Correct Option
The Poona Pact, signed in September 1932, marked a significant turning point in Mahatma Gandhi's approach to the issue of untouchability. Imprisoned in Yerwada Jail, Gandhi undertook a fast unto death to oppose the British Communal Award, which proposed separate electorates for the Depressed Classes. The Poona Pact, a compromise reached between Gandhi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, abolished separate electorates for the Depressed Classes, replacing them with joint electorates while simultaneously increasing the number of reserved seats for them in legislative bodies.
Following this event, Gandhi intensified his efforts against untouchability. He began referring to untouchables as 'Harijans' (Children of God), a term borrowed from the 15th-century saint-poet Narsinh Mehta. The eradication of untouchability was subsequently integrated as a central component of his political and social reform agenda. He established the Harijan Sewak Sangh for their welfare and renamed his weekly publication Young India to Harijan in 1933, reflecting this renewed focus.
Incorrect Options
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The Gandhi–Irwin Agreement (Delhi Pact) of 1931 primarily focused on the terms for the cessation of the Civil Disobedience Movement and the participation of the Indian National Congress in the Second Round Table Conference. It did not directly address or trigger Gandhi's specific programme for Harijan upliftment.
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The arrest of Congress leadership at the time of the Quit India Movement in 1942 was a consequence of the call for immediate British withdrawal from India. This movement was centered on achieving complete independence and was not the catalyst for Gandhi's decision to integrate Harijan upliftment into his core political and social agenda.
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The Promulgation of the Government of India Act, 1935, was a major constitutional reform that introduced provincial autonomy and a federal structure. While it had significant political implications, it was not the specific event that prompted Gandhi to elevate the upliftment of Harijans as a central and explicit part of his political and social programme.