248 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Address by Dr. Ambedkar
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar said :
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In this Conference the first and initial difficulty with which one is faced is the question of language. In this vast gathering vast number of people are from the Marathi speaking area to whom one must speak in the Marathi language if they are to understand the proceedings of this Conference. Besides the vast Marathi-speaking audience we have also present in this Conference representatives of the Scheduled Castes from other than Marathi-speaking Provinces. We have in our midst representatives of the Scheduled Castes from other Provinces as well. I see some from Bengal, from Bihar, from Madras, from Andhra, from Punjab and from various other places. It is quite obvious that if they are to follow our proceedings it is necessary to speak in English. To avoid this difficulty I have decided to speak twice-once in English and again in Marathi, so that both sections may know what I have to say. Today I propose to speak in English. Tomorrow I will address you in Marathi.
I might as well tell you how the idea of the holding of this Conference originated. As you will recall, I was called in April last to be present in Delhi to meet Sir Strafford Cripps, who had come to India as an agent of His Majesty’s Government with proposals for constitutional changes and who was charged with the duty of negotiating with the different political parties in India for the acceptance of those proposals. Before I went to Delhi I had invited representatives of the Scheduled Castes in different Provinces in India to meet me in Delhi for consultation. When I communicated to them the results of my talks with Sir Strafford Cripps we all felt that the proposals Sir Strafford Cripps had brought with him were a death-blow to the interests of the Scheduled Castes. I expressed my views on the Cripps proposals in a statement to the press which I hope you have all read. But it was felt that common and united action on the part of the Scheduled Castes from all over India was a great necessity - and that it was only common action that could save us from the impending political doom. This Conference has been the result of the wish expressed by the Scheduled Castes all over India through their