272 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
of any funds at all. I must, however, tell you that it is very necessary to collect funds to build up our organization and without funds our Community will not be able to march forward and to keep pace with the other already well-orgainzed communities.
In public life mistakes do occur, but these should not discourage us. Through errors only we can find out our weaknesses and put them right.
I am very happy to note your decision today to have one organization for the whole of India. You must now in each Province establish its branches and you must see that all the existing organizations are merged in this one All-India Federation.
It is my great desire that there should be buildings of our organization not only in each Province but in each town to serve as a centre of office and activity. Last night, I was talking to Mr. Dashrath Patil of Bela (Nagpur). I told him to purchase a piece of land and erect a building in Nagpur for our organization. You can do that with a sum of rupees twenty to twenty-five thousand. If you will do this and invite me to lay the foundation stone of such a building at Nagpur, it shall give me the greatest pleasure to accept your invitation. (At this stage Mr. Sitaram Hadke presented a purse of rupees two hundred and fifty on behalf of Bhankheda Basti, Nagpur.) Dr. Ambedkar accepted the purse and made it over to Mr. Dashrath Patil to apply it for the building fund.
Mr. R. V. Kawade, General Secretary, expressed the thanks. Thereafter, the President declared the Session as dissolved. [1]
��
- : Report of Depressed Classes Conference. Nagpur Sessions-July 1942.