DEPRESSED CLASSES INSTITUTE 409
a civil suit at an enormous cost, which was decided by the court of the First Instance in favour of the Depressed Classes. The High Caste Hindus have appealed against this decision and the matter is now pending in the Court of Appeal. The Institute is agitating for securing to the Depressed Classes a right of worship in the Temple and the Institute is also thinking of concluding the question by filing a test case in a Court of Law.
(3) Redress of grievances . Many of the grievances of the Depressed Classes arise from administrative action taken by the Departments of the Government. It must be borne in mind that the Public Service of India is overwhelmingly composed of the High Caste Hindus. Their antipathy to the Depressed Classes is notorious and the cases in which the administrative and even judicial officers have abused their powers by siding with the High caste Hindus in disputes between them and the Depressed Classes are by no means few. The Institute has paid special attention to this matter and has maintained a special establishment to make representations to Government on behalf of a member from the Depressed Classes aggrieved by an unjust order of a Department. The Institute has also taken upon itself, in many a case, the burden of an appeal to a higher judicial tribunal or has helped a private party to prosecute an appeal in cases of wrong done by the lower judiciary whenever the case was of general importance to the Depressed Classes and which was beyond the means of a private party.
(4) Welfare Work. One of the besetting sins of the Depressed Classes is their poverty. Nine-tenths of their poverty, however, is due to the fact that owing to untouchability, almost all the avocations of life have been closed to them. The Institute since its start has been trying strenuously to improve the economic condition of the Depressed Classes. In this connection it had to struggle hard for securing the enlistment of the Depressed Classes in the department of the State which are now closed to them. The efforts of the Institute have been remarkably successful. Not only have the Depressed Classes secured a larger enlistment in the various departments but they have also been able to get admission in departments which before this were closed to them on account of their Untouchability. Enlistment in the Police department may be cited as an instance in point. Another means by which the Institute has sought to improve the economic condition of the