Question

What are the similarities and differences in the approaching of gandhi and ambedkar towards dalits

Answer 1

Answer:

• Gandhi's approach towards the dalits -

One group was the nation's 'untouchables', who from around the 1930s begun to call themselves dalit or oppressed. For long time, the Congress had ignored the dalits, for fear of offending the Sanatanis , the conservative high-caste Hindus. But Mahatma Gandhi declared that Swaraj would not come for a hundred years if untouchability was not eliminated. He called the 'untouchables', Harijan or the Children of God, organised satyagrah to secure them entry into temples, and access to public wells, tanks, roads and schools. He himself cleaned toilets to dignify the work of the Bhangis (the sweepers), and persuaded upper castes to change their heart and give up 'the sin of untouchability'.

Ambedkar's approach towards the dalits -

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who organised the dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930, clashed with Mahatma Gandhi at the second Round Table Conference by demanding seperate electorates for dalits. When the British government conceded Ambedkar's demand, Gandhiji began fast unto death. He believed that seperate electorates for dalits would slow down the process of their integration into the society. Ambedkar ultimately accepted Gandhiji's position and the result was the Poona Pact of September 1932. It gave the Depressed Classes ( later to be known as Schedule Castes ) reserved seats in provincial and central legislative councils, but they were to be voted in by the general electorate. The dalit movement, however, continued to be apprehensive of the Congress led national movement.