Dalit participation was limited in the Civil Disobedience movement? Examine the statement?
Answers
Answer:
Dalit participation was limited in the Civil Disobedience Movement. There were several reasons behind it:
(i) The congress had ignored the dalits for a long time because it suffered from a fear of offending the Sanatans, who were the conservative high caste Hindus.But Mahatma Gandhi declared that Swaraj would not come for a hundred years if untouchability was not eliminated.
(ii) He organised statyagrahas to secure them entry into temples and access to public wells, roads, etc. He persuaded upper castes to change their heart and give up the ‘sin of untouchability’.
(iii) But many dalit leaders were keen on a different political solution to the problems of the community. They began organising themselves, demanding reserved seats in educational institutions and a separate electorate that would choose dalit members for legislative councils.
(iv) Dalit participation in Civil Disobedience Movement was therefore limited,particularly in the Maharashtra and Nagpur region where their organisation was quite strong.
Answer: 1. The Indian National Congress did not want to offend the Sanatanis, the upper-class Hindus by incorporating the Dalits.
2. Dalits contemplated that their obstacles of social impediments would be resolved through legislative empowerment.
3. Some of the Dalit leaders were fervent on a different political resolution to their impediment. They organised themselves and required a reservation for them in the schools and a separate electorate that would choose the Dalit members for the commission.