For long, the Congress had ignored the daiits, for the fear of offending the Sanatanis, the conservative high-caste Hindus. But Mahatma Gandhi declared that Swaraj would not come for a hundred years if untouchability was not eliminated. Under his constructive programme he laid stress on the removal of untouchability. He called them (untouchable) the harijans - meaning the children of God. He also organised satyagraha to secure their entry into temples, and access to public wells, tanks, roads and schools. He himself toured their colonies, and even lived there. He even cleaned toilets to dignify the work of the sweepers.