Thread by @HappySi79054951

WHY DOES DALIT COMMUNITY CONSIDER " POONA PACT": A GANDHIAN BETRAYAL ?

It is said that Baba Sahab Ambedkar was crying, when he was literally blackmailed into signing "POONA PACT"due to Gandhi's "satyagraha"(forcing others to toe his line through threat of suicide through hunger)

After LONDON (British Government) took control of British India from British East India Company in 1857, it encouraged formation of CONGRESS party to keep India's noisy bunch of Upper Caste Hindus occupied in "intellectual opposition" to British rule rather than revolt militarily

In so called "electoral democratic reforms" introduced by Britsh Government through London appointed Viceroy, a system of elected representatives was introduced, which was different for Indians of British India, who only knew rule of Kings, Emperors & Nawabs (Muslim Governors).

But there was a CATCH !!!

This limited edition of British electoral democracy had NO PLACE for India's DEPRESSED CLASSES (British era term for Dalits), Adivasis, Pasmanda Caste Muslims, OBC Shudras (both dominant & depressed) and even Indian women.

This so called "electoral democracy" introduced by British had essentially only Upper Castes, who participated in this limited edition democracy both as voters &as elected "representatives".These included Zamindars, Graduates, Lawyers etc. all of whom were mostly Upper Caste men

System of "SEPARATE ELECTORATE" was added by British Government in its earlier version of limited edition electoral democracy to ensure representation of Upper Caste Muslims in an otherwise Upper Caste Hindu dominated electoral college, though real purpose was communal division.

System of of "SEPARATE (Muslim) ELECTORATE" entailed that election of (Upper Caste) Muslim would be done only by (Upper Caste) Muslim electorate, so that election of (Upper Caste) Muslim is ensured at all time & he does not have to face negation from (Upper Caste) Hindu voters.

Over next decades from late 1880s to early 1900s, CONGRESS shed its elitist (though not Upper Caste Hinduist) character and acquire mass political party character under Gandhi and engaged British Government to widen electoral college. But SEPARATE ELECTORATE for Muslims remained.

SEPARATE ELECTORATE for British Indian Muslims that legislated Muslims electing Muslims, so that certain set of Muslims are always elected in an ocean of Hindu electoral dominance did ensure proportional representation & engagement of Indian Muslims with electoral democracy.

BABA SAHAB AMBEDKAR understood the emancipation potential of SEPARATE ELECTORATE SYSTEM for DEPRESSED CLASSES, who were living under absolute crushing dominance of Upper Caste Hindus. He desired the same for British India's DEPRESSED CLASSES to politically empower them.

It's true that BRITISH Government introduced SEPARATE ELECTORATE system to create Hindu-Muslim division,but for India's wretched DEPRESSED CLASSES, Baba Sahab Ambedkar saw SEPARATE ELECTORATE as window of opportunity for political emancipation in Upper Caste Hindu dominant polity

SEPARATE ELECTORATE for DEPRESSED CLASSES would not only entail their election at all times, but it would also entail that DEPRESSED CLASS PEOPLE would always elect their own candidates based on their own issues and concerns without remaining dependent on UC Hindu electorate.

A SEPARATE ELECTORATE SYTEM had true potential of not only creating a strong DEPRESSED CLASSE political leadership but also sustaining it independent of or without remaining electorally dependent upon both Upper Caste Hindus and Dominant OBC Caste Hindus.

GANDHI didn't like it.

GANDHI & FACADE OF "HINDU" UNITY

When British invited Depressed Class leaders of British India including Baba Sahab Ambedkar & Diwan Bahadur Rettamalai Srinivasan to discuss SEPARATE ELECTORATE for DEPRESSED CLASSES of British India in 1930s, Gandhi threw tantrums.

What was GANDHI's problem ?

MUSLIMS are not "Hindus", so SEPARATE ELECTORATE for them is OK, but DEPRESSED CLASSES are "Hindus" and thus SEPARATE ELECTORATE for DEPRESSED CLASSES would mean that DEPRESSED CLASSES are not "HINDUS" and this was not acceptable to Gandhi.

What was GANDHI's solution ?

Reserve electoral seats in provincial assemblies (British era state legislatures) for DEPRESSED CLASSES under the very label of "Hindus", where they will be elected by joint electorate of (Upper Caste) Hindus and DEPRESSED CLASSES combined.

BABA Sahab was not favorable to election of DEPRESSED CLASS candidates by joint electorate of (Upper Caste) Hindus and DEPRESSED CLASSES, which he felt would make DEPRESSED CLASS candidate dependent upon his (Upper Caste) Hindus electorate & enslaved to their concerns & ideology.

Baba Sahab Ambedkar was of opinion that a truly independent, emancipated leadership from DEPRESSED CLASSES that is truly dedicated to welfare of DEPRESSED CLASSES can only emerge if it is not dependent upon & subject to whims, fancies & electoral support of Upper Caste electorate

GANDHI'S "satyagraha" (fast untill death) was much publicized blackmail to force Baba Sahab Ambedkar to accept DEPRESSED CLASSES as "Hindus" by throwing crumbs of "reservation of electoral seats" under JOINT ELECTORATE of (Upper Caste) Hindus & Depressed Classes.

WAS BABA SAHAB right that clubbing Depressed Classes (later redesignated as SCHEDULED CASTES) under "Hindu" label & making them dependent upon JOINT ( SC +UC/OBC) electorate would defang potential of Depressed Class political power ?

YES.

History of modern India tells us so.

Independent India saw reservation of both Lok Sabha (MP) & State legislature (MLA) seats for SC & STs but under JOINT ELECTORATE.

Did it create Independent and assertive DALIT political leadership?

No.

It created only DALIT CHAMCHAS of Congress, BJP & regional parties.

AGE OF DALIT POLITICAL "CHAMCHAS"

Reservation of MP & MLA seats for SCs under JOINT ELECTORATE had devastating impact on DALIT political assertion in independent India because Upper Caste, OBCs & Muslims became deciding factor in SC reserved constituencies and not Dalits.

Unlike ST MLA/MP reserved seats, where STs by and large remain sole deciding voter community (like in North East India), SC reserved MP/MLA seats have big voter block of Upper Caste/OBC Caste & Muslim voters making them slaves of non-Dalit agendas & voting blocks.

For decades since independence, "DALIT CHAMCHAS" of CONGRESS occupied most of SC MLA & MP seats. As CONGRESS party weakened, regional parties from North to South cultivated their own DALIT CHAMCHA leaders from these reserved MLA/MP seats, who have largely been useless for SCs.

According to GANDHIAN formula of reservation of seats for SC MPs & MLAs under JOINT ELECTORATE, do you know, which party today in 2022 is "MESSIAH OF DALITS" of India?

It is BJP party under "visionary" leadership of Shri Narendar Damodar Das Modi.

Yes.

m.timesofindia.com/india/half-of-…

This is what GANDHIAN FORMULA for Depressed Classe political emancipation did in 2019:👇👇

Out of 131 seats reserved for SCs & STs in Lok Sabha, BJP captured whopping 77 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections including 31/47 MP seats for STs & 46/84 MP seats for SCs.

Whether one likes it or not, technically BJP & Modi-Shah are currently national icons of Dalit community as BJP has won maximum SC & ST seats in Lok Sabha.But this hides fact that BJP has largely won these seats due to votes of UC Hindu voters of these reserved SC Lok Sabha seats

This is what BABA SAHAB AMBEDKAR warned in 1932.

JOINT ELECTORATE for Depressed Class electoral seats will make candidates in these seats dependent upon Upper Caste & other voting blocks of these seats. They won't be able to purse Depressed Class welfare whole heartedly.

DALIT CHAMCHAS here, DALIT CHAMCHAS everywhere

Not just CONGRESS or BJP, DALIT CHAMCHA leaders have also emerged from regional parties, where they have additionally been enslaved to OBC caste voting blocks and OBC political agendas that have mostly nothing for Dalit community.

It is a not difficult to understand that JOINT ELECTORATE system that Baba Sahab Ambedkar vehemently opposed would chain DALIT leaders to enslavement of Congress "Harijan", BJP "Bahujan" & regional "OBC" political agendas with no independent DALIT political assertion.

SUDDEN IMPACT OF KANSHRAM

Person, who understood political potential of "SEPARATE ELECTORATE" in post independence India was Dalit Sikh from PUNJAB, who informally created his own JATAV SEPARATE ELECTORATE to lay foundation of independent India's true Dalit political assertion.

Using 1 crore strong population of JATAV DALITS in 1980s in Uttar Pradesh as core building block of creating an assertive Dalit focused party, he found BSP that set provocative (at that time) goal of installing Dalit CM in India's most populous state through whatever means.

A consistent electoral support of JATAV DALITS of Uttar Pradesh ( a manifestation of informal JATAV SEPARATE ELECTORATE) was essential for Kanshiram (Punjabi Jatav) & BSP to make strong pitch to capture Lucknow & install Kumari Mayawati (Jatav from Western UP) as CM of UP.

COLLAPSE OF informal JATAV SEPARATE ELECTORATE model of capturing Lucknow.

Soon, however electoral limitation of this model also came to force as Depresses OBCs who constituted "BAHUJAN" part of BSP's Dalit-Bahujan alliance ditched BSP leaving it with support of mostly Dalits.

BSP's disastrous & short lived wooing of UP's Brahmin community (seen as compromise of its ideology)
was essentially to makeup for loss of Depressed OBC caste electoral support that only yielded electoral benefit once in 2007. BRAHMINS never voted for BSP after that.

BSP's half hearted public outreach to Brahmins & symbols of Brahminism was also result of GANDHI'S POONA PACT thrusting of JOINT ELECTORATE upon Dalits of India.

First OBCs & then Brahmins (both part of JOINT ELECTORATE) ditched BSP leaving it with only mostly JATAV voters.

Lastly,

Political repercussions of POONA PACT for Dalits of India continue to be felt even today and warning of Baba Sahab Ambedkar have proven true with time. GANDHIAN FORMULA of JOINT ELECTORATE has proven nothing less than a CURSE for Dalits and Dalit political assertion.