Then, Sir, there is the second part of the resolution about the inclusion of four castes of Sikhs in the list of Scheduled Castes. The Honourable Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel has appealed to the House not to resent or to grudge this concession to the Sikhs. He was pleased further to remark-and he was very frank in saying that- “that religion was being used as a cloak for political purposes“, but in spite of it he appealed to the House that they should regard with tenderness the feelings of the Sikhs as they have suffered from various causes. The Sikh community is certainly grateful to the Sardar, to the Minorities Advisory Committee and to the House for all these concessions and for their sympathetic attitude. But I must be failing in my duty if I do not submit that I have a different view-point on this particular question. We were told that the Sikh religion does not acknowledge any discrimination on account of caste and that for securing certain political rights for the section, the Sikhs are sacrificing certain principles of their religion. I am afraid I think otherwise because, when we say that all safeguards for religious minorities should go, it would only be natural corollary to that. If we give concession and certain privilege, certain rights to the Scheduled Castes simply because they are backward socially, economically and political and not because they are a religious minority, then other classes, whatever their religion, whatever the professions of their religion, who are equally backward socially, economically and politically, must also be included in the list. So my submission is that it ought to have been done long ago that these classes also, because they are backward, were included in the list along with their other brethren of the Scheduled Castes and it should not have been considered as a concession.
