IF OUR.....................FARCE 431
the Aryans came over to India, Varna system came into force. People were given the ranks in the society according to their birth. Some were called Brahmins, some Kshatrias, some Vaishas, some Shudras and others Untouchables. According to this categorisation, the Untouchables were the lowest of all and were totally disconnected from the society. The relation between a Caste Hindu and an Untouchable is that of a foot and shoe. When we enter our house we leave our shoes outside. The same way, Acchuts are kept out of the society and are not given any rights whatsoever. We have borne this treatment at the hands of Caste Hindus for centuries and are still suffering socially, economically and politically.
After struggling for many years, we have achieved certain political rights which have been incorporated in the Indian Constitution itself. For twenty long years, I fought against Mahatma Gandhi. He was against the idea of giving us any separate rights. His argument was that if the Untouchables are given separate rights, then they will never be able to come to Hindufold. They will remain out from the Hindus forever. At the Round Table Conference also Mahatma Gandhi opposed our demand for Separate Electorates. After so many years of struggle, we have secured some political powers. Now we can send our own representatives to the State Assemblies and the Union Parliament against the seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes.
There are many parties which are anxious to snatch away these rights. They are anxious to get our votes and send their own henchmen to the seats reserved for our people. You can very well understand their motives. They want that the Scheduled Castes should remain where they are and should not come into power so that the menial jobs which our people are performing should not suffer. So you will have to be careful about your votes in the coming election. You should see that only our true representatives are elected with our votes and none else. Only then your rights which have been incorporated in the Constitution can be safeguarded.
If our true representatives are not elected to the State Assemblies and the Union Parliament, then we cannot enjoy