110 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Durbar. I could not get a house to live in at Baroda. Neither a Hindu nor any Muslim was prepared to rent out a house to me in the city of Baroda. Failing to get a house in any locality, I decided to get accommodation in a Parsi Dharamsala. After having stayed in America and England, I had developed a fair complexion and an impressive personality. Giving myself a Parsi name, ‘Adalji Sorabji’ I began to live in the Parsi Dharamsala. The Parsi manager agreed to accommodate me at Rs. 2 per diem. But soon the people got wind of the fact that His Highness the Maharaja Gaikwad of Baroda had appointed a Mahar boy as an officer in his Durbar, my living in the Parsi Dharamsala under an assumed name gave rise to suspicion and my secret was soon out.
On the second day of my stay, when I was just leaving for my office after taking breakfast, a mob of some fifteen or twenty Parsis, armed with lathis accosted me, threatening to kill me and demanded who I was. I replied, ‘I am a Hindu’. But they were not to be satisfied with this answer. Exasperated, they began to shower abuses on me and bade me vacate the room immediately. My presence of mind and knowledge gave me the strength to face the situation boldly. Politely I asked for permission to stay for eight hours more. Throughout the day I searched for a house to live in, but miserably failed to get any place to hide my head. I approached my friends but all turned me down on some plea or the other, expressing their inability to accommodate me. I was utterly disappointed and exhausted. What to do next ? I just could not decide. Frustrated and exhausted, I quietly sat down at one place, with tears flowing out of my eyes. Seeing no hope of getting a house, and no alternative but to quit, I tendered my resignation and left for Bombay by the night train.
Like these horrified incidents of my life, you too, must have undergone hardships in your life. I would like to ask you all, what is the sense in living in a society which is devoid of humanity, which does not respect you, protect you or treat you as a human being ? Instead, it insults you, humiliates you and never misses an opportunity to hurt you. Any person with an iota of self-respect and decency will not like to remain in this satanic religion. Only those who love to be slaves can remain in this religion.