What should the voters do?

MANY who had hitherto no concern with Council elections will be shortly called upon to vote for the reformed Councils. The powers, too, of elected members will be found to have increased.

This adds to the voters' responsibility. In all our cities the citizens have been exercising the municipal franchise. And of these elections it cannot be said that the electors have always acquitted themselves in a wise manner. Electors' private relations with the candidates have often weighed with them more than the candidates' qualifications. It would be well if we set up a better standard for the elections to the Legislative Councils. Only thus shall we be able to make the best use of the Councils. I suggest also that voters should not identify themselves with any party or its quarrels. They should consider candidates' views and not their party. Their character should weigh more even than their views.

A man of character will make himself worthy of any position he is given. Even his mistakes will not much matter. I consider it impossible for a man without character to do higher national service so that if I were a voter, from among the list I would first select men of character and then I would understand their views.

My questions to them would be :

1. Do you approve of the present swadeshi movement? If so, are you prepared to levy heavy import duties on foreign cloth? Will you favour legislation for cheapening the materials and machinery required to produce swadeshi articles?

2. Do you hold that all the affairs of a province should be conducted in its own vernacular and that the affairs of the nation should be conducted in Hindustani—a combination of Hindi and Urdu? If you do, will you endeavour incessantly to introduce the use of the vernaculars in the administration of the respective provinces, and the national language in the Imperial administration?

3. Do you hold that the present division of the provinces of India was made for administrative and political purposes and that no regard was paid to the people's wishes? And do you hold that this division has done much harm to the national growth?

If you think so, will you try to bring out a redistribution on a linguistic basis as early as possible?

4. Do you hold that there is not the remotest likelihood of India's regeneration without Hindu-Muslim unity? And if you think so, are you, if a Hindu, willing to help the Mussulmans in all legitimate ways in their trouble?

A satisfactory answer to them alone will entitle the candidates to my vote if I had one. I suggest these questions because I regard them as of great importance. If the electors do not see any significance in these questions, they may put others which they consider to be of greater importance for the upliftment of the nation. It is not the particular questions that matter but the knowing of candidates' views on national questions. My attempt is to point out that we need an electorate which is impartial, independent and intelligent. If the electors do not interest themselves in national affairs and remain unconcerned with what goes on in their midst, and if they elect men with whom they have private relations or whose aid they need for themselves, this state of things can do no good to the country; on the contrary, it will be harmful.

Now it remains to be considered what the electors should do if they do not receive a satisfactory answer to their questions or if they cannot find men of character. It is an established custom with regard to elections that electors, if they do not find any candidate to their liking, need not register their votes. In such a case abstention amounts to an exercise of one's vote. Exception was taken to this procedure, that if good electors refuse to make their choice bad electors would make the worst choice. This is to a certain extent true. But suppose in a certain place, all candidates being drunkards, the better portion of the electorate abstain from voting and the candidates manage to secure votes from their kind, can they exercise any influence in the Councils? No doubt their vote has its numerical value, but their views and speeches cannot influence the Council. Moreover, an intelligent abstention has its own effect. The electors having once failed to find a proper candidate will next time take steps to find out a suitable man and elect him, and by so doing they will raise the level of their own place. In a growing nation people are able to understand the national affairs and they are expected to purify the political atmosphere they live in and to maintain its purity. All enlightened and thoughtful voters will find that occasionally situations must arise when they will have to purposely refuse to register their votes. I earnestly hope that on such occasions our electors will have courage to do so. I hope that when they do exercise the vote they will give it to the best man no matter to which party he belongs.

[From Gujarati]

Speech at Public Meetings, Madras

March 22, 1925

The friend lastly asks—rather it is the first question—“What is the duty of the voters in the coming elections to the Legislative Council? Do you advise me to abstain from voting?” It is a fall from the sublime to the ridiculous. If I were a voter and if I exercise the right to vote, I shall tell you what I should do. I will first of all scan the candidates from top to bottom and if I find that among all the candidates there is not one man who is dressed from top to toe in khaddar, I will retain my vote in my pocket absolutely sealed. And if I am satisfied that there is at least one man who is dressed from top to toe in khaddar, I will go to him in all humility and ask him if he is dressed in this style for the occasion or if he habitually at home and out of home wears hand-spun and hand-woven khaddar. If he returns an answer in the negative, I should again retain my vote in my pocket. I would next ask him: “It is extremely good that you always wear khaddar. Do you also spin for the sake of the masses at least for half an hour?” And if I am entirely satisfied on this question, my next question will be: “Do you believe in Hindu-Muslim-Parsi-ChristianJewish unity?” And if I am still satisfied with the answer, my next question will be, if he is a Hindu and if there is a general electorate in which I can vote for Hindus, Mussalmans and others: “Do you believe in the removal of untouchability in the sense in which I have put it before you?” I am an ambitious and a zealous voter. Therefore, I would further ask: “Do you favour temperance reform? And do you favour total immediate prohibition even though everyone of our schools will have to be closed for want of revenue?” And if he says “Yes”, I would take heart and immediately ask him a few questions to see that he is as sound on the Brahmin-non-Brahmin question and I shall vote for him. That is what I would do. You may ask fifty other questions. But I would ask you never to be satisfied until you have asked all these questions and added many more.

How to utilise elections

It was stated in Faizpur during the Congress Week that there are nearly 3 1 2 crores of voters who will vote for candidates for the provincial legislatures. Harijan workers can utilize the occasion of the elections for educating the voters on the question of untouchability and of committing the candidates definitely to one side or the other. They can be asked for instance these questions: Are you in favour of complete removal of untouchability? Are you in favour of removing the legal bar on the grounds of custom and legislation permitting temple authorities to open temples to Harijans where savarna Hindu opinion is ripe for the step? Are you in favour of enforcing the common law in the matter of Harijans freely using public wells, schools, and the like? A correspondent writes to say that there is a conspiracy of silence among candidates on this question. If there is, it can be broken by energetic Harijan workers simply putting at voters’ meetings questions like those I have suggested. Enlightened voters interested in the purification of Hinduism can do a great deal to educate and mould pubic opinion in this matter. It is a pity that the question of untouchability can at all become an issue between rival candidates or between candidates and electors. But pity or no pity, we have to face the facts as they are today. 

Harijan, 9-1-1937 

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In the above text Mahatma Gandhi’s speeches on duty of voters have been published. While the first two speeches are on the role voters should play for casting their votes for  candidates contesting elections the last piece  is on utilising elections. It is instructive that Gandhi appealed voters, among others, to vote for candidates who support abolition of untouchability and Hindu-Muslim Unity. Those issues he raised throughout freedom struggle and as stated above in at least two specific speeches, one in 1920 and the other in 1925, he made abolition of untouchability an electoral issue and wanted voters to cast their votes in favour of those who remained committed to wipe out that social scourge. Eventually the issue of abolition untouchability was taken up in the Constituent Assembly and Article 17 was enshrined in the Fundamental Rights chapter for abolishing it. In the last piece, “How to Utilise Elections” he expresses sadness by saying “It is a pity that the question of untouchability can at all become an issue between rival candidates or between candidates and electors.”  It was clear that Mahatma Gandhi wanted the issue concerning reform of Hinduism by taking manifold measures one of which dealt with abolition of untouchability. It is of utmost significance to note that he reflected on such issues in the context of the duty of voters and elections.