ROUND TABLE CONFERENCES, 1930, 1931 AND 1932

Contents

1 Introduction
2 Background
3 First round table conference
4 Irwin-Ghandi Pact
5 Second round table conference
7 Communal Award
8 Third round table conference
9 Conclusion
Introduction
Round table conferences were the conference which were held by
British government in England from 1930 to 1932. These conferences
were held for the purpose of drafting the future constitution of India
by considering the views of Indian political leaders. It was a great
opportunity for Indian to mutually agree on a constitution which
would have met the rights of every community but they failed to
form a concrete consensus.

Background
By this time India was experiencing lawlessness. Because
government had drafted such constitutional reforms earlier in the
form of Minto-Morlye reform 1909 and Mauntague-Chamslford
reform 1919, but they did not satisfy the Indian people. When the
Indian raised their voice against the Chamslford reform, then it was
promised by the government that in the upcoming reforms there
would be some new reforms for Indian people. Then Indians calmed
down and waited for another 10 years for a fair constitution. For
drafting the future constitution of India, British government in 1927
formed a commission, named Simon Commission, that lacked Indian
members. Additionally, all Indian parties boycotted it, except Shafi
group. This commission compiled its report and also requested for
holding a round table conference. Thereupon, the government
decided to hold the conferences to form a mutually understood
constitution.
First Round Table Conference
 On 19 June, 1930 British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
summoned the Indian Leader to attend these conferences. On
13 March, 1930 Gandhi decided to celebrate Independence
Day and started Civil Disobedience Movement for complete
independence of India. However, Muslim leaders stayed away
from the movement because Hindus were exploiting the Muslim
demand for their own rights.  Muhammad Ali Jinnah had
already given a proposal to British Prime Minister to settle down
this issue in London. Gandhi had given ultimatum for the
approval of Nehru Report. In this scenario, when the first
Round Table Conference started M.K Gandhi and Jawaharlal
Nehru  were in the jail. Muhammad Ali Jauhar in April 1930
declared, ‘‘The aim of the movement was not to work for Indian
independence but to make Muslims slave of Hindu Maha
Sabah’’.   Along with sixteen British members, there were fifty
seven representatives from all Indian states and all parties
except Indian National Congress.   Muslim Leaders: Quaid-e-
Azam, Sir Agha Khan, Muhammad Ali Jauhur, .Maulvi Fazl Haq
and Sir Muhammad Shafi   Hindu Mahasabha: B. S.
Moonje and M.R. Jayakar   Liberals: Tej Bahadur Sapru, C. Y.
Chintamani and Srinivasa Sastri Sikh: Sardar Ujjal
Singh Depressed Classes: B. R. Ambedkar Princely
states: Akbar Hydari (Dewan of Hyderabad), Mirza
Ismail (Diwan of Mysore), Kailas Narain Haksar of
Gwalior, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, Maharaja
Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda, Maharaja Hari Singh of
Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner,
Nawab Hamidullah Khan of Bhopal, K.S. Ranjitsinhji of
Nawanagar, MaharajaJai Singh Prabhakar of Alwar and the
rulers of Indore, Rewa, Dholpur, Koriya, Sangli and Sarila.  
After lengthy debate, it was decided that federal form of
government will be established for India. The Central Executive
would be responsible to Federal Legislature. Provinces will be
given autonomy in their own affairs and Sindh will be
considered a separate province with a responsible government.
Two sub-committees were also appointed one will work out the
detail of Federal form of government and the other one will sort
out the problems of minorities. Both communities failed to reach
any logical conclusion. On January 19, 1931, the first round
table conference was officially finished.

Irwin-Gandhi Pact
Agreement signed on March 5, 1931, between Mohandas K.
Gandhi, leader of the Indian nationalist movement, and Lord
Irwin (later Lord Halifax), British viceroy (1926–31) of India. It
marked the end of a period of civil disobedience (satyagraha) in
India against British rule that Gandhi and his followers had
initiated with the Salt March (March–April 1930). Gandhi’s
arrest and imprisonment at the end of the march, for illegally
making salt, sparked one of his more effective civil
disobedience movements. By the end of 1930, tens of
thousands of Indians were in jail (including future Indian prime
minister Jawaharlal Nehru), the movement had generated
worldwide publicity, and Irwin was looking for a way to end it.
Gandhi was released from custody in January 1931, and the
two men began negotiating the terms of the pact. In the end,
Gandhi pledged to give up the satyagraha campaign, and Irwin
agreed to release those who had been imprisoned during it and
to allow Indians to make salt for domestic use. Later that year
Gandhi attended the second session (September–December)
of the Round Table Conference in London.
Second Round Table Conference
 The Second Round Table Conference, lasted 7 September
1931 to 1st December 1931, made more controversies for
British Government. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar has died
before that conference. To resolve the issues of federal and
minorities, Gandhi appointed himself the member of both
committees. In the absence of other representatives, he
remained fail to resolve the issues. He presented already
rejected Nehru Report to resolve the communal problem.
Separate electorate for Untouchables in the award forced
Gandhi to start fast unto death.

Communal Award
On August 16, 1932, the British Government decided to give
its famous Communal Award. In this Award, principle of
Wieghtage was applied (Muslim lost majority in Punjab, Sikh
got advantage in Punjab, Europeans got advantage
in Bengal because of principle of Wieghtage). Sindh was
awarded the status of separate province. Finally, Communal
Award declared untouchables as a minority in India and thus
the Hindus depressed classes were given a number of special
seats. At that All India Muslim League was divided into two
factions, both expressed their dissatisfaction on that Award. At
last Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah decided to accept this
award till alternative solution.
 Third Round Table Conference
Third Round Table Conference was held in London on November
17, 1932.This was just a nominal conference, Congress refused to
attend it (not invited, in fact) and in Britain, the Labor party also
refused to not to attend it. Muslim leaders who attended the
conference were Muhammad Ali, Agha Khan, Fazlul Haq,
Jinnah.

The outcome of the Third Round Table conference was the ”

Conclusion
All the conference were held to sort out the lawlessness of the
land and bring forth a mutually understood constitution by
considering the suggestions of Indian leaders. Congress
considered itself the representative of all Indian therefore
denied that there existed different community. It wanted the
Nehru report a full and final constitution for India and urged its
implementation. On the other hand Muslims were striving tooth
and nail for getting their rights and preserving their culture and
tradition and were eager to follow their religion in a peaceful
atmosphere. But all were in vain no desires of Indians fulfilled
and British according its will drafted the final ordinance of India
which is known as Indian Act of 1935.