Author: Mangala Lokhande & Dr. Usha Sakure
DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.70798/Bijmrd/04031016
Abstract: This research paper explores Arundhati Roy’s reinterpretation of the 1932 Poona Pact in her well known non-fiction The Doctor and the Saint: Caste,Race and Annihilation of Caste and the book focuses on the tensions between Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar regarding political representation for the depressed and marginalized classes (now Dalits). Roy argues that the Poona Pact was a turning point that shaped India’s democratic structure while simultaneously limiting Dalit political autonomy and she sees the Pact as giving structure to Indian democracy while simultaneously undercutting Dalit political freedom.
Through close reading, historical contextualisation, and ideological comparison, this paper analyses how Roy exposes contradictions in Gandhi’s moral politics and foregrounds Ambedkar’s critique of caste hierarchy and reveals the flaws or inconsistencies in Mahatma Gandhi’s moral and political ideas and also Roy brings attention to, or emphasizes, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s strong criticism of the caste system (caste hierarchy). The paper concludes that Roy’s intervention challenges dominant nationalist historiography and resurrects the political significance of Ambedkar’s demand for separate electorates as a form of emancipation and it directly disagrees with and questions the common, established way that Indian nationalism and history are usually taught and understood.
It brings back and highlights the historical importance of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s original demand for “separate electorates.” The paper frames Ambedkar’s demand (separate electorates) as a way for Dalits to achieve true freedom (emancipation) and control their own political voice (self-representation), rather than relying on the general electoral system.
Keywords: Poona Pact, Arundhati Roy, Gandhi, Ambedkar, Political Representation, Caste, Dalit Politics.
Page No: 86-90