Consider the following statements about how the rights of the Depress…

Consider the following statements about how the rights of the Depressed Castes were finally settled in the Constituent Assembly:

(A) The Constituent Assembly recommended that untouchability be abolished.
(B) The Constituent Assembly recommended that Hindu temples be thrown open to all castes.
(C) The Constituent Assembly recommended that seats in legislatures and jobs in government offices be reserved for the lowest castes.
(D) Many believed that social discrimination could be erased only through constitutional legislation.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → A, B and C only

(A) The Constituent Assembly recommended that untouchability be abolished. — Correct. The Assembly recommended the abolition of untouchability.

(B) The Constituent Assembly recommended that Hindu temples be thrown open to all castes. — Correct. Hindu temples were to be thrown open to all castes, ending exclusion from temple entry.

(C) The Constituent Assembly recommended that seats in legislatures and jobs in government offices be reserved for the lowest castes. — Correct. Reserved seats in legislatures and government jobs for the lowest castes replaced the old demand for separate electorates.

(D) Many believed that social discrimination could be erased only through constitutional legislation. — Incorrect. The view is reversed. Many recognised that discrimination could not be erased only through laws; attitudes within society had to change.

NCERT (2026-27): “3.3 “We were suppressed for thousands of years”
How were the rights of the Depressed Castes to be defined by the Constitution? …”

“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. Many recognised that this could not solve all problems: social discrimination could not be erased only through constitutional legislation, there had to be a change in the attitudes within society. But the measures were welcomed by the democratic public.”