WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE TO
THE UNTOUCHABLES
______________________________________________
Appendices
Appendix III : Minorities Pact
MINORITIES
PACT
Provisions for a Settlement of the Communal
Problem, put forward jointly by Muslims, Depressed Classes, Indian Christians,
Anglo-Indians and Europeans,
claims of minority
communities
1.
No person shall by reason
of his origin, religion, caste or creed, be prejudiced in any way in regard to public
employment, office of power or honour, or with regard to enjoyment of his civic rights and
the exercise of any trade or calling.
2.
Statutory safeguards shall
be incorporated in the constitution with a view to protect against enactments of the
Legislature of discriminatory laws affecting any community.
3.
Full religious liberty,
that is, full liberty of belief, worship observances, propaganda, associations and
education, shall be guaranteed to all communities subject to the maintenance of public
order and morality.
No
person shall merely by change of faith lose any civic right or privilege, or be subject to
any penalty.
4.
The right to establish,
manage and control, at their own expense, charitable, religious and social institutions,
schools and other educational establishments with the right to exercise their religion
therein.
5.
The constitution shall
embody adequate safeguards for the protection of religion, culture and personal law, and
the promotion of education, language, charitable institutions of the minority communities
and for their due share in grants-in-aid given by the State and by the self-governing
bodies.
6.
Enjoyment of civic rights
by all citizens shall be guaranteed by making any act or omission calculated to prevent
full enjoyment an offence punishable by law.
7.
In the formation of
Cabinets in the Central Government and Provincial Governments, so far as possible, members
belonging to the Mussalman community and other minorities of considerable number shall be
included by convention.
8.
There shall be Statutory
Departments under the Central and Provincial Governments to protect minority communities
and to promote their welfare.
9.
All communities at present
enjoying representation in any Legislature through nomination or election shall have
representation in all Legislatures through separate electorates and the minorities shall have not less than the proportion set forth
in the Annexure but no majority shall be reduced to a minority or even an equality,
Provided that after a lapse of ten years it will be open to Muslims in Punjab and Bengal
and any minority communities in any other Provinces to accept joint electorates, or joint
electorates with reservation of seats, by the consent of the community concerned.
Similarly after the lapse of ten years, it will be open to any minority in the Central
Legislature to accept joint electorates with or without reservation of seats with the
consent of the community concerned.
With
regard to the Depressed Classes, no change to joint electorates and reserved seats shall
be made until after 20 years' experience of separate electorates and until direct adult
suffrage for the community has been established.
10. In every Province and in connection with the
Central Government, a Public Services Commission shall be appointed, and the recruitment
to the Public Services, except the proportion, if any, reserved to be filled by nomination
by the Governor-General and the Governors, shall be made through such commission in such a
way as to secure a fair representation to the various communities consistently with the
considerations of efficiency and the possession of the necessary qualifications.
Instructions to the Governor-General and the Governors in the Instrument of Instructions
with regard to recruitment shall be embodied to give effect to this principle, and for
that purpose to review periodically the composition of the Services.
11. If a Bill is passed which, in the opinion of
two-thirds of the members of any Legislature representing a particular community, affects
their religion or social practice based on religion, or in the case of fundamental rights
of the subjects if one-third of the members object, it shall be open to such members to
lodge their objection thereto, within a period of one month of the Bill being passed by
the House, with the President of the House who shall forward the same to the
Governor-General or the Governor, as the case may be, and he shall thereupon suspend the
operation of that Bill for one year, upon the expiry of which period he shall remit the
said Bill for further consideration by the Legislature. When such Bill has been further
considered by the Legislature and the Legislature concerned has refused to revise or
modify the Bill so as to meet the objection thereto, the Governor-General or the.
Governor, as the case may be, may give or withhold his assent to it in the exercise of his
discretion, provided, further, that the validity of such Bill may be challenged in the
Supreme Court by any two members of the denomination affected thereby on the ground that
it contravenes one of their fundamental
rights.
SPECIAL CLAIMS OF MUSSULMANS
A.
The North -West
Frontier Province shall be constituted a Governor's Province on the same footing as other
Provinces with due regard to the necessary requirements for the security of the Frontier.
In
the formation of the Provincial Legislature, the nominations shall not exceed more than 10
per cent. of the whole.
B.
Sind shall be separated
from the Bombay Presidency and made a Governor's Province similar to and on the same
footing as other Provinces in British India.
C.
Mussulman
representation in the Central Legislature shall be one-third of the total number of-the
House, and their representation in the Central Legislature shall not be less than the
proportion set forth in the Annexure.
SPECIAL CLAIMS OF THE
DEPRESSED CLASSES
A.
The constitution shall
declare invalid any custom or usage by which any penalty or disadvantage or disability is
imposed upon or any discrimination is made against any subject of the State in regard to
the enjoyment of the civic rights on account of Untouchability.
B.
Generous treatment in
the matter of recruitment to Public Services and the opening of enlistment in the Police
and Military Service.
C.
The Depressed Classes
in the Punjab shall have the benefit of the Punjab Land Alienation Act extended to them.
D.
Right of Appeal shall
lie to the Governor or Governor-General for redress of prejudicial action or neglect of
interest by any Executive Authority.
E.
The Depressed Classes
shall have representation not less than set forth in the Annexure.
SPECIAL CLAIMS OF THE ANGLO-INDIAN
COMMUNITY
A. Generous interpretation of the claims admitted
by Subcommittee No. VIII (Services) to the effect that in recognition of the peculiar
position of the community, special consideration should be given to the claim for public
employment, having regard to the maintenance of an adequate standard of living.
B. The right to administer and control its own
educational institutions, i.e. European education, subject to the control of the Minister.
Provisions
for generous and adequate grants-in-aid and scholar-silip on the basis of present grants.
(c) Jury rights equal to those enjoyed by other communities in
India unconditionally of proof of legitimacy and descent and the right of accused persons
to claim trial by either a European or an Indian jury.
annexure—Representation
in Legislatures. Figures in brackets =Population basis 1931 figures and depressed
percentages as per Simon Report
|
Strength
of Chamber |
Hindu |
Muslims |
Christians |
Sikhs |
Anglo-Indians |
Tribal,
etc. |
Europeans |
Remarks |
||
|
|
Caste |
Depressed |
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
cEntRe All
India (1931) Upper |
200 |
(47.5) 101 |
(19)* 20 |
(66.5) 121 |
(21.5) 67 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
— |
4 |
*Represents
percentage in Governor's Provinces of B.I. |
Lower |
300 |
123 |
45 |
168 |
100 |
7 |
10 |
3 |
— |
12 |
|
Assam |
*100 |
(48.9) 38 |
(13.4) 13 |
(62.3) 51 |
(34.8) 35 |
3 |
— |
1 |
— |
10 |
*Pop. figures
exclude Tribal Areas. |
Bengal |
200 |
(18.3) 38 |
(24.7) 35 |
(43) 73 |
(54.9) 102 |
2 |
— |
3 |
— |
20 |
|
Bihar & Orissa |
100 |
(67.8) 51 |
(14.5) 14 |
(82.3) 65 |
(11.3) 25 |
1 |
— |
1 |
3 |
5 |
|
Bombay |
200 |
(68) 88 |
(8) 28 |
(76) 116 |
(20) 66 |
2 |
— |
3 |
— |
13 |
On Sind being
separated weightage to Mussalmans In Bombay to be on the same footing as to the Hindus In
the N.F.W.P. |
C.P. |
100 |
(63.1) 58 |
(23.7) 20 |
(86.8) 78 |
(44) 15 |
1 |
— |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Madras |
200 |
(71.3) 102 |
(15.4) 40 |
(86.7) 142 |
(7:1) 30 |
(3.7) 14 |
— |
4 |
2 |
8 |
|
Punjab |
100 |
(15.1) 14 |
( 13.5) 10 |
(28.6) 24 |
(56.5) 51 |
1.5 |
(13) 20 |
1.5 |
— |
2 |
|
U. P. |
100 |
(58.1) 44 |
(26.4) 20 |
(84.5) 64 |
(14.8) 30 |
1 |
|
2 |
|
3 |
|
Sind & N.W.F.P. Weightage similar to that enjoyed by the Musalmans in the Provinces in which they constitute a minority of the population, shall be given to the Hindu minority in Sind and to the Hindu and Sikh minorities in the N.W.P.P.
special claims of the
european community
A. Equal rights and privileges to those enjoyed by
Indian-born subjects in all industrial and commercial activities.
B. The maintenance of existing rights in regard to
procedure of criminal trials, and any measure or bill to amend, alter, or modify such a
procedure cannot be introduced except with the previous consent of the Governor-General.
Agreed
by:—
HIS
HIGHNESS THE AGA KHAN (Muslims)
DR. AMBEDKAR (Depressed Classes)
RAO BAHADUR PANNIR SELVAM (Indian Christians)
SIR HENRY GIDNEY (Anglo-Indians)
SIR HUBERT CARR (Europeans).