The Rajah-Moonje Pact Documents on a Forgotten Chapter of Indian History

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Introduction In 1932, in the wake of the second Round Table Conference, two pacts were concluded in quick succession between leaders of caste Hindus and the Depressed Classes. Both were intended to counter colonial ploys to wrench the Depressed Classes from Hindu society and thereby stymie the nationalist upsurge. While the Poona Pact, associated with Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, acquired a landmark status in modern Indian history, the earlier Rajah-Moonje Pact, espousing identical principles, has been all but eclipsed in popular memory.

This is somewhat perplexing, given that the British themselves had then grasped the import of the accord between M.C. Rajah, President of the All India Depressed Classes Association, and B.S. Moonje of the Hindu Mahasabha. Though maintaining official silence, they closely monitored the fallout of the Pact. One indicator of their concern was the file maintained on the Pact in the Government of India Reforms Office (N.A.I.: File No. 111/32-R). Its very title. "Representation of Depressed Classes in the future Legislature -Issue of joint vs. separate electorates-Raja-Moonje Pact." bears witness to British awareness of the significance of the accord.

Curiously, in a departure from routine practice, no duplicate was made of this file which opens with the Secretary of State, Sir Samuel Hoare's, telegram of 1 March 1932 to the Viceroy asking for details of the Pact and the level of support it enjoyed. Immediately following are several pages of typed and handwritten correspondence of senior British officials on the matter. Why British officialdom chose not to follow the norm of preparing printed copies of this file remains inexplicable. Suffice it to note that the file contains the original copies of several important documents. Were it to disintegrate or be damaged in any way the documents would be lost forever.

The file additionally contains memorandums and letters submitted by Depressed Class leaders to high-ranking British authorities in the wake of the Round Table Conferences in London. Also appended are over fourty pages of clippings from leading English language newspapers on events related to the Pact, testimony to the wide coverage it received.

Announced in February 1932 amidst a raging controversy on the appropriate means of ensuring representation to the Depressed Classes in the provincial legislatures, the Rajah- Moonje Pact was the first ever agreement on reservations and a joint electorate between caste Hindus and the Depressed Classes. In its outright rejection of separate electorates then advocated by the British and Dr. Ambedkar, it was a blow to divisive colonial politics and Ambedkar's assertions to Depressed Class leadership.

By then M.C. Rajah's seniority and credentials as a Depressed Class leader had been well established. In 1916, over a year before Ambedkar's return to India on completion of his studies abroad, Rajah had been appointed secretary of the Adi-Dravida Mahajan Sabha in Madras Presidency. In 1917, he had negotiated pact with Dr. T.M. Nair of the Justice Party, to safeguard the interests of the Depressed Classes in the Presidency. Rajah was the first Depressed Class leader to be nominated to the Madras Legislative Council in 1920. In 1922, he had successfully moved a resolution in the legislature that the name "Pariah" be dropped in favour of "Adi-Dravida" and "Adi-Andhra" in the Tamil and Telugu districts respectively. In 1927, Rajah was nominated to the Indian Legislative Assembly, the first Depressed Class leader to be so honoured. He had been elected President of the All India Depressed Classes Association in 1928 when Ambedkar was invited to serve as Vice-President. Rajah's "The Oppressed Hindus," published in 1925, was the first work in English by a member of the Depressed Classes.

Why Rajah should have chosen to enter into an agreement with B.S. Moonje rather than Gandhi, then the undisputed leader, is unclear. One reason perhaps could be the inaccessibility of the Mahatma who was imprisoned immediately on his return from the Round Table Conference. Gandhi's known opposition to the principle of reservations on caste lines could have been another inhibiting factor. It is also possible that Moonje, who had led a Hindu Mahasabha delegation to the Round Table Conference, was projected a Hindu leader and hence may have seemed an appropriate choice to Rajah. Some press reports claimed that the initiative for the accord had come from Moonje himself (The Statesman 9-4-1932). Be that as it may, despite the stir it created, the Rajah-Moonje Pact was superseded six months later by the Poona Pact, which reiterated the agreement on reservations for the Depressed Classes with a joint electorate.

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