Round Table Conferences (India)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
The three Round Table Conferences of 1930-32 were organised by the British government. Demands for swaraj, or self-rule, in India had been growing increasingly strong. By the 1930s, many British politicians believed that India needed to move towards dominion status. However, there were significant disagreements between the Indian and the British political parties that the Conferences would not resolve.
Contents |
[edit] First Round Table Conference (Nov. 1930-Jan. 1931)
The Round Table Conference was opened officially by the King on Thursday, 13 November 1930 and chaired by the British Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald. The Congress party, along with Indian business leaders, kept away from the conference. (Many of them were in jail for their participation in civil disobedience.) However, the Conference was attended by Muslim leaders including Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Shafi, the Aga Khan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah; Hindu Mahasabha leaders including Moonje and Jaylar; Liberals including Tej Bahadur Sapru, Chintamani and Srinivas Shashtri; and a large contingent of rulers of princely states.
- The idea of an All India Federation was moved to the centre of discussion. All the groups attending the conference supported the concept.
- Responsibility of the Executive to Legislature
- B R Ambedkar demanded for a separate electorate for the depressed classes
[edit] Second Round Table Conference (Sept.-Dec. 1931)
There were three major differences between the first and second Round Table Conferences. By the second:
- Congress Representation - The Gandhi-Irwin Pact opened the way for Congress participation in this conference. Gandhi attended as the sole official congress representative. Gandhi claimed that the Congress alone represented political India; that the Untouchables were Hindus and should not be treated as a “minority”; and that there should be no separate electorates or special safeguards for Muslims or other minorities. These claims were rejected by the other Indian participants.
- National Government - two weeks earlier the Labour government had fallen. Ramsay MacDonald now headed a National Government dominated by the Conservative Party.
- Financial Crisis – During the conference, Britain went off the Gold Standard, Cabinet tied the rupee to sterling thus using India gold to stabilize Britain’s currency and the general election returned a large Conservative majority.
During the Conference, Gandhi could not reach agreement with the Muslims on Muslim representation and safeguards. At the end of the conference Ramsay MacDonald undertook to produce a Communal Award for minority representation, with the proviso that any free agreement between the parties could be substituted for his award.
Gandhi took particular exception to the treatment of untouchables as a minority separate from the rest of the Hindu community. He clashed with the Untouchable leader, B. R. Ambedkar, over this issue: the two eventually resolved the situation with the Poona Pact of 1932.
[edit] Third Round Table Conference (Nov.-Dec. 1932)
From September 1931 until March 1933, under the supervision of Sir Samuel Hoare, the proposed reforms took the form reflected in the Government of India Act 1935.
