Poona Pact

The Poona Pact was a 1932 agreement between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar, negotiated during Gandhi’s fast, regarding separate electorates and reserved representation for Dalits (then called “Depressed Classes”) in British India’s legislatures. It replaced the British-announced separate electorates for Dalits with a system of reserved seats within general electorates, and its aftermath marked a key rift between Gandhi and Ambedkar, eventually leading Gandhi to found the Harijan Sevak Sangh.

Claims that use this term

• Gandhi did not personally sign the Poona Pact
• The BSP is the only mainstream party opposing the Poona Pact and Gandhi
• Gandhi’s fast coerced Ambedkar into signing the Poona Pact.
• Kanshi Ram argued the Poona Pact made Dalit MPs Congress stooges
• Gandhi launched the Harijan Sevak Sangh after his Poona Pact fallout with Ambedkar.
• Ambedkar personally signed the Poona Pact while Gandhi never did