In September 1932, Mahatma Gandhi began a fast unto death to protest British support of a new Indian Constitution that would incorporate the Communal Award .

The Communal Award was made by the British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald on 16 August 1932, granting separate electorates in India for the Forward Caste, Scheduled Caste, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans, and Depressed Classes (now known as the Scheduled Caste) etc.

After just six days, the British accepted an alternate proposal (Poona Pact) and he was able to break the fast.