Consider the following statements about the issue of separate electorate during the early decades of the twentieth century in India as a means to secure adequate representation for the deprived social categories in the absence of universal adult franchise : 1. The All India Depressed Classes Association of M. C. Rajah was staunchly in favour of joint electorate. 2. The All India Depressed Classes Leaders’ Conference demanded separate electorate. 3. The Communal Award in September 1932 recognised the right to separate electorate for the ‘untouchables’. Which of the statements given above are correct ?
- (a)1 and 2 only
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1 and 3 only
- (d)1, 2 and 3
Correct — D, statements 1, 2 and 3. M. C. Rajah's All India Depressed Classes Association supported joint electorates with reserved seats rather than separate electorates, an approach embodied in the Rajah-Moonje Pact, so statement 1 is right. A rival body, the All India Depressed Classes Leaders' Conference, pressed instead for separate electorates, so statement 2 is right. And the Communal Award of 1932, announced by British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, did extend the right to separate electorates to the Depressed Classes or 'untouchables', so statement 3 is right. As all three are correct, the answer is 1, 2 and 3.
- (a)1 and 2 only — Omits statement 3, but the Communal Award of 1932 did grant separate electorates to the Depressed Classes, so statement 3 is also correct.
- (b)2 and 3 only — Leaves out statement 1, but M. C. Rajah's association favoured joint electorates, which is correctly stated.
- (c)1 and 3 only — Drops statement 2, but the All India Depressed Classes Leaders' Conference did demand separate electorates.
In the absence of universal adult franchise, representation of the Depressed Classes became a fiercely contested question in the early twentieth century. Their leaders were themselves divided: some sought separate electorates to guarantee independent representation, while others preferred joint electorates with reserved seats to avoid being permanently set apart from the wider Hindu community.
The three statements each capture one strand of this debate, and all are historically accurate. The Communal Award granted separate electorates to the Depressed Classes, which Gandhi opposed with a fast unto death; the resulting Poona Pact replaced those separate electorates with reserved seats inside joint electorates. The trap is doubting any one statement because the leaders' positions seem to contradict each other, when in fact the movement genuinely held both views.
- The Communal Award was announced by British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald on 16 August 1932, extending separate electorates to the Depressed Classes.
- Gandhi's fast unto death in Yerwada jail led to the Poona Pact of 24 September 1932, which replaced separate electorates for the Depressed Classes with reserved seats in joint electorates.
- M. C. Rajah's All India Depressed Classes Association favoured joint electorates, an approach seen in the Rajah-Moonje Pact.
- Dr B. R. Ambedkar had demanded separate electorates for the Depressed Classes at the Round Table Conferences.
- Assuming M. C. Rajah demanded separate electorates — his association actually favoured joint electorates.
- Confusing the Communal Award (which granted separate electorates) with the Poona Pact (which replaced them with reserved seats in joint electorates).
A statement-verification item on Depressed Classes representation — all three claims about Rajah's stance, the Leaders' Conference demand and the Communal Award are correct.
Consider the following statements : 1. In the First Round Table Conference Dr. Ambedkar demanded electorates for the depressed classes. 2. In the Poona Pact, special provisions for representation of the depressed people in the local bodies and civil services were made. 3. The Indian National Congress did not take part in the Third Round Table Conference. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2
- (b) 2 and 3
- (c) 1 and 3
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(c) 1 and 3 — Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the Depressed Classes at the First Round Table Conference, and the Congress stayed away from the Third Round Table Conference.
Same concept — the demand for separate electorates for the Depressed Classes and the Poona Pact, the exact debate this NDA question tests around the Communal Award.
The Poona Pact which was signed between the British Government and Mahatma Gandhi in 1932 provided for
- (a) the creation of dominion status for India
- (b) separate electorates for the Muslims
- (c) separate electorate for the Harijans
- (d) joint electorate with reservation for Harijans
Answer(d) joint electorate with reservation for Harijans — the Poona Pact replaced the Communal Award's separate electorates for the Depressed Classes with reserved seats in joint electorates.
The direct sequel to the Communal Award in statement 3 — the Poona Pact that converted separate electorates for the Depressed Classes into reserved seats in joint electorates.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Poona Pact of 1932 replaced separate electorates for the Depressed Classes with
- (a)reserved seats in joint electorates
- (b)separate electorates for Muslims
- (c)nomination by the Governor-General
- (d)universal adult franchise
Answer(a) reserved seats in joint electorates — the Poona Pact gave the Depressed Classes reserved seats within general electorates instead of separate ones.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Communal Award of 1932 was announced by
- (a)Ramsay MacDonald
- (b)Stafford Cripps
- (c)Lord Irwin
- (d)Clement Attlee
Answer(a) Ramsay MacDonald — the British Prime Minister who announced the Communal Award granting separate electorates, including to the Depressed Classes.