13. Meaning of the Congress Decision - Page 346

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Dr. AMBEDKAR’S PLAN TO SOLVE INDIAN CRISIS MUSLIM DEMAND CRITICISED

“General Chiang Kai-shek has made an appeal to the British Goverment to give the people of India, without waiting for any demands on their part, real political power as speedily as possible. But he has not given any solution of the difficulties which have come in the way of such a consummation,” says Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in a statement to the Press.

The difficulty is caused by the Congress not accepting the fundamental feature of the August Declaration made by the Viceroy that the future constitution of India must have the consent of certain important elements in the national life of India. Equally, the difficulty is due to the British Government not realising what its responsibility is.

The Congress cannot expect any sane person who known anything about conditions in India to agree to the Government of the country being placed in the hands of the Hindus majority, simply because it is a majority. The Congress chooses to forget that Hinduism is a political ideology of the same character as the Fascist or Nazi ideology and is thoroughly anti-democratic. If Hinduism is let loose—which is what Hindu majority means—it will prove a menace to the growth of others who are outside Hinduism and are opposed to Hinduism. This is not the point of view of Muslims alone. It is also the point of view of the Depressed Classes and also of the Non-Brahmins.

Need To Share Power

The only antidote is to have a constitution in which political power is distributed among the various elements in the national life of British India. If India is to be made safe for democracy, some arrangement whereby power is shared directly—which is another name for checks and balances— shall have to be agreed upon before power is transferred from British to Indian hands. It is, therefore, quite proper for the British Government to tell Indians to produce an agreed solution of their constitutional differences before they demand any transfer of political power.