Round Table Conferences and Constitutional Negotiations

The Round Table Conferences (1930–1932) were a series of three high-level conferences organized by the British Government to deliberate on constitutional reforms in India. The conferences were convened to discuss the recommendations of the Simon Commission Report (1930) and chart the future path of Indian governance.

Major Precursor Events

• Irwin Declaration (1929): On October 31, 1929, Viceroy Lord Irwin declared that the natural issue of India’s constitutional progress was the attainment of Dominion Status.
• Lahore Congress Session (1929): The Indian National Congress passed the Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence) resolution under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, rejecting Dominion Status and calling for a boycott of the first conference.
• Civil Disobedience Movement (1930): Launched by Mahatma Gandhi with the Salt March, leading to the arrest of top Congress leaders and creating mass political turbulence across India.

First Round Table Conference (November 1930 – January 1931)

The First Round Table Conference was officially opened by King George V on November 12, 1930, at the House of Lords in London, and chaired by British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald.

Representation and Delegations

• Total Delegates: 89 delegates attended, including 16 from British political parties, 57 from British India, and 16 from Indian Princely States.
• Key Representatives:
  • Muslim League: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Aga Khan III, Muhammad Shafi, and Maulana Muhammad Ali.
  • Hindu Mahasabha: M.R. Jayakar and B.S. Moonje.
  • Depressed Classes: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Rettamalai Srinivasan.
  • Liberals: Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, C.Y. Chintamani, and Sir Mirza Ismail.
  • Princely States: Maharaja of Bikaner (Ganga Singh), Nawab of Bhopal, and Maharaja of Patiala.
• Congress Absence: The Indian National Congress boycotted the conference as most of its leadership remained imprisoned during the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Key Outcomes and Sub-Committees

• Agreement in principle on an All-India Federation comprising British Indian Provinces and Princely States.
• Recommendation for Provincial Autonomy with executive responsibility.
• Nine sub-committees were established to address topics like the Federal Structure, Minorities, Services, Franchise, and the North-West Frontier Province.
• Little progress occurred on minority safeguards due to the absence of the Congress party.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact and Interlocking Negotiations

The lack of Congress representation rendered the first conference incomplete. British authorities sought to bring Congress into the negotiations.

Key Provisions of the Pact (March 5, 1931)

• Signed between Mahatma Gandhi and Viceroy Lord Irwin after weeks of negotiations.
• Congress agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement and participate in the Second Round Table Conference.
• The British government agreed to release political prisoners not convicted of violence, permit peaceful picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops, and allow coastal residents to manufacture salt for personal consumption.
• The Karachi Session of Congress (March 1931), presided over by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, endorsed the pact and authorized Gandhi as the sole Congress representative for the next conference.

Second Round Table Conference (September 1931 – December 1931)

The Second Round Table Conference convened in London under the newly formed National Government headed by Ramsay MacDonald. Lord Willingdon had replaced Lord Irwin as Viceroy.

Composition and Debates

• Sole Representative: Mahatma Gandhi attended as the single delegate representing the Indian National Congress.
• Other Delegates: Sarojini Naidu attended representing Indian women, Madan Mohan Malaviya represented nationalist opinion, and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar represented the Depressed Classes.
• Deadlock on Minorities: The conference deadlocked over the question of minority representation. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the Depressed Classes, a demand strongly opposed by Gandhi, who argued it would divide Hindu society.
• Failure: Gandhi returned to India empty-handed in December 1931, leading to the resumption of the Civil Disobedience Movement and his subsequent arrest.

Communal Award and Poona Pact (1932)

Following the failure of the Second Round Table Conference, Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award on August 16, 1932.

Communal Award Features

• Retained and expanded separate electorates for Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans.
• Declared the Depressed Classes as a minority community entitled to separate electorates for 20 years.

Fast Unto Death and Poona Pact

• Gandhi began a fast unto death at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune on September 20, 1932, to protest separate electorates for the Depressed Classes.
• Poona Pact (September 24, 1932): Signed between Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on behalf of the Depressed Classes and Madan Mohan Malaviya on behalf of caste Hindus.
• Key Terms: Abandoned separate electorates for Depressed Classes in favor of reserved seats in joint electorates. Increased reserved seats in provincial legislatures from 71 (allocated under the Award) to 148, and reserved 18% of central legislature seats for the Depressed Classes.

Third Round Table Conference (November 1932 – December 1932)

The Third Round Table Conference was a brief affair attended by only 46 delegates. It lacked broad political participation.

Participation and Absence

• Boycotted by the Indian National Congress.
• The British Labour Party refused to send delegates.
• Most major rulers of Princely States declined to attend, sending representatives instead.
• Key delegates present included Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, and Begum Jahanara Shahnawaz (representing Indian women).

Legal Deliberations

• Worked through reports of sub-committees to finalize administrative details for a new constitutional bill.
• Discussed federal finance, franchise qualifications, and statutory safeguards for British commercial interests.

Comparative Overview of the Round Table Conferences

Legislative Path to the Government of India Act 1935

The deliberations of the three conferences led directly to the enactment of the next major constitutional framework for British India.

White Paper of 1933

• In March 1933, the British Government issued a White Paper containing proposals for constitutional reforms.
• It recommended an All-India Federation, Provincial Autonomy, and a dyarchical setup at the Center.

Joint Select Committee

• A Joint Select Committee of the British Parliament was formed under Lord Linlithgow to examine the White Paper.
• The committee consulted delegates from British India and the Princely States before finalizing its report in November 1934.
• Based on this report, a bill was introduced in the British Parliament that received Royal Assent on August 2, 1935, becoming the Government of India Act 1935.

Essential Facts for Quick Revision

Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a student at Cambridge University, coined the name “Pakistan” in his 1933 pamphlet Now or Never, distributed during the negotiations of the Third Round Table Conference. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar were among the few Indian delegates who attended all three Round Table Conferences. Begum Jahanara Shahnawaz and Radhabai Subbarayan were the prominent female delegates who participated in the Round Table discussions to advocate for women’s suffrage and legislative rights. The British Government appointed a Joint Select Committee in 1933 whose chairman, Lord Linlithgow, later succeeded Lord Willingdon as the Viceroy of India in 1936. The draft proposal for an All-India Federation required at least 50% of the Princely States by population to sign Instruments of Accession, a condition that was never fulfilled, keeping the central federal provisions of the 1935 Act unexecuted.