द इण्डियन स्ट्रगल / भारतीय स्वाधीनता संग्राम (नेताजी सुभाष चन्द्र बोस - ऐतिहासिक विश्लेषण)

250 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE
are going to get. . . . I therefore venture to suggest that the
Minorities Committee be adjourned sine die and that the
fundamentals of the Constitution be hammered into shape as.
quickly as possible. . . . Should all efforts at agreement fail
even when the Round Table Conference reaches the end of
its labours, I would suggest the addition of a clause to the
expected Constitution appointing a judicial tribunal that
would examine all claims and give its final decision on all
the points that may be left unsettled.' Going through this
speech, one cannot help thinking what a change it would
have made if the Mahatma had come tc London with a full
contingent of Nationalist representatives of Moslems and
other minority communities to counteract the mischievous
moves of 'the chosen ones of the Government.' It is also to
be regretted that despite the warning he had received at Delhi,
soon after the Karachi Congress, the Mahatma did not realise
that the main function of the Minorities Committee would
be to create confusion among the Indian members and shelve
the main political issues. It was certainly another blunder for
the Mahatma to suggest a judicial tribunal which would of
course be appointed by the British Government and would
in all probability have produced the same document as the
Prime Minister's Communal Award. If the British Govern-
ment had taken the Mahatma at his word and appointed a
judicial tribunal, what would have been the Mahatma's posi-
tion to-day?
Before the next meeting of the Minorities Committee was
held on November 13th, 1931, an interesting development
had taken place. The so-called representatives of the minority
communities had concluded a Pact among themselves as a
solution of the communal question. This Pact—called the
Minorities Pact—vouchsafed to them a very large share of
the loaves and fishes of the Constitution. The Pact was made
with the full approval of the Government and the British
members of the Conference coming from India had taken
a leading part in it. The Sikhs, did not, however, join this
Pact. Before entering into this Pact, Dr. Ambedkar, the
nominated representative of the Depressed Classes, wanted to
come to an agreement with the Mahatma whereby a certain