Caste system in India
Further development
#### Further development

Assumptions about the caste system in Indian society, along with its nature, evolved during colonial rule. Corbridge concludes that British policies towards India's numerous [princely sovereign states](/wiki/Princely_states "Princely states"), as well as enumeration of the population into rigid categories during the 10\-year census, particularly with the 1901 and 1911 census, contributed towards the hardening of caste identities.

Social unrest during 1920s led to a change in this policy. From then on, the colonial administration began a policy of [positive discrimination](/wiki/Positive_discrimination "Positive discrimination") by reserving a certain percentage of government jobs for the lower castes.The Economist (29 June 2013\), [Affirmative Action](https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2013/06/affirmative-action), India Reservations

In the round table conference held in [August 1932](/wiki/Round_Table_Conferences_%28India%29%23Second_Round_Table_Conference_%28September%E2%80%93December_1931%29 "Round Table Conferences (India)#Second Round Table Conference (September–December 1931)"), upon the request of Ambedkar, the then [Prime Minister of Britain](/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom "Prime Minister of the United Kingdom"), [Ramsay MacDonald](/wiki/Ramsay_MacDonald "Ramsay MacDonald") made a [Communal Award](/wiki/Communal_Award "Communal Award") which awarded a provision for separate representation for the Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, [Anglo\-Indians](/wiki/Anglo-Indians "Anglo-Indians"), Europeans and Dalits. These depressed classes were assigned a number of seats to be filled by election from special constituencies in which voters belonging to the depressed classes only could vote. Gandhi went on a hunger strike against this provision claiming that such an arrangement would split the Hindu community into two groups. Years later, Ambedkar wrote that Gandhi's fast was a form of coercion. This agreement, which saw Gandhi end his fast and Ambedkar drop his demand for a separate electorate, was called the [Poona Pact](/wiki/Poona_Pact "Poona Pact").

After India achieved independence, the policy of caste\-based reservation of jobs was formalised with lists of [Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes](/wiki/Scheduled_Castes_and_Scheduled_Tribes "Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes").


What was the Poona Pact and what impact did it have?