 243
Executive Council. I have not taken that drastic step because I want to save the Congress from total degeneration,” he averred.
“Why have I not embarked on that very drastic course ?” Dr. Ambedkar continued. “It is because I desire to give the Congress one more chance. The fight which we have inaugurated shows that my party has taken the line of least resistance.”
He would himself participate in the “Satyagraha” at the opportune moment. At the present juncture the “General Staff” of the movement consisted only of a small nucleus of ‘commanders’. As the supreme commanders and the ‘confidence’ of thousands of followers, Dr. Ambedkar did not deem it necessary for him to court arrest. “But”, he said, “I am not afraid of jail life. Only, I do not believe in spectacular and unplanned action.”
Asked what sort of blue-print he expected from the Congress, the Doctor answered : “What has the Congress done to us constructively in the last twenty years. They are now the inheritors of British power and domination. We have a right to ask them what they propose to do to us under the new Constitution. We do not place any trust in vague promises and platitudes. We want concrete proof of Congress sincerity to deal with us justly and fairly. Let them descend from the dizzy heights of phrase mongering to the the brass-tacks.”
Plea For “Satisfactory Blue Print”
“Should the Congress issue a thoroughly satisfactory blueprint, would you be prepared to call upon your followers to join that body?” Dr. Ambedkar was asked next.
“Certainly not”, he replied. “We are more radically inclined, socially and politically, than the Congress. We represent the poorest of the poor. We are sons of the soil, the true masses. As such, we cannot contemplate joining a psudo-socialist organization as the Congress.”
However, if the Congress made a square deal to the Scheduled Classes, and was ready to launch on a “real” struggle for the resurgence of the country, he would unhesitatingly offer his co-operation.