Mahatma Gandhi undertook 17 fasts in all, of which three were major fasts-unto-death. On September 16, 1932, he began a hunger strike against the British government’s proposal to separate India’s electorate by caste. He undertook this fast even while lodged in the Yerwada Jail near Bombay.
The British were about to undermine his entire programme of reform by offering the “Untouchable” castes a separate electorate from other Hindus in a revised constitution, for a period of 70 years. It was Dr B R Ambedkar who proposed the separate electorate or reservation of seats for the Untouchables within the Hindu bloc in the provincial legislatures. While the British saw this as another opportunity to divide the Indians further and to keep them fighting among themselves, Gandhi believed this would permanently and unfairly divide India’s social classes.
He began the fast to express his anguish against continued oppressions against the Harijans by the Caste Hindus. This fast was more against the practice of untouchability than against the British government. His objective was to unite people not make demands.
Though he hailed from the Vaisya or merchant class, Gandhi was a staunch advocate of the emancipation of Untouchables.
Rabindranath Tagore was one of the people who supported Gandhi’s decision saying, “it is worth sacrificing precious life for the sake of India’s unity and her integrity.”
The public outcry was spontaneous with expressions of love and grief as millions of people offered prayers and fasted and demanded complete removal of all social and religious handicaps of the lower classes. Gandhi’s fast lasted only six days and five hours as the leaders of the Caste Hindus and the Untouchable castes reached an agreement. They signed the Yerwada Pact which formally rejected separate representation. Even the British abandoned the idea of having separate electorates after the signing of the Pact.
Though short, the impact of the fast on the 63-year-old Gandhi was tremendous. He came close to dying. In a press interview he explained, “I have undertaken the fast at god’s call for the eradication of untouchability, its roots and branches… My fight is against the impure in humanity.” He said it was a god-given opportunity to sacrifice his life for the downtrodden.