RAS question
Gandhi went on a fast unto death in 1932 to protest against:
Correct answer: (B) Separate electorates for depressed classes.
Gandhi's fast unto death in 1932 protested the Communal Award's provision of separate electorates for the depressed classes.
Explanation
Gandhi's 1932 fast was directed against the Communal Award's plan to create a separate electorate for the depressed classes. Britannica explains that the Award proposed allocating legislative seats to different communities, and that Dalit leaders, especially B. R. Ambedkar, supported it because they believed it would help Dalits advance their interests. Gandhi objected to separating Dalit voters from the Hindu electorate; in his view, this would weaken the wider Hindu social body and India's struggle for independence. The dispute led to the Poona Pact, which rejected separate electorates while giving increased representation to Dalits within the Hindu electorate.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Rowlatt Act belongs to the 1919 phase of anti-colonial protest, not to Gandhi's 1932 prison fast over the Communal Award.
- (C) Partition of India occurred in 1947, so it cannot explain a fast undertaken in 1932.
- (D) The Salt Tax was the focus of the 1930 Civil Disobedience Movement, whereas the 1932 fast concerned separate electorates for the depressed classes.
Concept
This tests the Modern India theme of the Communal Award, the Poona Pact and representation in colonial legislatures. It recurs in RAS because the episode links national movement strategy with caste politics and constitutional representation.