“Dalit participation was limited in the Civil Disobedience Movement”. Examine the statement.
Dalits or untouchables belong to the lower strata of our society. The Congress Party ignored the Dalits for fear of offending the conservative high caste Hindus, i.e. Sanatanis. Gandhiji first realised that Swaraj would not come for a hundred years if untouchability was not eliminated. But many Dalit leaders believed in a different political solution to the problem of their community.
They thought that only political empowerment would resolve their problem of social disabilities.
So, they began organising themselves, demanding reserve seats in educational institutions and a separate electorate that would choose their Dalit members for Legislative Councils.
Dr Ambedkar demanded separate electorate for Dalits which was denied by Gandhiji. Dalit movement continued to be apprehensive of the Congress led national movement and their participation was limited. Thus, it can be concluded that Dalit participation was limited in the Civil Disobedience Movement.