Kuldip Chand Dobhetta
The Poona Pact signed in Yerawada Central Jail of Poona, Maharashtra, on 24th September 1932 was a landmark event in Indian history. It was signed by Dr. B R Ambedkar on behalf of the depressed classes and by Madan Mohan Malviya on behalf of Hindus and leader of Congress, Gandhi. The background of Poona Pact was the Communal Award which provided a separate electorate for depressed classes which are now called Scheduled Castes.
In the year 1919 the Indian Law Commission was formed under the leadership of Sir John Simon called as The Simon Commission. This commission came to Mumbai on February 3, 1928 and was opposed by some leaders led by the Congress president Lala Lajpat Rai but delegation led by Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia, founder of Adi Dharma Mandal, joined this commission and demanded their rights. Dr. Ambedkar submitted two memorandum to the Minority Committee regarding these rights which were discussed in both the Minority Committee and the Federal Governance Committee and it was decided that 80 to 90 percent of the seats should be filled through separate constituencies and the rest through general elections.
Ramsay Macdonald, the British Prime Minister, announced the Communal Award that gave Depressed Classes separate electorates for central and provincial legislatures. Different Dalit Leaders—Dr. Ambedkar, Aadi Dharam President Babu Mangoo Ram Mugowalia and others welcomed this important decision. On August 16, 1932, the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald formally announced the Communal Award which provided for separate electorates for the ‘Depressed Classes’, the Muslims, the Europeans, the Sikhs, the Anglo-Indians and the Indian-based Christians. Under a separate electorates system each community was allocated a number of seats in the legislatures and only members from these communities would be eligible to vote to elect a representative of the same community to legislative assemblies.
The Communal Award was based on the findings of the Indian Franchise Committee called the Lothian Committee. The leader of the Congress Gandhi was bitterly opposed to the Communal Award and said that it is a continuum of constant efforts of the British Imperialists to divide Indian people into a number of special-interest groups and to weaken the national movement. On 20th September 1932 while in prison, Gandhi announced a fast unto death till the time separate electorates were removed from the Award. According to Dr. Ambedkar the caste question is a political issue and wanted a political solution for upliftment of depressed classes. Ambedkar insisted that a political democracy was meaningless if the so-called depressed classes were not equal participants in it.
According to Gandhi caste issue is a social one. He wanted to reform it by changing the hearts and minds of people.Dr. Ambedkar was in favour of the award as according to him political solutions like a separate electorate would work for upliftment of depressed classes. After the series of negotiations both Gandhi and Ambedkar agreed to a solution called Poona Pact and withdrawing the separate electorate for depressed classes. In a settlement negotiated, both leaders agreed to depressed class candidates to be elected by a joint electorate.
The Poona Pact is a very short document written in a quasi-legal style. It contained nine points, seven of which laid out the manner and quantum of representation of the Depressed Classes at the central and provincial legislatures. Nearly twice as many seats, 147 Instead of the 80 seats given by the British, were reserved for the depressed classes in the legislature than what had been allotted under the Communal Award. In addition, the Poona Pact assured a fair representation of the depressed classes in the public services while earmarking a portion of the educational grant for their upliftment. The Poona Pact was sent across to British Authorities who then set aside the sections dealing with untouchables.
Gandhi broke his fast on 26th September 1932. The Pact influenced the Government of India Act 1935, separate electorates were given to Muslims, Sikhs and others, but not to the Depressed Classes. The Poona Pact has changed Indian political history and the destiny of millions of Dalits across the Country. However, social stigma attached to the caste system still remains in the Indian Society. Therefore in order to establish an egalitarian society in the true sense, encapsulating Gandhian Philosophy and Ambedkar’s ideas on Social Democracy, is much more relevant than ever before. A lot has changed now. The State in India is fast withdrawing from its responsibilities towards the people. It firmly believes that market can save them from all the hardships they face. In other words, neo-liberalism is being projected as the Messiah of the Scheduled Castes.
In such a changed scenario, the downtrodden have to rethink rather critically about the nature of struggle that they have to wage for the acquisition and protection of their rights. We must not forget that the two main enemies of the Dalits as cautioned by Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar, are Capitalism and Brahmanism. Both of them are once again busy in fashioning new permutations and combinations to keep their hold intact. Thus to face the realities of the current situation in contemporary India, the teachings of Dr. Ambedkar are of utmost value than ever. Many intellectuals, starting with Dr. Ambedkar, have considered this Poona Pact as a big lie and deception .
Dr. Ambedkar himself also organized Dhikar Diwas on Poona Pact Day and said from the stage that by signing the Poona Pact he had committed the biggest mistake of his life and was forced to do it. The founder of BSP Sahib Kanshi Ram also considered the Poona Pact as a betrayal of the society and called the period after it as Chamcha Yug.
On 23 September 1982, on the 50th Anniversary of the Poona Pact, Kanshi Ram published a book Chamcha Yug in which he said that the Poona Pact had deprived Dalits of the rights to elect their real representatives. It was the impact of Poona Pact that Dr. Ambedkar’s Independent Labor Party was successful in the 1937 elections but the Scheduled Castes Federation did poorly in 1946. Dr. Ambedkar lost in the first election of independent India in 1952 from his stronghold of Bombay. It is due to the Poona Pact that even at present many leaders belonging to the Dalits are sitting on important positions in various political parties but their accountability to their society and work for it is mostly nominal.
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Advocate Kuldip Chand Dobhetta is from Ropar, Punjab.
