The ambiguous panel-of-four rule let caste Hindus capture reserved seats through pliable Untouchable nominees

Evidence

According to Ambedkar, the Hindus maintained that the panel of four was intended to be a minimum. This meant that if four candidates were not forthcoming or available, there could be no primary election, and thus there would be no election for the reserved seat. In his deposition before the Hammond Committee, Ambedkar asserted that four in the Poona Pact meant “not more than four”, and not “not less than four”. Ambedkar believed that a baggy panel of four meant the Hindus would be at an advantage “to capture the seat for an election of such a representative of the Untouchable candidate who would be their nominee and who would be most willing to be the tool of the Hindus”. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1313

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in how supposedly-neutral electoral mechanics encode caste domination.