MEMORANDUM
OF AD DHARAM MANDAL PUNJAB-1929 |
Annexure-I
The memorandum presented by Ad-Dharam
Mandal, Punjab on 12-10-1929,
to His Excellency Sir Geoffrey Fitzhervey De Montmorency,
the then Governor of Punjab. This was the first attempt
for the amelioration of the lot
of down trodden Community and has been rightly hailed
as the "Manga Carta" in the historic struggle
for eradication of untouchability and inequality.
May
it please your Excellency,
We the members of the Ad-Dharam Mandal Punjab, Jullundur
City are the representatives of down trodden community
comprising of three Million souls in the Punjab, and
seventy million in the whole of India, who are disgracefully
called the "Shudars" or untouchables. Your
Excellency may be aware that we belong to an ancient
race which ruled India about 5,000 year ago, prior to
the invasion of India by the Aryans. These bands of
outsider from central Asia reigned India, and defeated
our forefathers, the latter were ruthlessly treated,
they were foreign cruel masters in a way which spoke
volumes of the barbarous mentality of the so called
"Civilized Aryans." The rest of the conquered
race, who due to their self respect, refused to be enslaved
were driven away to take shelter in the jungles. The
Aryans whose present descendants are called high class
Hindus, have all along been treating us with the most
inhuman brutality so that our unlucky community numerically
large as it is, now little mere name. In spite of the
fact that there are some highly educated and capable
men in our community still we are not given any honourable
status in the society. No right of ownership of any
thing, vests in us, even we have not the right to safe-guard
our individual lives. The deplorable condition of the
mute millions of our oppressed community is due to harsh
treatment meted out to us by the High class Hindus in
consequence of the 'August' pronouncement of the ancient
Aryans which are embodied in the Manu Smiriti and lot
of other Hindu scriptures of that type. Your Excellency
will be amazed to learn that scriptures of the so called
religion are replete with the sayings such as that we
the Ad Dharmies have been created to serve the high
class Hindus, that we have no right to hold any property,
that even our wanton murder by a high class Hindu involves
him in no difficulty, etc. All our demands have been
willfully suppressed by the High class Hindus and all
our attempts at ameliorating our condition have been
deliberately trampled upon. We therefore beg to submit
the position and demands of our community, which we
venture to hope, will receive adequate consideration
at your hands. We are sorry to say that the Hindu officials
who appropriated all our rights and privileges have
not done any justice to us. All the dealings of the
Government with the Hindus mean with the high class
Hindus only, with the result that our grievances can
not reach the government. It would be no exaggeration
to say that the reforms given to the Hindus have been
so given to the high class Hindus only. This being so,
we are now under two Governments, the high class Hindus
Government and the present British Government.
Owing to the predominance of the Muslims there is less
untouchability in this province, as compared with other
provinces but as regards political condition we are
not a bit better than the worst untouchables of other
Provinces, but we are in the worst condition from the
political point of view. Not even a single member of
our community has ever been nominated to the local legislative
or to any local body although in other provinces such
nomination, have been made by the Government to the
extent of seats ranging between 1 to 11 in local legislatives.
The present system of electorate can not be of any use
to us because the high class Hindus are steeped with
caste prejudices. Therefore the only method open to
us should be separate electorate where in our political
social and even moral salvation life.
Our
position can be briefly described as follows:-
(1) that our community consists of about there Millions
in the Punjab, and about seventy million in whole of
India. (2) That comparatively speaking we are the most
backward people in the Punjab as regard education public
service, social position etc. (3) That we do not believe
in the Hindu religion, nor do we hold it in high esteem,
therefore, we do not wish to call our selves Hindus
but we the all untouchables of different classes being
the ancient population of India wish to be called "Ad
Dharmies" and in the next coming census we should
write Ad-Dharmies." (4) We do not desire to keep
any close social or political contact with the high
caste Hindus, who think that they are polluted by our
mere touch or even by casting of our shadow on them,
though they endeavour to count us with them so that
they may enjoy greater rights at our expense. So this
aspect of our position can be remedied by our following
petty demands.
OUR
DEMANDS: (1) Necessary arrangements for better
education of Ad Dharmies (untouchables) boys and girls
and national scholarship should be separately given
to them and introduction of free primary education.
(2) Separate representation, in all public bodies and
legislature, selected by the communities of our Mandal.
(3) A minister our province. (4) Equal rights of ownership
of any property of dwelling houses and common fields
as enjoyed by other communities. (5) Equal rights of
using all District Board public wells, as enjoyed by
other communities. (6) Proscription of Manu Smiriti
and all like Hindu scriptures in which contemptuous
mentions have been made of our race and community. (7)
Any mention of us by name of Shudra should be strictly
forbidden. (8) Share in all public services including
police, civil, military, railway, education, and medical
departments etc. (9) in our caste 60 % do the work of
agriculture with the agriculturists but they give very
meager share to the poor untouchables and we hear that
there are 15187200 acres of uncultivated land in the
hand of the Punjab Government. Therefore, land in the
colonies should be reserved for us in the same way as
it has been done, for other communities. (10) The Punjab
Alienation Act has made us so weak that the people of
other communities forcibly make us to their services
in return of living to the houses built on their land,
because we can not buy any land, even for our houses
under the Punjab Alienation Act of 1909 A. D. therefore
this Act should be repealed. (11) Although there are
two Acts passed by the Government to prevent the forced
labour (Baigar) yet the officials do not care for these
Acts and they forcibly make us serve them without any
payment. The Government should proclaim the forbidding
of all sorts of forced labour (Baigar). (12) There is
criminal blame upon our community, while we are free
from every crime therefore this blame should be wiped
off. The national presumption of innocence should attach
to Ad-Dharmies as well. (13) Permission should be given
to us to go to the foreign countries, as our condition
is very poor. (14) We want to call our selves Ad Dharmies
while the other communities especially Hindus do not
like it and they try their best to prevent us from doing
so, and make us call our selves by the same hateful
word (Shudra) by troubling us in every possible way.
Therefore a committee should be appointed by the Government
from our community to settle these matters. In the name
of humanity and the British sense of justice we beseech
you to take such steps as you deem necessary so that
our vast community may no longer be denied the natural
rights of citizens of British Empire, and be not left
at the mercy of the Hindu Tyrants.
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