when did the british government allot separate electorates to scheduled caste
Reserved political positions in India Again, in the Round Table Conferences in 1930-32, the concept of separate electorates for the so-called Untouchables (now called SC/ST) was raised by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, as a way to ensure sufficient representation for the minority SC/ST communities, in government. This provision was strongly opposed by Gandhi on the grounds that the move would disintegrate Hindu society. If the SC/ST communities were given a separate electorate, then certain constituencies would have been reserved for them, and only the people belonging to SC/ST communities would have been able to vote for the candidates contesting those seats, thus alienating the rest of the Hindus. Finally, a compromise was reached with Ambedkar and Gandhi with the Poona Pact in which the parties agreed that certain constituencies would be reserved for the SC/ST communities, where the people belonging to SC/ST communities could elect 4 candidates per constituency who would then be candidates for election by the joint electorate.