I WANT.....................HANDS 295
Earlier, Dr. Ambedkar had declared that he had no love for office and would be glad to go back to his work, if he found that his efforts to imporve the lot of his community were not successful.— A.P.” [1]
However, there were additional dimensions in the speech of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on the subject which were reported by ‘ The Indian states’. The dimensions were :
Dr. Ambedkar referred to the agitation carried on by him on behalf of his community. He said that at the Round Table Conference he had claimed that the Depressed Classes were not a sub-section of the Hindus but had a separate important identity of their own. His claim was disputed by Mahatma Gandhi, who eventully lost the battle.
The Communal Award was a charter granting separate identity to Depressed Classes. Therefore, Gandhiji raised the question a second time by going on a fast. The Poona Pact was the result in which he again succeeded in retaining the individuality of his community.
The third landmark was the August Offer by the British Government in which it was clearly stated that no constitution for India would be acceptable to the British Government without the consent and concurrence of the Depressed Classes” [2]
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1.: The Bombay Chronicle, dated 24th August 1942.
2.: The Indian States, 12th September 1942.