The following document, published almost 30 years ago, was passed as a resolution under the presidentship of B.Shyam Sunder of the militant Bheem Sena and author of the famous book, They Burn (DSA … 1987). This should make the Untouchables, tribals and for that matter even the Backward Castes and every other segment of this multi-national country think that India will have no peace; not to speak of development or anything else, unless we fulfill the wishes of Babasaheb Ambedkar: separate electorate, separate settlement leading to self-determination for each segment. India’s upper caste rulers engage in endless quarrel, confuse all of us and divert our attention from serious issues confronting us. How can any society develop when its rulers indulge in fighting because they can afford to spend time in fighting. But can we the deprived, dehumanised people join this quarrel and afford to waste our time? We have in India thousands of SC/ST associations but they must know that they will just be rubber stamp associations unless they seriously think of the following resolutions and take steps to get it implemented. Dalit organisations cannot be called Ambedkarite unless they seriously think and work on these lines. – EDITOR
Resolutions passed unanimously by the all-India Schedules Castes Pratinidhi Sabha held at Nanded.Ganpat Rao Waghmare, ex. MLA, Chairman, Reception Committee Bheemanna (Bidar, Karnataka), Prabhakar MORE (Nanded, Maharashtra), Krishna Rao Kamle (Udgir). The following resolutions were adopted by Scheduled Castes Parishad at its meeting on 1st January, 1965 at Nanded later ratified at the All India Scheduled Castes Conference held at Nanded on 26th January, 1968 under the presidentship of Shri B.Shyam Sunder.
INHUMAN RELIGION
A convention under the auspices of the All-India Depressed Classes Association, of the Scheduled Castes Workers and Organizers drawn from various States was held on 1st January 1965 at “Kalamandir”, Nanded (Maharashtra) with Mr. B.Sham Sunder in the Chair. Nearly 250 delegates attended the session. Mr. Sham Sunder in his presidential address said the chief weapon in the armory of the Hindus is economic power which they possess over the poor “Untouchables” living in the village. The Hindus live in the village and the “Untouchables” live in the Ghettoes. This system provides an easy method of marking out and identifying the “Untouchables”. The “Untouchable” has no escape from untouchability. Moreover, the Hindu has a code of life, which is part of his religion. This code of life gives him many privileges and heaps upon the untouchable many indignities. In fact, he said, the untouchables all over India are fighting against the indignities and injustices which the Hindus in the name of their religion have heaped upon them. In the villages in which they live, the untouchables cannot engage in any trade or occupation, for owing to untouchability no Hindu will deal with them.
Mr. Sham Sunder said, so long as the present arrangement continues, it is impossible for the untouchables either to free themselves from the yoke of the Hindus or to get rid of their untouchability.
He demanded that the nexus should be broken in a way in which the distinction of the High and the Low and to Touchable and Untouchable will find no place. He said then alone we will be able to achieve our aim of national integration. He said the Constitution has failed to help the Untouchables.
Mr.Ganpath Rao Waghmare, Ex- MLA, Chairman of the Reception Committee, welcomed the delegates. With a note from the President, the texts of the resolution passed unanimously are published.
Ratna Swamy, Secretary, Publicity Committee, Secunderabad, (Andhra).
Nanded Resolution on the Immediate Demands of the Scheduled Castes: In the course of my tours in different States of India, I have had long and serious discussions with Scheduled Castes Workers, Leaders, MLAs, MPs, Members of Zilla Parishads, Panchayat Samities and intellectuals who are pursuing different liberal professions about the future of this unfortunate community.
As a result of these talks the following resolutions were drafted through a consensus of opinion and placed for approval at the convention of Scheduled Caste Workers drawn from different States held at Nanded on January 1, 1965 which approved them unanimously.
The text of the Resolution is reproduced in extenso in the following pages :- The alternatives before the Scheduled Castes are :- untie or face a lingering death.
sd/- B.Sham Sunder, President Scheduled Castes Parishad, Nanded
RESOLUTION NO.1
Let Us Turn a New Leaf
It is in the interest of our country that the history and technique of oppression of the Scheduled Castes should be forgotten both by the oppressors and the oppressed.
If the new generation of the Scheduled Castes continues to live in their traditional surroundings, they will continue to be reminded of their past at every stage. The natural reaction of this will be that feelings of bitterness, revenge and hatred will begin to be nurtured in their hearts and some day the volcano might erupt. This will be bad for the country as a whole and for all concerned.
Sane thinkers among the Scheduled Castes have for long thought over the mischievous possibilities of “Untouchable” hamlets existing side by side with prosperous villages inhabited by Caste Hindus and have realised that the most effective remedy forwarding off the continuing mischief is to resettle the Scheduled Castes in new villages where they can live peacefully and carry on their economic activities unhampered by the course of Untouchability.
SEPARATE SETTLEMENT
Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, in the course of a brochure entitled the Rights of the minorities in a free India has discussed this question at length. A few extracts are reproduced below which stress the necessity for new settlements :-
“This is a demand justified by circumstances. At present, the Hindus live in the village and Untouchables live in the Ghettoes. The Object is to free the Untouchables from the thraldom of the Hindus. So along as the present arrangement continues, it is impossible for the Untouchables either to free themselves from the yoke of the Hindus or to get rid of their Untouchability. It is the close knit association of the Untouchables with the Hindus living in the same villages which marks them out as Untouchables. India is admittedly a land of villages and so long as the village system provides an easy method of marking out and identifying the Untouchalbes, the Untouchable has no escape from untouchability. It is the system of the village plus the Ghetto which perpetuates Untouchablity and the Untouchables, therefore, demand that the nexus should be broken and the Untouchables who are as a matter of fact socially separate should be made separate geographically and territorially also, and be settled into separate villages exclusively of Untouchables in which the distinction of the high and the low and of Touchable and Untouchable with find no place.
ECONOMIC POSITION
“The second reason for demanding separate settlement arises out of the economic position of the Untouchables in the villages. That their condition is most pitiable no one will deny. They are a body of landless labourers who are entirely dependent upon such employment as the Hindus may choose to give them and on such wages as the Hindus may find it profitable to pay. In the villages in which they live they cannot engage in any trade or occupation, for owing to Untouchablity no Hindu will deal with them. It is, therefore, obvious that there is no way of earning a living which is open to the Untouchables so long as they live in a Ghetto as a dependent part of the Hindu village.
DALIT FIGHT IS AGAINST HINDUISM “This economic dependence has also other consequences besides the condition of poverty and degration which proceeds from it. The Hindu has a code if life, which is part of his religion. This Code of life gives him many privileges and heaps upon the Untouchable many indignities which are incompatible with the dignity and sanctity of human life. The Untouchables all over India are fighting against the indignities and injustices which the Hindus in the name of their religion have heaped upon them. A perpetual war is going on every day in every village between the Hindus and the Untouchables. It does not see the light of the day. The Hindu press is not prepared to give it publicity lest it should injure the cause of their freedom in the eyes of the world. The existence of a grim struggle between the Touchable and the Untouchable is, however, a fact. Under the village system the Untouchable has found himself greatly handicapped in this struggle for free and honouragble life. It is a contest between the Hindus who are economically and socially strong and the Untouchables who are economically poor and numerically small.
SLAVERY
“That the Hindus most often succeed in suppressing the Untouchables is due to many causes. The Hindus have the Police and the Magistrate on their side, In a quarrel between the Untouchables and the Hindus, the Untouchables will never get protection from the Police and justice from the Magistracy naturally love their class more that their duty. But the chief weapon in the armoury of the Hindus is economic power which they possess over the poor Untouchables living in the village. The proposal may be dubbed escapism. But the only alternatives is perpetual slavery”.
FORGET UGLY PAST
The above quotations from Dr.Ambedkar convincingly prove the need for compact and selfsupporting villages for the Scheduled Castes so that their new generation should forget its ugly past and grow up as self-respecting and useful citizens. Now this plan should be drawn up and executed is a matter that might be entrusted to a committee consisting of one or two members of the Planning Commission, a representative of the Finance Ministry, a representative of the Ministry for Rehabilitation and Resettlement with at least an equal number of leaders of the Scheduled Castes, such as Sri Jagjeevan Ram, Sri B.K.Gaikward, M.P. and Sri. B. Sham Sunder along with a few well known international experts such as Baron Von Haimendr off, Dr. Ralph J.Bunche and a representative of the United Nations.
25% SHARE
An easy and practicable alternative to the above demand may be that 25% of the villages in every taluka should be handed over to the Scheduled Caste population of the Taluka and new Colonies may be set up for the Caste Hindus who will have to vacate their former homes and lands. Government should, of course, compensate the Caste Hindus for the property left by them while adequate finances should be provided to the Scheduled Castes for developing their own economy in the villages freshly occupied by them. This arrangement presupposes that the Scheduled Caste population of the entire taluka is rehabilitated in the 25% of the villages set apart for them
If this scheme is implemented Taluka wise, things can be managed without mush dislocation and with the minimum of cost. It is obvious that the Patels, Patwaries and other officials of the Scheduled Caste villages will be members of their own community. These villages will have their own panchayats and Samities which will train them in the art of local Self-Government and make decentralization of power a reality.
This, in short, is thee demand of 120 million Scheduled Castes spread all over India and they will be satisfied with nothing less.
“The Charter of the United Nations has recognised that human rights and fundamental freedoms are a matter international concern and it has made provision for a commission to deal with these problems. Important as this achievement is, however, it increases rather than lessens our responsibility as citizens to enlighten public opinion on the complicated question of human and minority right and to help in the difficult task of devising effective machinery of supervision and enforcement”.
Dr.James Shotwell, Prof. Emeritus, Columbia University & Director of the Division of Economics and History of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
RESOLUTION NO.2
Demand of the Scheduled Castes for Rights of Franchise, Representation and Self-expression. The Hindu religion, as understood and practised for centuries, not merely insists on the observance of Untouchability but glorifies it as a means of spiritual elevation for those who profess to be Hindus.
Politically-minded Hindus began to interpret and twist this religious injunction when they realised that the only effective weapon for usurping power in India, after the termination of British rule, was the classification of the ‘Avarnas’ and
DALITS NOT HINDUS
‘punchamas’ as Hindus. The movement for the so-called abolition of Untouchability owes its origin to this realisation. It cannot, therefore, be repentance for the sins of the previous centuries, as claimed by Gandhji.
Gandhi’s mischief: When the late Mr. Ramsay Macdonald in the early thirties, after assessing and scrutinizing the genuine needs of the various elements in the national life of India,gave his award at the request of their representatives, including Gandhiji and Malviaji, he was cautious enough not to disturb the politically manipulated unity of the Hindus by providing that the Scheduled Castes should have joint electorates with their age-long oppressed, he had also provided that they should have a limited number of representation of their own choosing to speak on their behalf in the Legislatures.
Even this petty concession was resented by the Caste Hindus, whose chief spokesman, Gandhiji, threatened to starve himself to death if the Scheduled Castes were allowed to represent their woes and miseries through their own democratically elected representatives. Socio- economic and political pressure began to mount resulting in the Poona Pact, which was hailed by the Caste Hindus as a great triumph against the efforts of the ‘Panchamas’ to liberate themselves from the soul- crushing grip of the fomer.
Poona Pact: The Constituent Assembly (elected n not on the basis of adult suffrage) scrapped the Poona Pact, thus proving once again, if further proof was ever needed, that Congress pledges are merely opportunistic and not mean to the implemented in sincerity.
Scheduled Caste representatives in Parliament and Legislatures, during the last 17 years, have been hand picked by Caste Hindus. Article 325 read with Article 329 has the effect of de-franchising the Scheduled Castes and the other minorities. Our votes are valuable only if cast in favour of the Caste Hindus or their nominees and useless if cast in favour of our own representatives. The position today is that the Scheduled Castes have been virtually denied the rights of franchise, representation and self-expression.
Silence in these circumstances would be suicidal on our part. We, therefore, demand separate electorates on the basis of our correct population figures in the enumeration, tabulation and classification whereof Scheduled Caste personnel should be effectively associated.
Our chief argument in support our demand is that we claim to be better judges our own interests. Exploiters cannot be trusted to safeguard the interests of the exploited. Our rights of franchise, representation and self-expression will be deemed to be granted only if we are allowed to elect our own representatives, untouched by the corrupting influence of Hindu intrigues and wealth.
Sharing Power: If the Caste Hindus had not staked their all in favour of parliamentary democracy, joint electorates and territorial Constituencies – the three features unapplicable in the Indian context – they would have been cut to proper size in the political life of India and not assumed their present role of wholesale domination over all minorities.
Caste Hindus fanatically believe that they alone are the ‘rulers’ of the country, being direct inheritors of power from the British. They have, therefore, decided to be sole beneficiaries of the fruits of power. With this mentality, they cannot agree to share power with any other element in India’s National life. Retention of joint electorate would mean that Hindus alone have the right to elect representatives of the Scheduled Castes and the other minorities. Giving to the minorities the right to elect their own representatives would mean recognizing their existence in India and sharing power with them. This the Hindus are not prepared to do at present.
Indigenous peoples: We on our part cannot agree to be liquidated so easily to oblige our oppressors. The Scheduled Castes are the oldest inhabitants of this country and an integral part of its economy. Our unpaid labour has made this country what it is today, so, therefore, have a right to exist and thrive in this land. We cannot do so unless our existence is recognized and we are given the right to send our own representatives to the Parliament, Legislatures and other elected bodies.
RESOLUTION NO.3
Urgent Need for A Scheduled Castes University
It is a sad commentary on the Post independence educational system that its products leave the universities with the impression that Hindu Religion and Culture alone are worth emulating and striving for. In a country inhabited by people professing different religions and having a historical past of their own, it is not right and not proper that they should be thus indoctrinated with the culture and religion of the majority community. Such practices are common in totalitarian countries, while India claims to be, in the words of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, “A noncommunal Democratic Socialist Country” and has incorporated two articles namely 29 and 30 in its constitution. It is unfortunate that in spite of such liberal provision, practice does not accord with profession.
Defective education: It cannot be denied that during the last seventeen years hundreds of Scheduled Caste youths have emerged from Indian Universities as Graduates in Arts, Sciences, Commerce, Law, Medicine and Engineering but our hearts bleed when we find that they still suffer from inferiority complex and feel small when they compare themselves with Caste Hindu youths. The reason is not that they are physically, mentally or intellectually weak but the real reason is that the education imparted to the students is such that they consider themselves as nobodies and have been taught that the position allotted to them in the Social, Political and Economic structure is more than they can aspire for.
Separate University: The present system of education, thus, emasculates Non-Hindu students and deprives them of a just pride in their past and a fresh hope as regards their future. Education which submerges group consciousness and kills one’s individuality is not worth having.
In these tragic circumstance, we demand that a separate University be established whose governing bodies are manned by Scholars drawn from the Scheduled Castes and their sincere sympathisers. The nucleus for such a University already exists in the shape of two colleges started by the late Dr. Ambedkar at Bombay and Aurangabad. More of such Colleges can be started in other States and affiliated to the new University, which may be named after the late Dr. Ambedkar himself.
The Courses of studies, curriculum and syllabus of the new University should be drawn up in a manner that will turn its product into self-respecting and useful Indians who will not be ashamed of their past and look towards their future with faith and hope. A Committee should be set up immediately to draw up the necessary plan.
RESOLUTION NO.4
Need for a Strong Political Organization for the Scheduled Castes
This meeting of Scheduled Caste Workers drawn from various States feels the need for a fully representative Convention of All-India Scheduled Caste Leaders and workers drawn from every State to review the present conditions of the Scheduled Castes and to re-establish a federation of Scheduled Castes Organizations so that it could speak with one voice in matters of common concern. We appeal to the different Scheduled Caste Organizations all over India to come together on a common platform and give a bold lead to their fallen brothers. The need for a separate All-India Organization for Scheduled Caste people will persist as long as the Caste System remains a part and parcel of the Hindu religion. Without such an organization, real leadership from among the Scheduled Castes will not be allowed to emerge.
Such an All-India Organization can issue a world appeal for donations to the proposed All-India Scheduled Castes Welfare Trust, which will utilize its income for the following three objects:
- Higher Education of Scheduled Caste Boys and Girls.
- Safeguarding the Constitutional and Human Rights of the Scheduled Castes.
- Starting English and Vernacular Weeklies for Serving their Cause.
