An agreement signed in 1932 between Mahatma Gandhi and Dr B.R. Ambedkar that abandoned separate electorates for the Depressed Classes in favour of reserved seats within joint (general) electorates.
- Arose from the Communal Award (1932) of British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, which had granted separate electorates to the Depressed Classes (the "Untouchables").
- Gandhi opposed separate electorates for the Depressed Classes as a permanent division of Hindu society and began a fast unto death in Yerwada Jail, Poona.
- The Poona Pact was signed on 24 September 1932; Ambedkar agreed to give up separate electorates in exchange for a larger number of reserved seats for the Depressed Classes within the general (joint) electorate.
- It substantially increased reserved seats for the Depressed Classes in the provincial and central legislatures compared with the Communal Award.
- It set the template for reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes within joint electorates that the Constitution later adopted.
The Poona Pact is the key social-justice milestone linking Gandhi, Ambedkar, the Communal Award, and the later constitutional scheme of reserved seats, a clear human-rights and polity bridge.
The Poona Pact replaced separate electorates for the Depressed Classes (granted by the Communal Award) with reserved seats in joint electorates; it did not abolish reservation, it changed its form.
1932 Gandhi-Ambedkar pact: dropped separate electorates for Depressed Classes for reserved seats in joint electorates, after Gandhi's fast against the Communal Award.