42 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
condition the Depressed Classes were told to rely upon the official block for support. Experience has taught us that the official block is the friend of nobody, but of itself and that its help and friendship is determined by its own interests. I am sorry to say that during these ten years the official block took far more from the Depressed Classes than it gave to them. Be that as it may, now that this doubtful advantage of the official block is not to be available to the Depresses Classes in the future Constitution of India is it not fair that the Depressed Classes should get the same adequate representation which every other minority is getting ? What is the degree of representation in the Provincial Legislatures that the Simon Commission proposes to allow to the Depressed Classes? They say “the proportion of such reserved seats (for the Depressed Classes) to the total number of seats in all the Indian general constituencies should be three quarter of the proportion of the Depressed Class population to the total population of the electoral area of the province.” Now just see the representation given by the Simon Commission to the other minorities in India.
The Mohamedan minority has been allowed to retain the excessive representation which it has received under the Lucknow pact in the teeth of the strongest opposition from the Congress. In the case of the Indian Christians, AngloIndians and Europeans, the Commission has not only given them representation according to their population but has allowed them a considerable weightage over their respective population ratios. Is this not scandalous? Is not a community suffering from severe handicaps entitled to a just if not a generous treatment? Even the Indian Central Committee dealt out justice to the Depressed Classes, and allowed them representation on the basis of their population which if admitted to be the least that is due to every minority.
- From their inception the doors of the Central Legislature were never open to the Depressed Classes and remained closed to them even when they were reconstituted on a popular basis in 1921. It was not until the year 1926 that the Depressed Classes were favoured with one seat in the Legislative Assembly