b.shyam sunder-danger ahead for minorities , let us unite and face them

7/31/2019 B.Shyam Sunder-Danger Ahead for Minorities , Let us unite and face them

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Danger ahead for Minorities, Let us unite and face them

Sardar Master Tara Singh with B.Shyam Sunder at Nanded in Maharashtra

Sinister and subtle plans are afoot to ensure that the next generation of theminorities will have no group-consciousness left as regards the religion, language,culture history, traditional background and importance as minorities. Sikhs, Anglo-

Indians and Parses can survive th is threat; but the Scheduled Castes, Muslims and Indian Christians may suffer an irreparable loss, if they are not vigilant and alert.They will be assimilated and absorbed beyond recognition and turned into pariahs.

B. Shyam Sunder

Published by

H.ShreyeskerPresident

Mool Bharati B.Shyam Sunder Memorial SocietyB.Shyam Sunder Marg Gulbarga-585105 (Karnatak )

e-mail [email protected]


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Danger ahead for Minorities, Let us unite and face them

B.Shyam Sunder

I am forwarding the accompanying note for favour of your consideration and commentsand shall be grateful if you kindly have it circulated amongst your friends for groupdiscussion also. I have been having informal talks with certain leaders of minoritiesparticularly M.Ps and M.L.As on the need for a federation and have found their reactionfavourable and encouraging. When Master Tara Singh visited the Nanded Gurudwara a

few years ago, this idea received his blessings at a public meeting convened to welcome him.

It will strengthen the hands of minority leader, if they place this proposal before their respectiveorganisations for their support. Infact, public meetings may be convened jointly on behalf of allminority organisations to educate the masses on two immediate and pressing problems viz., thecoming census and the coming elections.

Minority leaders have got to be on guard before and during the census. Two dangers are facing them;the illiterate and unorganised members of the minority communities can easily be misled into puttingtheir thumb impressions on incorrect entries; or they may themselves give incorrect informationwithout understanding the serious implications of doing so. Trained volunteers will have to go aboutexplaining to the minorities their duties and responsibilities with regard to the impending census.

Sinister and subtle plans are afoot to ensure that the next generation of the minorities will have nogroup-consciousness left as regards their religion, language, culture, history, traditional backgroundand importance as minorities. Sikhs, Anglo-Indians and Parses can survive this threat; but theScheduled Castes, Muslims and Indian Christians may suffer an irreparable loss, if they are notvigilant and alert. They will be assimilated and absorbed beyond recognition and turned into pariahs. Census of 1961 is, therefore, an important operation in fact, it is a question of life and death for them.

The other question of importance is the quality and quantum of their representation now reduced to afarce in the councils of the nations. We must organise ourselves into a federation long before thecoming elections.

Scheduled - Castes, Muslims, Indian Christians, Sikhs, Anglo-Indians and Parsees. Those who preferto suffer in isolation may be requested, at least to furnish data to show how their community has faredsince the 15th of August 1947.

The minorities should understand clearly that separate communal organisations will cut noice. Besides, they may work at cross-purposes and engender mutual jealousies. A federationof all the minorities is the need of the hour. This alone may be able to check the tyranny of numbers. The proposed federation will dull the edge of communalism, scrutinize grievances


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before they are put up and exercise sobering influences on the reckless enthusiasm of the hot-heads. It would lend strength.

To its constituents and provide them with a truly secular platform for giving battle to the non-secular tendencies of the ruling Junta

No O pposition need be apprehended:

There is no reason to suppose that this move will clash with any of the existing politicalorganisation viz., the Congress, and during the discussions following the offer of the CabinetMission, agreed to provide specific and forth right safeguards to the minorities. It was onlywhen partition was agreed to that the proposed safeguards were given an ago-by. The turmoiland confusion of those hectic days and the excitement of the newly won freedom preventedthe Indian minorities from raising the question as to why the agreed safeguards werewithdrawn. Instead, pious declarations of secularism and fundamental rights wereincorporated in the new Constitution: with what results, the minorities know to their cost.

The experience of the past ten years must have depressed even the optimistic Pandit Nehru,who now stands convinced that his ideal of how people should behave and how things shouldbe managed is still a far-off cry. The Congress High Command or the leaders of the Socialist,Communist and Swatantra Parties cannot refuse to help, if the case for the minorities is placedbefore them on humanitarian, ethical and psychological grounds.

Responsibilities of the federation:

The federation will grant affiliation to linguistic and cultural groups as well. Its main task,however, should be to preach and propagate secularism and expose cases of non-secularbehavior. No responsible body has yet undertaken this task on a nation-wide scale. TheCentral and State Governments are expected to encourage this wholesome and essential

activity, both morally and financially.

The federation should take all possible steps to ensure that minority communities or groups donot suffer in the matter of education, culture, religion, languages, means of livelihood, equalopportunities for progress and representation in the councils and services of the nation.Though these things are guaranteed on paper, they are being denied to the Minorities in actualpractice. Hence the need for the proposed federation, details of which may be worked out atlength.

There is no time to be lost, as the elections are near at hand and the federation may have toplay a decisive role therein. The alternative before the Minorities are :-Federate or face alingering death

Your Comrade- in - arms

B. Shyam Sunder


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B. Shyam Sunder B.A.LL.B.MLA 101Moghalpura

Hyderabad DeccanDate 16th Aug.1965

Dear friend,

Convictions growing among all Minorities that their best safe guard is to form afederation and press their grievances and demands collectively.

Experience during the last fourteen years has shown that when any single minoritytries to give vent to its pent-up feelings. Its voice is suppressed and the request ignored on thehigh-sounding pretext that any demand put up by citizens professing one faith (other thanHinduism) is bound to be communal and, therefore, anti-national. The best reply to thisstrange reasoning would be for the minorities to joining secular federation of their own andspeak with one voice.

Political parties have so far failed to protect the minorities because, dominated as theyare by the majority community, it is impossible for them to be non partition when thegrievance relates to the victims of the minority itself. Those of us who had expected that thenational integration committee would provide some panacea for the many ills of theminorities are now deeply disappointed and sore about it.

The idea of a federation has been before the public for quite some time. There have beeninformal discussions, both in public and in private, with regard to its need, expediency andutility. The conclusions may be summed up thus:

A By carrying on a relentless fight against the non-secular tendency of the governing class and theadministration, the federation might help in the creation of a secular mentality. It will also serve asan effective antidote to the proverbial tyranny of numbers.

B The federation will neutralise communalism because it belongs to no single minority. Infact by the very nature of its composition, it will be in a position to take an objective viewof each minoritys grievances and demands, and after adjusting them in the over-allcontext of the countrys progress, push up the case with the combined strength of allminorities.

C The main object of the federation should be to undertake a nation-wide educativecampaign in favour of secularism. Its other objects would be to watch and ensure that:-

I. The rights guaranteed to all citizens in the constitution are not denied to theminorities in actual practise:II. Minorities are not discriminated against in matters to elections, recruitment for

civil and military appointments admissions to educational and technicalinstitutions, grant of licenses, permits, contracts and other opportunities of earning a livelihood, and

III. Cases of non- secular behaviour or the administration or the courts of law of otherwise brought to light.


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IV. Articles 29 and 30 of the constitution of India (part III) are implemented inletters as well as in spirit so far as the minorities are concerned.

(a) A top-ranking committee should be elected to draft the constitution and manifestof the federation and take steps for its inauguration.

It is now proposed to convene a meeting in Bombay by about the last week of October to deliberate over the matter at length, to elect a committee and to set up asmall office for taking further action. A list of invitees, prepared after necessaryconsultation and forethought, is enclosed. If any change or addition is consideredessential, you are earnestly requested to communicate your views early to enableinvitations being issued in the first week of October, details as regard the exactdate and venue of the meeting will be communicated to you subsequently fromBombay.

Thanking you and expecting an early reply,

Yours fraternally,

B.Shyam Sunder


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B. Shyam Sunder 101,MoghulapuraB.A.LL.B. MLA Hyderabad-Deccan

Date 7 th June 1961Respected Masterji,

The news that you propose to go on hunger strike until the creation of a Punjabi subahas creted deep consternation among all Indian Minorities. Their fear is that when theCongress can behave as callously towards the Sikhs the pride of Indias defence forces whatregard can they have for the needs and grievances of other minorities. Your announcement hasgiven a fillip to the move for the early formation of the proposed federation. I hope myprevious pamphlets and booklets on this very subject have reached you. I an enclosing themagain for favour of your perusal.

Now is the time when you can rally round all the minorities under one banner for theprotection of their common interests. I wish you could write to Doctor Saifuddin Kichler to

join this move on behalf of the Muslims, who are today drifting leaderless and without anyorganisation. The Scheduled Castes, Christians, Muslims, Parsees, Anglo-Indians, Adivaasisand Nagas would all love to work with you. I have also sent my literature to Justice SardarGurnam Singh, Sardar Harbans Singh Gujral and Sardar Gopal singh Kaumi. If you like, Ishall snd a few dozen copies to your address for favour of distribution among importantleaders of the Akali Dal.

I am anxious to meet you to discuss certain things. I shall be much obliged, if youkindly let me know when and where I can see you.

With best regards and wishing success in your heroic fight against the petty-mindedness of the majority community

Yours respectfully

B.Shyam Sunder

ToShri Master Tara Singh


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B. Shyam Sunder, B A., LL.B, M.L.A. 101 Moghulpura

Hyderabad Deccan.My Dear Doctor Fareedi

I am much obliged to you for your letter which reached me after my return from a tour

of my constituency. I have received no reply from Moulana Hafz Rahman. He must be verybusy.

As you are aware, I am working with a group which is firmly of the opinion that thefuture of the minorities is safe only if they form a federation and tackle their commongrievances collectively. This federation would be an antidote to the tyranny of the majorityand bring them down to Terra Firma from their pedestal high up in the skies. I am glad to tellyou that more and more organizations of minorities are veering round to this view. They havebegun to see that however modest their demands and how so ever rational their basis, thismajority community has developed a very convenient technique of condemning thosedemands as communal. The Federation will challenge this pretext and expose thecommunalism of the majority community.

Very shortly requests will be made to All India Organisations representing Muslims,Christians, Sikhs, Scheduled Castes, Anglo-Indians and Parsis to depute two or three of theirrepresentatives to a meeting of minority leaders. The venue and the dates will be intimatedlatter. This is to request you, as President of the Muslim Convention, to place my letterbefore your working committee and, if it agrees to elect or nominate six delegates to themeeting. On hearing from you, invitations will be issued in their names.

Besides delegates nominated by the concerned organizations, a few leadingpersonalities form among the minorities will also be invited. I shall be most grateful if youkindly sponsor this invitation on my behalf and let me know its result.

With regards

B.Shyam Sunder


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CATHOLIC UNION OF INDIA

President BELVEDERE CHAMBERSA SOARES KCES MA LLB Bombay 71General SecretaryEDWARD Dr.SOUZA Dated 2 nd Aug 1961Tel: 67097

Dear Sir

Further to my letter of last week. I am enclosing herewith the copy of letter dated the24/25 th July 1961 received by Mr, Soares from Mr. Frank Anthony, MP, Presidentin-chargeof the All India Anglo-Indian Association, Bombay life building, Connaught Circus, NewDelhi, regard to the federation of Minorities organization, for your information and records.

Your faithfully

Sd/-

HON GEN SECRETARY

ToShri B.Shyam Sunder MLA101 moghulpura,Hydeerabad, DeccanAndhra Pradesh

b.shyam sunder-danger ahead for minorities , let us unite and face them

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