Mr. Vice-President, Sir, the Harijans of the Punjab are very much indebted to the Chairman of the Drafting Committee for having included article 13 in the Constitution. At present it is the custom in the Punjab that only one particular community can purchase land and take to agriculture. But the Harijans, 90 per cent of whom are cultivators, are not permitted to purchase land to cultivate, or to build houses. When this article receives the assent of the House, they will have the facility of purchasing land for building their houses, as also land for agricultural purposes if they have the capacity to do so. I hope that the many handicaps from which the Harijans suffer in Punjab, causing the clashes that are taking place in almost every village between them and the landlords, as a result of which they are kept confined to their houses in some villages, as also their other difficulties will not have to be faced by them in future. They find themselves in their present plight though they thought that the Congress Government would be a national Government and on coming to power it would permit them to purchase land and would remove all their difficulties. Our Indian National Congress was wedded to the creed that on establishing its Government every one will get house-building and agricultural facilities and no one will have any difficulty on these accounts. People are also realising that now the Congress is in power all these facilities will have to be afforded to the Harijans.
