Provincial Saini Sabha

From.
The President Provincial Saini Sabha, (regd.),
Summer Hill, Simla.

To,
The Secretary,
Constituent Assembly,
Government of India, Delhi.

MEMORANDUM

Dear Sir,

Very recently Government of India issued a Press Note inviting various societies, classes and communities’ representatives to suggest any alterations or amendments in the Government of India Constitution for consideration of the Constituent Assembly for incorporation in the future Constitution. There was a meeting of representatives at Ambala Cantt, I understand, in the last month. I don’t think any representative of my community was invited to that meeting. I, therefore, on behalf of the Saini Sikhs and Hindus of East Punjab and India, want to submit as follows and solicit the favour of your kind consideration thereof with a view to making a suitable provision in the proposed enactment to safeguard the social and political rights of the Sainis of India—Sikh and Hindu.

(1) Of all of the sections of the Sikh community in the East Punjab excepting the Jat Sikhs who form the majority, the Saini Sikhs form the largest community. Namely they are larger in number than the Ramgarhias, the Kambos, the Mehtams, the Khalsa brothers, the Ramdasias, the Mazhabis, Khatries, Aroras and Brahmins.

(2) It is a fact, however, sad and undesirable it be that the majority community has always had the lion’s share in services and so has managed to keep itself up and others down, quite naturally too and the minor communities have always suffered in getting justice in the administration and judiciary by under-representation or entire absence of representation.

(3) This suffering has become keener and much more acute ever since the inauguration of our own Government in which the apparent and accepted principle of freedom or people’s Government is Representative Government—represented by the peoples’ representatives. All sorts of wrongs (real or supposed) of the people are capable of being redressed through the representative minister or member in the peoples house (Assembly). To take a real instance of a recent date, the Scheduled castes, i.e., Achhuts had special representation of 4-5 members in the Punjab Assembly given them to ameliorate their condition, with the result that their votes carried a weight to whichever side they were added. They got in this way influence with the Premier of the Punjab late Sir Sikandar Hayat and got a promise to take a Sub-Judge from among them. One L. Ishar Das a clerk of High Court Lahore an LL.B. appeared in the Sub-Judges competitive examination and failed but he was appointed a Sub-Judge as the 4-5 (M.L.As) representatives of his Community pressed the Premier to carry out his promise. On the other hand take the Saini Community who had none to represent it in the Assembly nor any Minister from its ranks—they had a Saini candidate I Class Law Graduate who six times qualified in the Sub Judges Examination and secured marks higher than many who were selected, but he failed to become a Sub Judge or an E.A.C. There is only one Saini P.C.S, in the Executive Line and there is none in the Judicial line. There are hardly 1 or 2 Tahsildars or Naib Tahsildars. No Saini applicant could be taken in the Rehabilitation line as Tahsildar or Naib Tahsildar. No Saini Sikh could be taken as Sub Inspector or A.S.I. at Jullundur or Ambala. Difficulty is experienced by Saini youths in Police and Army ordinary enlistment to the lowest ranks because they have no voice nor representative. They are treated as worse than untouchables in services. They are locally and politically worse than Harijans at present. The result of this entire absence or under representation in services is that the Community is always at the mercy of unsympathetic officers and their legitimate and genuine demands even are disregarded and they continue to suffer a life of slavery even in the light of day when the day of freedom has dawned upon India.

(5) I feel that I would be failing in my duty as representative of Saini Community if I kept quiet at this moment and failed to bring to light and to your notice such glaring drawbacks in the existing conditions of life that if not improved, a large body of human beings described and distinguished as Sainis, would still remain struggling in the darkest caves of slavery and India would not be in a position to boast of its having brought the light of freedom to every Indians hut, however poor. Equality of justice, administration, services and economic conditions to all Indians of whatever class or creed is the goal of the Indian Government and I speak for Sainis not as a Community, call it a set of human beings, a class of Indian subjects with whatever name you may distinguish them, Hindus and Sikhs and some even Muslims—I speak for all—without any communal consideration—why deny them human rights which they are entitled to as Indian Subjects.

(6) Basic principle of representation is by numerical strength. For instance it is provided that after every ten million persons there shall be one representative in the Central Assembly. Now the Saini Indians (Sikhs and Hindus scattered in East Punjab, U.P., C.P., Bengal, Bombay and Madras) number 10 millions and they are unrepresented. I need hardly mention here that they are oldest and purest race of Hindu Kshatris (Shur Saini) direct descendants of Lord Siri Krishna who are in this rotten condition today, while they held sway over Afghanistan and founded Gajni (now known as Ghazni) in their past brilliant carriers as Indians. It is now our duty to give them a lift when everybody is up and doing why neglect or overlook such an important section of the Hindu community as Indians and why leave them unrepresented and reduce them to slavery.

(7) Special representation to backward and minor communities such as this is highly called for. A seat should be provided for a Saini Indian on the Indian Legislature and at least one seat each should be similarly provided for by representation in each of the various provincial Assemblies to be voted for by all adult Saini Indians in each Province irrespective of residential local restrictions.

(8) This can only be done if it is provided in the Indian Constitution in the form of an amendment. Indian Constitution at present does not recognize any distinction between a Sikh and a Hindu but the principle of weightage or special representation by Reservation has been recognized, all the same, for Muslims and Harijans, which can justifiably be extended to the Sikhs to safeguard their legitimate social religious and political rights without giving any offence to the principles of the Constitution. If this is done the rights of Saini Sikhs might also be safeguarded by nominating two seats from among the Sikh seats for Saini Sikhs of the East Punjab in the Provincial Legislature.

(9) An objection might be taken that it is carrying the matter too far to ask for representation by minor communities for it may have to be extended still further to other similar minor communities or classes and might undermine the Sikhs solidarity or Hindu or Congress solidarity. To this objection I would answer by saying that no solidarity or union is affected in the slightest, by any synthetical mode of union, so long as it is not analytical or hostile and does not operate to line up one community or economic group against the other, which latter drawback seems to be most apparent in the present method of election. Have we not seen in the last Congress, Akali elections the sad undeniable fact that while voting for candidates, voters were grouped and lined up Jats against Sainis, Ramgarhias against Jats and others and Sainis against Jats etc. The result was that minor groups failed and majority groups prevailed. Under the present Constitution it is well nigh impossible for any member of a minor section or community or economic group namely Sainis, Ramgarhias, Kambos, Mahtams, etc., to stand and be elected even with the ticket of the biggest party of today namely Congress. Similarly for a non Jat Sikh to stand or fight election and be successful against a Jat is impossible even on an Akali ticket.

(10) Why not then amend the Constitution in such a way so that each independent economic group, class or community having whatever name but forming a large number of Indian population may get representation to the Central and Provincial Legislatures and may have a life of security and satisfaction under the Indian Constitution and may go to strengthen the solidarity and union of the Congress Government as a homogeneous whole and not as a heterogeneous whole as it is at present where large numbered sections or communities exploit the minor ones in the name of Congress and Government and manage to deprive them of their legitimate benefits and privileges as Indian subjects.

(11) It is surely the foremost duty of those at the helm of affairs, in the Government of India to take the rays of freedom, its advantages, benefits and privileges to the farthest, darkest and most unseen and unheard of corners of the Indian subjects and to elevate and ameliorate the deplorable condition of those most depressed and overlooked, untalked of and unheard of. If the authorities rise to the occasion as I am sure, they would, they have given the biggest proof of their being alive to the needs and requirements of all their Indian subjects who look up to them for succour, relief, security and justice in the administration and Constitution.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Yours faithfully,
RAJINDAR SINGH, B.A., LL.B.,
President,
Punjab Provincial Saini Sabha (Registered),
43/11-A Summer Hill,
Simla.

Dated: 10-12-1948.
malia Press, Simla.