পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (দ্বিতীয় খণ্ড).pdf/১৫২

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বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ দ্বিতীয় খণ্ড
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their leaders, Mr. D. N. Barori, who is a member of this Commission, that 90% of his community want separate electorates even today, and that only a small minority of 10% which seems to be under the influence of Congress, are desirous of joint electorate. That the scheduled castes form a decided majority of the non-Muslim minorities in East Pakistan is clear from the figures of the last census and, considering the social disabilities of this class of Ilindus owing to caste restrictions, we think that they, in the nature of things, would like to have separate electorates and not reduce the number of their representatives in the house by advocating the system of joint electorate. The demand, for a joint electorate, by the minorities in East Pakistan, which, as we have indicated, is not natural, was explained by the then Prime Minister as due to a high sense of citizenship and a keen desire to merge themselves in the majority and it was also said that, because in the past, the Ilindus of undivided India denied to the Muslims the right separate electorates demanded by them as a minority community, the Hindu members of the Assembly felt that they should not demand a similar protection, although their offer to merge themselves in the nation would cause them disadvantage by reducing the number of their representatives in the House. This seems to us to amount to expiration for the majority party, in undivided India, denying, before Independence, the protection then asked for by the Muslims. Otherwise, it is difficult to understand the attitude of this section of the minorities. The speeches made in favor of joint electorate by the minority members, we take it, represented mainly the Congress point of view. It is significant that when the Muslim League members pointed out that several members of the minority community were living alone in Pakistan, keeping their families in India and that, consequently, they were not reconciled to the idea of Pakistan, a Caste Hindu member of the Assembly, while asking for joint electorate, gave an explanation which is hardly convincing. He said that they kept their families in India as their sons had not chances of getting employment in Pakistan. To quote his own words[১].

 “.........brilliant young men who con out of the University, have no avenues for careers for themselves in East Bengal. They are not getting any employment here. Should they remain here and roam about in the streets to be clapped in jail as communists? Naturally, they go to other places. The whole of the world is open to them; and every citizen of a country has got the right to go out of his country if that is necessary for procuring employments". One would pause at this stage and ask as to whether it is natural for any person entertaining such feeling, about Pakistan, which imply not only its inability but also its unwillingness to provide employment for his sons, to have at the same time, a burning desire to form a single nation in his country. On the other hand, under the circumstances as stated by him, he should, if he is prudent (we have no reason to doubt that he is), be anxious for separate electorates so that there may be a sufficient number of the representatives of the minorities who could speak in the House for these brilliant young men who are anxious to serve Pakistan and yet do not get employment, but on the other hand, run the risk of being clamped in jail, branded as communists. As a matter of fact, it appears to us that these “brilliant young men” are not anxious to work for Pakistan. There have been, we understand, cases of persons, of the Hindu community, who had been abroad on scholarships earned in Pakistan, going away to India after being


  1. ““Parliamentary Debates” dated 10th October. P 201 (Speech by Basania Kumar Das).