Question

Why did political leaders differ sharply over the question of separate electorates ?

Answer 1

Answer:

Political leaders differed sharply over the question of separate electorates because of differences in opinion. While those supporting the cause of minorities and the dalits believed that only political empowerment would resolve their social backwardness, others like Gandhiji thought that separate electorates would further slow down the process of their integration into society. Also, it was feared that the system of separate electorates would gradually divide the country into numerous fragments because every community or class would then ask for separate representations.

Answer 2

Political leaders differ sharply over the question of separate electorates

Explanation:-

• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who organized the Dalits into the Depressed Classes Union in 1930, clashed with Mahatma Gandhi in the Second Round Table Conference demanding a separate electorate for the Dalits.
• When the British government accepted Ambedkar's demand, Gandhiji started a fast unto death.
• He believed that different electorates for Dalits would calm down the procedure of their integration into the community. Ambedkar eventually accepted Gandhi's position, and the result was the Poona Pact of September 1932.
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah was ready to drop the demand for separate electorates if Muslims were assured of reserved seats in the central assembly and proportionate representation to the population in Muslim-majority provinces (Bengal and Punjab).
• Negotiations continued on the question of representation, but all hope of resolving the issue was lost at an all-party conference in 1928 when the Hindu Mahasabha's M.R. Jayakar strongly opposed attempts at compromise.