Date: 7 February 1934
Location: New Delhi
Speaker: Aga Khan III
Source: Speeches of Aga Khan III – K K Aziz
Full Text
For the moment communal electorates will have to be retained practical experience of working the democratic institutions by Hindus and Muslims might remove the need for them.
Discussing the general political situation with a press representa tive the Aga Khan said that for the present communal electorates would have to be accepted by all the parties concerned. But he was definitely of the opinion that practical experience of the working of democratic institutions, which were going to be intro duced in the country by the forthcoming reforms, would teach both Muslims and Hindus to realize that neither of them stood to gain anything by the perpetuation of communalism in the political sphere iii any form whatsoever.
The dawning of this realization would spontaneously sound the death-knell of communal electorates, which were a necessary evil under the present circumstances.
Similarly it would be a sheer waste of time and energy to strive to get the Communal Award altered, so long as an equally good if not better alternative scheme, which would satisfy all sections of political opinion, was not put forward before the country.
As one having vast experience of representative institutions in almost all parts of the world, His Highness felt sure that the lessons of democracy would demonstrate to all that communalism was nothing short of an anachronism in a democratic country, its existence being wholly outrageous to the spirit of democracy.
Source: The Times of India, _Bombay, 8 February 1934. 1001