244 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Dr. Ambedkar denied he had said in his Poona Press Conference that his party had been given any assurances from the Muslim League in any form and on any issue. His unwillingness to start ‘Satyagraha’ campaigns in the ‘Muslim’ Provinces proceeded from the premise that the Muslims had done no harm to the Scheduled Classes.
Votes Won But Seats Lost
In an allusion to the fate of the Scheduled Class candidates in the recent general election, he maintained that there was no real trial of strength. His men had won all the votes but lost the seats because “Hindu” votes helped to swamp their chances.
“We are fighting for our liberty, for our very existence,” Dr. Ambedkar feelingly observed towards the end. “We, a large community, have been denied elementary justice for decades. We have been maltreated, our just demands bruised aside with contempt. No chord of sympathy has been touched from any quarter. What we ask for is justice and fair-play. Let us have it or, by God, the consequences would be terrible as none could picture.” [1]
Baba Saheb ready to lead
In an interview to the Associated Press of India, Bhimrao Ambedkar said today that the Scheduled Castes Federation had been compelled to limit the number of Satyagrahis to very small numbers owing to the difficulty of feeding them, “We have been receiving telegrams and letters from all parts of India, and even from Burma and Malaya - offering to come to Poona to join the Satygraha movement. But the real difficulty is to provide them with food and accommodation. Owing to the rationing difficulties, “It is not possible”. For the small batches of men who will from to-day onwards offer Satygraha by defying the District Magistrate ban on assembly within the precincts of the Assembly - all at Poona the Mushti Fund will cater. Apart from this, the men themselves have been requested to bring with them four or five days rations.
Dr. Ambedkar has told the organisers of the movement that he would himself be ready to proceed to Poona whenever they required him. ” [2]
1 : The Bombay Chronicle, dated 25th July 1946.
2 : Jai Bheem : August 13, 1946. p.7.