Petitions
All Bengal Baity (Barna Tambuli) Federation
15 April 1947.
The All Bengal Baity (Barna Tambuli) Federation submitted resolutions to Jawaharlal Nehru on 15 April 1947, passed at a general meeting held at Dersana, Nadia district. The Federation represented the Baity community, one of the many Scheduled Caste groups in Bengal. The meeting was chaired by Nagendra Nath Das and attended by eight members of the Working Committee.
The Federation’s complaint was specific: the Communal Award, meant to uplift all Scheduled Castes, had in practice benefited only two or three of the more advanced sections. The remaining fifty or so smaller, genuinely backward communities had seen no progress and had in fact deteriorated. The system of reserved seats and protections was being monopolised by the few.
The Federation wanted the Communal Award replaced with a ‘special award’ for backward minority Scheduled Castes. It asked that advanced sections be removed from the Scheduled Caste list altogether. It called for separate sectional electorates so each backward community could return its own representatives, and for ministerial posts to rotate among different Scheduled Caste communities. It demanded dedicated budget allocations for education and technical training for each community, controlled entirely by that community’s own representatives, and industry-specific boards tied to traditional occupations: a Lime Industries Board and Matting Industries Board for the Baity, a Ferry Navigation Board for the Patni, a Laundry Board for washermen.
One resolution proposed that Scheduled Castes adopt a distinct religious identity as worshippers of Nature, to be called ‘Prakrityan’, arguing that their ancient culture had been taken from them by caste Hindus.
All Bengal City (Barne Tambuli)
Scheduled Caste Federation.
Anandapuri, P.O.Barrackpore,
Dist. 24-Pargs.
The 15th April, 1947.
To
Pandit Jahar Lall Neheru,
President, Interim Govt.
Govt. of India,
New Delhi
Honourable Sir,
I shall be highly obliged if you honour would be kind enough to consider the following resolutions passed at the General Meeting of this Federation held at Dersana (Nadia) on the 6th April, 1947.
Yours faithfully,
[Unclear] Bagh.
General Secretary,
All Bengal Baity (Barna Tambuli) Federation.
Special Meeting of the Working Committee.
Place – Ranaghat (nadia).
Time – At 1-0 P.M.
Members present:-
1. Babu Nagendra Nath Das
2. Panchco ri Bagh.
3. Benod e Behari Biswas.
4. Sachindra Kumar Das.
5. Akshya Kumar Rana.
6. Abinash Chandra Sircar.
7. Gosto Behari Mondal.
8. Pran Bandhu Das.
1. Babu Nagendra Nath Das, M.A.B.L. took the chair on the proposal of Babu Sachindra Kumar Das, Working President and seconded by Babu Panchcori Bagh, General Secretary, and Babu Benode Behari Biswas.
2. Resolved that the meeting of Executive Committe of the All Bengal Baiti Federation places on record its deep sense of sorrows at the untimely passing away of Dr. Azizul Haq, the Ex-member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council
3. Resolved that the following safe guards for the minority scheduled caste like Baiti and the other minority-schedule castes of Bengal should be provided in the future constitution of India to be prepared by the Constituent Assembly.
a) Whereas it is experienced that as a result of separate communal award for the scheduled castes of Bengal a good progress of only two or three advanced and progressive minority sections of scheduled castes has been possible and on the other hand the remaining 50 or 52 minority scheduled castes who are really backward and minority have undergone deterioration and degradation to a great extent for which this meeting has come to this conclusion that the communal award having been misused and abused has really become harmful to other 50 or 52 backward minority Schedule Castes of Bengal.
This meeting resolves unanimously that the constituent Assembly of India should adopt immediately that ways and means for the progress of the [unclear] really backward minority Scheduled Castes of Bengal by introduction of the scheme of special award instead of communal award.
(b) Whereas 3 or 4 minority schedule castes of Bengal have made progress so much so that they have attained the status of the caste Hindus. As a result of the communal award the other 50 or 52 backward minority schedule castes have become ruined and shattered altogether wherefore this meeting resolves unanimously that the list of the scheduled castes should be amended by expunging the 2 or 3 minority advanced sections from the chart and this meeting urges up on the Constituent Assembly to make immediate arrangements to reserve one seat of proposer and other seat of seconder from each of the minority backward sections in Assemblies and Law making Constitutions from top to bottom at the Centre and in the Province. In other words the constituent Assembly should provide for separate sectional Electorate for representation of every really backward minority schedule caste.
(c) Resolved that it is experienced through these pretty nine years that posts of ministers at the Centre and in the Province are being created from among the so called minority schedule caste sections.
This meeting resolves that the seat of the ministers should go to other schedule castes, M.L.A’s by rotation and a rule to this effect be framed by Constituent Assembly in the Indian Constitution to be prepared by them.
4(a) Resolved that at the Centre and in the Province whether under the Hindus or Muslims Govt. should allot in the yearly budget at least 1 lac of rupees for general education and 2 lacs of rupees for Technical and practical training for each of the minority schedule castes and the educational fund in toto should have to be placed at the entire disposal of the representatives of every section of the minority scheduled [unclear] castes and no representatives of any other sections should be allowed to interfere.
4 (b) Resolved further that at the Centre and in the Province Industrial Boards Viz. Lime Industries Board and Matting Industries Board for Baity, Ferry Navigation Board for Patni, Laundry Board for Washermen etc. should immediately be established with the persons of representatives characters from each of the professional service castes of the Schedule. The right to control over the respective Industry must have to be vested in these Boards, provided that no section would be allowed to encroach upon the professions of the other sections.
5(a) Resolved that in order to afford facilities of financial up-liftment of every minority Scheduled Castes the Constituent Assembly should reserve in Govt. and Semi Govt. offices, services for literate members of each minority community to the extent of 30 p.c. at the Centre and 25 p. c. in the Province.
The Constituent Assembly is requested to prepare rules and regulations so that the privileges offered for the Scheduled Castes in the field of services be not totally enjoyed by the two or three minority scheduled castes depriving other 50 or 52 minority schedule castes who are really backward in education.
It is also requested that the higher posts with minimum qualification under any Govt. at the Centre or in the Province should always be reserved for the minority scheduled castes.
5 (b) Resolved further that as ill luck would have it many of the minority scheduledcastes have lost their own respective trade and business due to unrestricted competition with the outsiders and trespassers in their business having no right at all in the Industries herein referred to in item No.4(b). Consequently the minority scheduled sections have been materially prejudiced so far as the financial position is concerned.
This meeting places on record its strong protest on the illegal encroachment on other’s business and requests the Constituent Assembly to snatch away the Industries from their hands and to restore them to their lost profession who have legitimate claim over them. If at all any outsiders chooses to adopt any profession of any minority section of the scheduledcastes he shall have to pay premium and take permission from the Board.
6. Resolved that as the conception of religion is vague and full of doubts no definite announcement can be made regarding the [unclear] religion of the scheduled castes. The scheduled castes of Bengal have lost their political and financial advantages under the influence of the caste Hindus like Brahmin, Kayastha, Baidya.
Under the circumstances it is suggested that the religion of the scheduled caste consist of worshipping of the Nature and they should be known as “Prakityan” or the worshippers of Nature.
The ancient culture of the ancestors of the scheduled castes are their own cultures which has been robbed from them by the caste Hindus.
7. Resolved as the special privileges offered to the scheduled castes are being misused so this meeting urges upon the constituent Assembly to appoint supervisory Committees at the Centre and in the Provinces with the representatives of at least two from each Community to supervise the allotment of privileges and to frame rules and regulations to this effect.
8. Resolved that so long as the scheduled castes remain where they are and so long as they stand far below the standard of social, political, economical, cultural and academical status, the special privileges as suggest above should not be allowed to be discontinued. Before these are abolished, a committee with the representatives of all communities be appointed to examine the condition of the respective scheduled castes on whose examination report the question of abolition of privileges should hinge.