Communal Award

The Communal Award was made by the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald on 16 August 1932 granting separate electorates in India for the Forward Caste, Lower Caste, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans and Untouchables (now known as the Dalits) etc. The principle of weightage was also applied.

The reason behind introduction of this 'Award' was that Ramsay MacDonald considered himself as 'a friend of the Indians' and thus wanted to resolve the issues in India. The 'Communal Award' was announced after the failure of the Second of the Three Round Table Conferences (India).

The 'award' attracted severe criticism from Mahatma Gandhi

As a result of the Third Round Table Conference, in November 1932, the then Prime Minister of Britain Ramsay Macdonald gave his 'award', known as the Communal Award. It provided separate representation for the Forward Caste, Lower Caste, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans and Dalits. The Untouchables were assigned a number of seats to be filled by election from special constituencies in which Untouchables could vote.

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