'Ambedkar was one of the few politicians who supported the Muslim League
demand for Pakistan'
Throughout the twenty-five years of his public life before the
British left India, Ambedkar took positions which were ever so
convenient for the British, throughout these twenty-five years
he hurled pejoratives at the Congress, in particular Gandhiji.
At every turn he put forward formulae and demands which enabled
the British to counter the national movement for freedom. The
British were fully aware of the use he was to them, and they were
anxious to give him a hand so that he could become even more the
exclusive leader of the scheduled castes.
We shall have occasion
soon to see what happened at the Round Table Conference in 1931,
and what happened in its wake: Gandhiji had to stake his very
life to thwart the maneuver the British made -- in consultation
with Ambedkar, and to his great acclaim -- to split Hindu society
asunder. Gandhiji survived, but he was kept in jail, as were the
other Congress leaders. Ambedkar, of course, was again on his way
to England to attend yet another Round Table Conference. And as
on the previous occasion, what he said and did was to the full
satisfaction of the British rulers.
On 28 December 1932, the Secretary
of State, Sir Samuel Hoare, was recounting the proceedings for
the Viceroy. He wrote, "Ambedkar had behaved very well at
the (Round Table) Conference, and I am most anxious to strengthen
his hands in every possible way. Coming from a family whose members
have almost always been in the (British) Army, he feels intensely
that there are no Depressed Class units left. Could you not induce
the Commander-in-Chief to give them at least a Company? Ambedkar
tells me that the Depressed Class battalion did much better in
the Afghan War than most of the other Indian battalions. In any
case, I feel sure that at this juncture it would be a really valuable
political act to make a move of this kind."
Next, Ambedkar argued long and vehemently that India must not
be given Independence in the foreseeable future. We have already
seen some of his urgings in this regard. Consider an example from
another sphere. As is well known, apart from the Communists, Ambedkar
was one of the few politicians who supported the Muslim League
demand for Pakistan. One side of his argument was that Muslims
cannot stay in a multi-religious society; the other side of his
argument was that no one can stay with the Hindus either, by which
he always meant "upper-caste exploiters".
That in brief
was the thesis of his book, Thoughts on Pakistan. In private
he was telling the British something quite different. He had been
yearning to be included in the Viceroy's administration, and in
mid-1940 it was presumed that, in view of what he had been saying
and doing, his induction was just a matter of days.
But those
were uncertain times and the calculations of the British were
changing from day to day: they were at war with Hitler; they knew
that opinion within the Congress was divided, some important elements
were of the view that Britain should be supported even though
they were not prepared to spell out what they would do about India
after the war; so they had to keep in mind the possibility of
strengthening this section within the Congress. They also knew
that inducting a person like Ambedkar would offend the Congress
as a whole no end.
At the last minute, therefore, the Viceroy
had called Ambedkar and the other aspirant, M S Aney, and told
them that he would have to put off the expansion of his Council
for the time being. Not only that, in view of what he might have
to do to win co-operation of the Congress, the Viceroy had had
to tell Ambedkar that he could not bind himself or his successor
about the future. Recounting his meeting with Ambedkar the Viceroy
told the Secretary of State on 19 November 1940, in a communication
marked "Private and Personal," "I was at pains
to protect my successor and myself so far as he was concerned
by making it clear that while if circumstances led me to invite
him to work with me again, it would give me personal pleasure
to have him as a colleague, I or my successor must be regarded
as wholly uncommitted in the matter, and under no obligation of
any sort."
The conversation had then turned to the demand
for Pakistan. The Viceroy noted, "He (Ambedkar) was quite
clear that Muslims proposed to hold to their demands for 50:50
and so gradually lay the foundation of Pakistan, and he was perfectly
content himself, he said, with that state of things, and in favour
of the Pakistan idea quite frankly because it meant the British
would have to stay in India. He saw not the least prospect of
our overcoming difficulties here by guarantees of any sort and
(like most minorities) he has, I suspect, little interest in constitutional
progress...."
Eventually, of course, the British had decided that they would just
have to leave. Ambedkar then pleaded with them that they tie the
new government by a Treaty. Then that they get his organisation
a place in the new set up. Then he went and pleaded with Jagjivan
Ram, the sort of man on whom he had poured scorn for decades.
But today that very Ambedkar is a Bharat Ratna!
Excerpted from Worshipping False Gods by Arun Shourie, ASA Publishers, 1997, Rs 450, with the author's permission. Those interested in obtaining a copy of the book can contact the distributor at Bilblia Impex Pvt Ltd, 2/18, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110001or bibimpex@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in
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