Sir, I only say that nothing can be more uncharitable and unjust to the villagers than what Dr. Ambedkar has said. Sir, it is not only uncharitable but it is not based on facts. Dr. Ambedkar himself admits that they have survived and they have kept the independence of India. He says that mere survival is not enough, mere survival has no value. What is the position today? We have to go about begging even for our food stuffs. We would have been nowhere even with this Independence, but for preservation of village economy at least in matters of food, and it is only by introduction of village units in matters of economy that we shall be able to keep up our independence in real sense of the term and survive. It is because of the preservation of the villages that we survived and lived happily. This has been admitted by Dr. Ambedkar. Today we cannot produce what we want. Whatever wealth in the villages there was has been either taken away or whatever wealth in the form of land or in the form of cattle was there has deteriorated and vanished. The land which was there has become almost barren. Why ? Whatever manure was there, the manure in the form of bones, etc. which used to keep up fertility of the land, was being exported because of the foreign trade. All the bones and all the dead animals, whatever was there, used to be left in the fields and used to decompose very slowly and keep up the organic value of the land and the fertility of the soil. Regarding cattle, when Lord Linlithgow came, he started at campaign for bullocks breeding, i.e. for good breeding. This lasted for about a year or so, but what happened during the war was that all the best cattle of the country were slaughtered for the military, for the preservation of the British Empire. When Dr. Ambekdar says that the villagers and the village republics did not take part in the preservation of the country, I would enquire of him as to whether he has read the history of the non-cooperation movement. If he has read, he will know that the villagers responded very well to the call of our able leaders who effaced themselves and who went to the villages thinking that is the villages who will bring independence to the country The villagers played the most important part in the freedom struggle. It is most uncharitable to say that the villagers and the village republics have done nothing and that they have brought about the ruination of the country. It is not the village republics who have brought about the ruination of the country, but is the other way about. It is the centre under the British rule which brought about the ruination of the villages which comprise 90 per cent. of the population of the whole of India; and has reduced the whole of India to a beggar’s condition for their requirements. At that time of course at the Centre were not there. There were other people. They had some other purpose to serve. Now the people of the country are at the helm of affairs and things should be different now. Sir, I would say that the if we have to improve the economy of the country, if we have to see that the people are happy, we have, not only from the point of ideology but as a practical proposition, to organise the villages on the ancient basis. The village panchayats should be organised on the basis on which they used to work in the past. The economy of the country should be decentralised in that way. It is not possible under the present world for us to give up large scale production of things, but still our country’s economy should be decentralised as soon as possible. The sooner we do it, the sooner we give attention to this, the better it will be for us. Sir, though it is not mentioned in the main part of the Constitution and the Constitution is not based on ‘village republics as units of the Centre; in the directive principles. It is provided that village panchayats should be organised with us much powers as possible, and I would request our leaders that this thing should be given effect to as soon as possible in a way as if it were incorporated in the Constitution itself. It is only then, Sir, that we shall be able to realise our real independence. With these words, I support the motion.
