The Poona Pact

The Poona Pact of 1932 was an agreement between B.R. Ambedkar and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Gandhiji) on the representation in the Political sphere of the Depressed Classes (a term which refers to Dalits/Untouchables/Scheduled Castes). A little more than a month earlier, the then British Prime Minister, Ramsay Macdonald, announced the Communal Award that provided the Depressed Classes separate electorates for both the central and provincial legislatures. Gandhi opined that this as a danger to the Hindu community that would de-link untouchables from Hindus. Ambedkar and other such leaders of the Depressed Classes welcomed the award.

On September 20^th, 1932, while he was in prison, Gandhi declared a fast unto his death till the time separate electorates were removed from the Award. The British had to give the assurance that changes would made to the award, if, these changes were the result of an agreement between the concerned communities. Indian leaders realised that the best chance to get Gandhi to terminate his fast was to make an agreement between Gandhi and Ambedkar. Initially, Ambedkar was not moved by Gandhi’s fast. But later, he came around and agreed to have a negotiation. In the end, Gandhi and Ambedkar came to an agreement known as the Poona Pact 1932, that discarded separate electorates.

The Poona Pact was a very short document formed in a quasi-legal style. It contained nine specific points, seven of which laid down the manner and the number of representation from the Depressed Classes at the central and provincial legislatures. Separate electorates for Depressed Classes was not mentioned in the document, instead, the Pact formulated a system of the joint electorates with reserved seats. It reserved 148 seats from the general electorate for Depressed Classes,78 seats more than what the Award had previously proposed.

The Pact also called for non-discrimination of the Depressed Classes in public services and urged for efforts towards the fair representation of the depressed community in public services as well. It also contained a provision that proposed the designate of a portion of the state’s educational grant for Depressed Classes.

The Pact was sent across to British authorities who then set aside the provisions dealing with untouchables. Promptly, Gandhi broke his fast on 26th September 1932. The Pact also influenced the Government of India Act 1935, in which separate electorates were given to Muslims, Sikhs and others, but not to the Depressed Classes.

The leaders of the Depressed Classes, including B.R Ambedkar, were not really satisfied with the Poona Pact. Even though the numbers of seats reserved was double than what the Award had previously offered, separate electorates were viewed by them, as a critical tool for political representation. Also, as Ambedkar himself argued, the Award had given Depressed Classes a right to double vote, they could use one vote for the separate electorates and another vote for the general electorate. Ambedkar felt that the second vote was ‘a political weapon was beyond reckoning’ for the protection of the interests Depressed Classes’.

The Pact was a milestone in India’s constitutional and political history. It brought with the intention to bear the tensions between and the Depressed Classes and the Hindus, one that would continue to haunt the freedom movement and negotiations between Indians and the British and also post-independence. To a large extent, the Pact further reinforced and augmented the claim that Depressed Classes were a political minority whose interests could not be ignored while drawing up the constitutional future of India.