91
I AM NO OPPONENT OF NATIONALISM BUT....
“ The Municipal Corporation Madras decided to present Civic Address to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Labour Member, Govt. of India, on Friday, the 22nd September 1944. It was arranged in the Ripon Buildings.
The chief guest, on arrival, was received by the Mayor, Commissioner and the Councillors. There was a large gathering present. The members of the Congress Principal Party were conspicious by their absence.
The address which was read out by Dr. Syed Nijamathulla, Mayor, was presented enclosed in a beautiful silver casket. Dr. Ambedkar was garlanded and introduced to the Councillors present. [1]
While replying to the address, Dr. Ambedkar said,
“ The Governing class in this country is the Brahmin commnity. The 1937 elections resulted in our having Brahmin Prime Ministers in seven provinces with half the Ministry as Brahmin. If National Government was formed and if it goes into the hands of the Governing Class, do you really think that it will do better than the present Government of India which was criticised so much ?
It is a very kind thought on your part to have decided to present me this address of welcome to your city. I am not a resident of Madras, and having played no part in civic life as such, I have no claim on your consideration. Nonetheless you have decided to present this address to me. I feel deeply grateful because it is something to which I cannot lay any claim. If I may refer to the fact and I do so without any spirit of controversy or criticism, I read in the papers that this address was not voted unanimously and that there was some amount of dissent (Laughter). I refer to this because I feel that I should welcome the address all the more than I would have done, if it was voted unanimously. Most of the acts which we do unanimously are either formal or acts which are nothing more than “conventional lies of civilisation” which we practically do every day which have no meaning at all (cheers). It is an indication at any rate that there v/as a part of the corporation which was sincere and insistant on presenting me this address.
1 : Khairmode, Vol.9, P. 337.