RAS question
Gandhi undertook a fast unto death in 1932 against the:
Correct answer: (B) Communal Award granting separate electorate to Depressed Classes.
In 1932, Gandhi undertook his fast unto death against the Communal Award's provision of separate electorates for the Depressed Classes.
Explanation
Gandhi's 1932 fast was directed against the Communal Award because it gave separate electorates to the Depressed Classes. The Gandhi Heritage Portal records that he began the fast on 20 September 1932 against the separate electorates announced by the British Government. The political issue was not a general protest against British rule, but a specific objection to separating the Depressed Classes electorally from the wider Hindu electorate. The crisis led to the Poona Pact, signed on 24 September 1932 between Gandhi and Ambedkar, which replaced separate electorates with reserved seats. Gandhi broke the fast on 26 September after that agreement.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Rowlatt Act belongs to the 1919 phase of anti-colonial protest, not to Gandhi's 1932 fast over separate electorates.
- (C) The salt tax was the focus of the 1930 Salt Satyagraha, whereas the 1932 fast concerned the Communal Award and Depressed Classes representation.
- (D) The Partition of Bengal was a 1905 issue, long before the 1932 Communal Award crisis that triggered Gandhi's fast.
Concept
This tests the Poona Pact and the Communal Award, a recurring Modern Indian History theme because it links nationalism, caste representation and constitutional negotiations before independence.