APPENDIX—III
“AN OUTSPOKEN UTTERANCEE”
In presenting a civic address to Dr. Ambedkar last evening, the 22nd September 1944, Madras honoured itself. Dr. Ambedkar is the accredited leader of a great community, which has for centuries been deprived of the rights of ordinary citizenship. By his high attainments his courageous leadership and outstanding qualities he has proved himself to be a leader of worthy of respect by all irrespective of party differences over small matters. It is to be regretted therefore that a civic address to such a person should have been opposed by a political party—the Congress party and that its members should have refrained from attending the function. This attitude however is neither new nor surprising. A party that has always been guided by totalitarian methods and which has not been conspicuous for its appreciation of the decensies of public life and the amenities of public conduct, should not be expected to lose one opportunity to show its hostility to leaders of other schools of political thought. We, however, feel with Dr. Ambedkar that the civic address was all the more eloquent of the regard in which he is held, because it was free from the conventional lines of Civilisation.
In this reply to the address presented, Dr. Ambedkar spoke with refrosting candour and gave expression to views which are shared by the bulk of our countrymen. At a time when scheme of political reforms are being considered, when the goal of independence is being pressed, it is well to have a correct appreciation of the various factors that should be taken into consideration. It is but natural that under such circumstances, the lessons of the past should not be forgotten— particularly the lessons of the immediate past. Referring these lessons, Dr. Ambedkar observed, “In this country no matter what they did, the Brahmins were the governing community. They came to the surface and nobody else. In each of the seven provinces they had Brahmin Prime Ministers with half the ministry of Brahmins. The elections proved that in this country there was only one community that was destined to be governing class and it came out as the governing class.” It will interest our readers to note that even when there