During the national movement, Mahatma Gandhi opposed a leader's demand for the Depressed Castes, arguing it would segregate them from society. What was true of this leader after the Partition violence?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → He no longer argued for separate electorates
Option (1) He demanded a separate province for the Depressed Castes — Incorrect. No separate province was asked for. The Assembly's answer was abolition of untouchability and reservation within the common system.
Option (2) He asked that the Depressed Castes be counted as a religious minority — Incorrect. Ambedkar did not seek to count the Depressed Castes as a religious minority. Members such as Nagappa even said they were not a minority by numbers.
Option (3) He no longer argued for separate electorates — Correct. The leader is <strong>B.R. Ambedkar</strong>. After the Partition violence, he <strong>no longer argued for separate electorates</strong>, and the Assembly turned to reserved seats instead.
Option (4) He called for extra weightage of seats in the provincial legislatures — Incorrect. Weightage was not Ambedkar's new stand. The final measure was <strong>reserved seats and government jobs</strong> for the lowest castes.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.3 “We were suppressed for thousands of years” … “After the Partition violence, Ambedkar too no longer argued for separate electorates. The Constituent Assembly finally recommended that untouchability be abolished, Hindu temples be thrown open to all castes, and seats in legislatures and jobs in government offices be reserved for the lowest castes. …” |