Round Table Confrence.

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“18” “Round table conferences 1930-32”

Background:-

• The 1930s were years of difficulty and tension. The Simon Commission Report was
harshly criticized, and Congress launched a civil disobedience movement in April 1930.
This movement was declared illegal, and both Gandhi and Nehru were arrested.

• In an effort to avoid confrontation with the Indian political parties, the British
Government invited all parties to present their point of view at a Round Table
Conference.

First Round Table Conference

• The first session of the First Round Table Conference began in London on 12 November
1930.
• All parties sent representatives except for Congress, which issued an ultimatum saying
that it would have nothing to do with any future constitutional discussions unless the
Nehru Report was enforced completely.
• The All-India Muslim League in December 1929, welcomed the convening of the
conference and demanded that only those Muslims should invited to attend the
conference who were the true representatives of nation. Allama Iqbal and seven other
leaders of the Punjab while welcoming this decision, linked the success of the
conference with two conditions. In their opinion, the conference could not succeed
without settling the Hindu-Muslim disputes. Secondly, the participants of the
conference should be the true representatives of their communities
• The delegates included 16 from the United Kingdom, 16 from the Indian states and 57
from British India.
• The Muslim representatives attended the conference, as the Muslims were not part of
the civil disobedience movement. Representing the Muslims were Maulana Muhammad
Ali Jauhar, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Sir Agha Khan, Maulvi Fazal-ul-Haq, Sir
Muhammad Shafi, Sir Shah Nawaz, Chaudri Zafarullah, and Ghulam Hussain
Hidayatullah. The conference unanimously decided to create a federal system for India.
Even the princely states agreed to join an All India Federation.
• Eight subcommittees were established to work out agreement on major points of
concern: the federal structure, the provincial constitution, franchise, the provinces of
Sindh and NWFP, defence services, and minorities. Among the important decisions
taken were the following:
1. A federation would be established comprising the provinces of British India;
dyarchy would be abolished in the provinces and responsible government under
Indian ministers would be introduced; the separation of Sindh from Bombay was
agreed in principle and a committee was to be appointed to deal with the
ensuing financial problems; North West Frontier Province was to receive the
status of a Governor’s province.
2. Differences arose concerning the distribution of subjects in the federal system,
and the subcommittee on minorities failed to reach agreement about their
rights. At the end of the conference, the Muslims declared that no advance
would be possible without sufficient safeguards for the Muslims of India.
3. The First Round Table Conference ended on 19 January 1931. The British Prime
Minister explained Government policy toward resolving the Indian constitutional
problem and accepted the proposal for responsible governments in the
provinces and a federal government at the centre. After the conclusion of the
first session, it was generally felt that a second session would be of little use if
Congress refused to participate again.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact

• After the First Round Table Conference concluded, Congress felt very
isolated. When the civil disobedience movement failed, Congress began
looking for ways to come to terms with the government. For its part, the
British government wanted Congress to attend the Second Round Table
Conference, because it would be difficult to implement any constitutional
reforms without the largest party in India.
• When Lord Irwin invited Gandhi for talks, Gandhi agreed to end the civil
disobedience movement with no preconditions. Talks between Gandhi and
Irwin continued from 17-19 February 1931, culminating in the Gandhi-Irwin
Pact, signed on 5 March 1931.
• Under the Pact, Congress agreed to end the civil disobedience movement
and to attend the Second Round Table Conference. The government agreed
to withdraw all ordinances curbing Congress, to withdraw all notifications
and enactments relating to offenses not involving violence, and to release all
persons detained during the civil disobedience movement.
Second Round Table Conference

• The Second Round Table Conference opened on 7 September 1931 in London


and lasted until 1 December 1931. Gandhi was there as the representative of
Congress. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar died before the Second Round
Table Conference. In his place, Allama Muhammad Iqbal came as the
Muslims’ representative.
• Two committees were set up under the conference, one on federal structure
and the other on minorities. Gandhi was a member of both. The most
important and sensitive issue before the conference was the Hindu-Muslim
relationship. From the Muslim point of view, this was bound to affect the
shape of the proposed federation.
• The minorities subcommittee faced many difficulties, as Gandhi refused to
accept minority demands and declared that it was difficult to reach
agreement. He attributed this difficulty to the composition of the Indian
delegation and demanded that the minority committee be disbanded so that
it should not block the progress of constitution making. Gandhi demanded
that the work of constitution making be started by putting aside the
minorities issue.
• Sir Muhammad Shafi, a Muslim representative, did not agree to Gandhi’s
proposal and insisted that minorities issue must be resolved before taking up
constitution making. Sir Shafi also demanded that Jinnah’s Fourteen Points
be incorporated in the future constitution of India. No settlement of the
minorities issue was reached due to Gandhi’s refusal to accept the existence
of the communal problem. Gandhi put forward his own scheme to solve this
problem. His solution was based on proposals made in the Nehru Report.
• Independently, the minority groups; Muslims, Anglo-Indians, a section of the
Indian Christians, and members of the European business community —
reached an agreement among themselves and endorsed the principle of
separate electorates. This agreement was presented by the Agha Khan to the
tenth meeting of the minorities committee on 13 November 1931, but it was
rejected by Gandhi, who insisted that as Congress represented 85 to 95
percent of the entire Indian population, only Congress could speak for the
minorities. Under these circumstances, further progress was impossible.
• The communal problem also hampered the work of the federal structure
committee. On August 16, 1932 the British Government announced its
famous Communal Award. According to this accord the minorities were given
the right of separate electorate in India and Muslim majority in Punjab and
Bengal was transformed into minority. Both the major parties did not accept
the award and condemned the real nature of the Round Table Conference.
THIRD ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE

• The third session began on November 17, 1932. It was short and unimportant. The
Congress was once again absent, so was the Labor opposition in the British
Parliament. Reports of the various committees were scrutinized. The conference
ended on December 25, 1932.
• The recommendations of the Round Table Conferences were embodied in a White
Paper. It was published in March 1933, and debated in parliament directly
afterwards, analyzed by the Joint Select Committee and after the final reading and
loyal assent, the bill reached the Statute Book on July 24, 1935

Conclusions:-

• From Muslim point of view, the Round Table Conferences were totally fruitless.
• In his address to the students of the Aligarh University in 1938, Quaid said:
“I received the shock of my life at the meetings of the round Table Conference. In the
face of danger, the Hindu sentiment, the Hindu mind, the Hindu attitude led me to the
conclusion that there was no hope of unity. I was very pessimist about my country. The
position was most unfortunate. The Mussalmans were like the dwellers in No Man’s
Land; they were led by either the flunkeys of the British Government or the camp
followers of the Congress.”

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