About Communal Award

• It was introduced on 16^th August 1932, by the British colonial government under Ramsay MacDonald.
• It aimed to establish separate electorates for different religious and social communities in India, including depressed classes.
• It was intended to empower marginalised groups.
• It threatened to deepen divisions between communities and harm the unity of the Indian freedom movement.
• Poona Pact (1932) came about in this context.
• Features
  • Separate Electorate: Separate electorates were introduced for Marathas, Depressed Classes, Sikhs, women, Indian Christians, and Anglo-Indians, with Marathas allotted seven seats in Bombay and the Depressed Classes given 71 reserved seats.
  • It allowed the Depressed Classes to vote in general elections alongside Caste Hindus
  • It allocated seats of provincial legislatures on communal lines,
  • It reserved 3% of seats to be reserved for women in all provinces except in the North-West Frontier Province.
  • Seats were also allocated for labourers, landlords, traders, and industrialists.

About Poona Pact, 1932

• This Pact was signed on 24^th September 1932.
• The pact represents a solution that combines two distinct ideologies: Ambedkar's political approach and Gandhi's social approach.
• After extensive discussions between Ambedkar and Gandhi, they agreed on a formula centered around a joint electorate.
• This led to amendments in the Communal Award, which the government subsequently accepted.
• Features
  • In an agreement reached with Mahatma Gandhi, Ambedkar consented to have candidates from the depressed classes elected through a joint electorate.
  • It established a system of reserved seats for the Scheduled Castes within the joint electorate.
  • It provided for reservation of 148 seats for the Depressed Classes, as compared to the 71 seats allocated by the Communal Award.
  • The continuance of the reservation in future is to be decided by mutual agreement.

Note:

• Madan Mohan Malaviya signed it on behalf of Gandhi.
• The Communal Award was based on the findings of the Indian Franchise Committee called the Lothian Committee