The British Premier, Ramsay MacDonald’s Communal Award which provided for separate electorates for the Depressed Classes led to Gandhiji (who was in prison) going on a fast unto death if the provision was not changed. A conference of leaders of Caste Hindus and the Depressed Classes (including Dr. B. R. Ambedkar) evolved a satisfactory settlement which was approved by the Mahatma who broke his fast. THE HINDU: “Now that the stress of an impending calamity has worked something like a miracle in the course of a few days, is it idle to imagine that if a similarly earnest endeavour were made to promote mutual agreement on a wider scale between the various communities it could not fail of results?”
SEPTEMBER 26, 1932
The Poona pact
THERE IS UNIVERSAL REJOICING IN THE COUNTRY OVER THE satisfactory settlement of the Depressed Classes question brought about by Mahatmaji’s inspiring and heroic lead. The one prayerful thought that is uppermost in the mind of every Indian today is that Gandhiji should come safely out of the travail he imposed on himself for the country’s sake and should be spared to fight the battles that are yet to be won in the cause of freedom. The Government have intimated their acceptance of the settlement and we hope that before these lines are before the public Gandhiji will have broken his fast. The Poona Pact ushers in a new era in the history of India’s struggle. Not only does it lay the axe at the root of those psychological factors which have so long bolstered up untouchability; it demonstrates as Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru rightly said, our ability to compose our domestic differences. This has been vigorously denied by those who do not look with favour on India’s aspirations and we have been repeatedly twitted with the failure to agree among ourselves which, it is pointed out, was responsible for the communal award. Now that the stress of an impending calamity has worked something like a miracle in the course of a few days, is it idle to imagine that if a similarly earnest endeavour were made to promote mutual agreement on a wider scale between the various communities, it could not fail of results? The driving impulse behind the Bombay conference was the common desire to save Gandhiji’s life. Cannot the desire to secure the reality of self-government be mobilised effectively to achieve a wider unity? We trust that this lesson will not be lost on the leaders of the various communities.
The Poona agreement has a moral for the Government also, if they will only look at it squarely. What was regarded by them and by many others as a settled fact has been unsettled in a manner which should make them realise that they would be throwing away a splendid opportunity to bring peace and contentment to India, if they persisted in their refusal to take any step to secure the cooperation of Gandhiji and the Congress. The so-called dual policy has been a disastrous failure; terrorism still stalks the land (the latest victim of which is Mrs. Sullivan whose dastardly murder at Darjeeling is reported elsewhere), while political discontent has become chronic and bitterness is increasing day by day. The Government can apparently think of nothing better, by way of meeting the situation, than loading the ordinary criminal law with offences and penalties which are unknown to any other civilised code, and making a feeble attempt to revive the dead Conference method, into which life can be breathed only if the Government abandon repression in favour of conciliation. If the “third” R. T. conference is to make a success of its job, which is to promote agreed decisions on most of the important questions involved in the transference of power from the British to the Indian people, which are yet unsettled, it is obvious that the best organised and most powerful political party in the country should be properly represented in it. Gandhi’s influence will be an invaluable asset at such a crucial stage of the proceedings; the Poona pourparlers showed the unique contribution that it is in his power to make to the creation of the will to agree, even as they demonstrated the fact that the capacity to take quick decisions and the readiness to act in a spirit of give and take will assuredly emerge at any conference summoned to deal with these outstanding issues if the prize to be won is the substance of power and not the shadow. The Government have intimated their acceptance of the Poona settlement in so far as it affects the communal award and stated that other points mentioned in the Agreement will receive due consideration. With such triumphant proof before them of the immense contribution that Gandhiji and the Congress can make to the cause of constructive reform they would be blind indeed if they refused to take any further steps to secure the cooperation of so potent a power for good.
Reference:
The First 100
A Selection of Editorials, 1878-1978, THE HINDU, VOLUME I