Kanshi Ram’s Chamcha Yug: The manifesto of Ambedkarite politics
The day 16 August 1932 holds special significance in the history of modern India. It was on this day that the British government announced the Communal Award for India. The Communal Award was a milestone in India’s Constitutional. It was an approval in principle to universal adult suffrage and communal representation in India. It officially recognized the Untouchables, who were already a distinct social, cultural and religious community, as a separate political grouping. Although Gandhi and the Congress strongly opposed the recognition of Untouchables as a community distinct from the Hindus, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald found the facts and the arguments presented by Dr Ambedkar at the Round Table Conference convincing and forceful enough to announce a separate electorate for the Untouchables. They were also to get the right of double vote.
