The Nehru Report and Muslim Rights — Page 141
ll [ 141 ] In a word in the first place the figures quoted are not such as would justify any scientific conclusion. Secondly, even assuming the correctnesa of the inference, which has been drawn from the figures, we cannot, with any show of reason, judge the situation in the Council election from the conditions in the District Board elections for the simple reason of want of any analogous fea tures between the two, which alone would justify such com-. panson. But let us for a moment admit, for the sake of argu ment, all the conclusions, which, those who produce the figures, want to infer from them. The question then arises :-Do these figures indicate that the results would always continue favourable to the Mussalmans, or simply that there are chances fo1 the Muslims to come off best? I am sure no reasonable man would conclude from these figures that Muslims would always wrest more seats than they are entitled to. Because there are ah\--ays the same opportunities for the Hindus to organise themselves as for the Mussalmans. Again, when we take into considera t: on the fact that Hindus are in a minority, and minori ties as a rule are more zealous than majorities, and further that in the Punjab the Muslims are confronted with two minorities each conscious of its minority posi tion and consequently very active, and still further the dangerous reality that the two minorities being combined together would approach the numerical position of the Muslims, the risk increases and we cannot but admit that if the Muslims would secure a position of supremacy at one time, these rival communities would most certainly hold sway at another. rfhese eventualities preclude the possibility of the Muslims enjoying the same opportunity for progress that the Hindus shall enjoy in other pro vinces. As a result the Muslims would, in a few years, have perforce to submit absolutely to the influence of the