The Round Table Conferences

The Viceroy of India, Lord Irwin, and the Prime Minister of Britain, Ramsay MacDonald, agreed that a round table conference should be held, as the recommendations of the Simon Commission report were clearly inadequate.

First Round Table Conference

• The first Round Table Conference was held in London between November 1930 and January 1931.
• It was opened officially by King George V on November 12, 1930 and chaired by Ramsay MacDonald.
• This was the first conference arranged between the British and the Indians as equals.
• The Congress and some prominent business leaders refused to attend, but many other groups of Indians were represented at the conference.

Participation

• The Indian princely states were represented by the Maharaja of Alwar, Maharaja of Baroda, Nawab of Bhopal, Maharaja of Bikaner, Rana of Dholpur, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja of Nawanagar, Maharaja of Patiala, Maharaja of Rewa, Chief Sahib of Sangli, Sir Prabhashankar Pattani (Bhavnagar), Manubhai Mehta (Baroda), Sardar Sahibzada Sultan Ahmed Khan (Gwalior), Akbar Hydari (Hyderabad), Mirza Ismail (Mysore), Col. Kailas Narain Haksar (J&K).
• The Muslim League sent Aga Khan III, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Muhammad Shafi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, A.K. Fazlul Huq, Hafiz Ghulam Hussain Hidayat Ullah, Dr.Shafa’at Ahmad Khan, Raja Sher Muhammad Khan of Domeli and A.H. Ghuznavi.
• The Hindu Mahasabha was represented by B.S. Moonje, M.R. Jayakar and Diwan Bahadur Raja Narendra Nath.
• The Sikhs were represented by Sardar Ujjal Singh and Sardar Sampuran Singh.
• Parsis: Phiroze Sethna, Cowasji Jehangir and Homi Mody.
• Women: Begum Jahanara Shahnawaz and Radhabai Subbarayan.
• Liberals: J.N. Basu, Tej Bahadur Sapru, C.Y. Chintamani, V.S. Srinivasa Sastri and Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad.
• Depressed Classes: B.R. Ambedkar and Rettamalai Srinivasan.
• Justice Party: Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar, Bhaskarrao Vithojirao Jadhav and Sir A.P. Patro.
• Labour: N.M. Joshi and B.Shiva Rao.
• Indian Christians: K.T. Paul.
• Anglo-Indians: Henry Gidney.
• Europeans: Sir Hubert Carr, Sir Oscar de Glanville, T.F. Gavin Jones, C.E. Wood.
• There were representatives of landlords, universities, Burma, Sindh and other provinces.
• Government of India: Narendra Nath Law, Bhupendra Nath Mitra, C.P. Ramaswami Iyer and M. Ramachandra Rao.

Outcome

• It was generally agreed that India was to develop into a federation, safeguards regarding defence and finance were necessary, while other departments were to be transferred.
• Civil disobedience continued, proving Congress participation essential.

Second Round Table Conference

• Held from September 7 to December 1, 1931.
• Congress participated, represented solely by Gandhi.

Participation

• Congress: Gandhi (sole representative), A. Rangaswami Iyengar, Madan Mohan Malaviya.
• Princely states: Maharaja of Alwar, Baroda, Bhopal, Bikaner, Kutch, Dholpur, Indore, Kapurthala, Nawanagar, Patiala, Sarila, etc.
• Muslims: Aga Khan III, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, A.K. Fazlul Huq, Muhammad Iqbal, others.
• Hindu groups: M.R. Jayakar, B.S. Moonje, Raja Narendra Nath.
• Liberals: J.N. Basu, Chintamani, Sapru, Sastri, Setalvad.
• Justice Party: Raja of Bobbili, A.R. Mudaliar, A.P. Patro, Bhaskarrao Jadhav.
• Depressed Classes: B.R. Ambedkar, Rettamalai Srinivasan.
• Sikhs: Ujjal Singh, Sampuran Singh.
• Parsis: Jehangir, Homi Mody, Phiroze Sethna.
• Indian Christians: Surendra Kumar Datta, A.T. Pannirselvam.
• Industry: G.D. Birla, Purshottam Das Thakurdas, Maneckji Dadabhoy.
• Labour: N.M. Joshi, B. Shiva Rao, V.V. Giri.
• Women: Sarojini Naidu, Jahanara Shahnawaz, Radhabai Subbarayan.
• Universities: Syed Sultan Ahmed, B.D. Seth.

Demands and Outcome

• Gandhi demanded immediate responsible government at Centre and provinces.
• He rejected separate electorates for Muslims, depressed classes or any minority.
• The conference deadlocked over minority rights.
• MacDonald announced:
• NWFP and Sindh to become Muslim-majority provinces.
• Indian Consultative Committee.
• Three expert committees: finance, franchise, states.
• Possibility of unilateral Communal Award.

Third Round Table Conference

• Held November 17 to December 24, 1932.
• Congress boycotted.
• Little was achieved.
• Recommendations were published in White Paper (March 1933).
• Led to Government of India Act, 1935.

Activity During Truce (March–December 1931)

• In UP, Congress led agitation for rent reduction.
• In NWFP, severe repression on Khudai Khidmatgars.
• In Bengal, mass detentions and fights against terrorism laws.
• Hijli Jail firing (September 1931).

Change in British Attitude

• Three principles:
  • Gandhi must not rebuild mass movement.
  • Goodwill of loyalists, not Congress, was essential.
  • No consolidation of national movement in rural areas.

After Congress resumed civil disobedience, Gandhi was arrested (January 4, 1932).

• Government Action
• Congress organisations banned.
• Leaders, activists arrested.
• Properties confiscated.
• Ashrams occupied.
• Press gagged.

Public Response

• Massive participation despite unpreparedness.
• 80,000 jailed in four months.
• Widespread picketing, gatherings, hoisting flags, no-tax campaigns.
• Forest law violations.
• Secret radio transmitter near Bombay.
• Local revolts in Kashmir and Alwar.

End of Movement

• Lack of preparation made the second phase unsustainable.
• Gandhi withdrew Civil Disobedience Movement in April 1934.

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Subject: Modern History

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