Essay on Round Table Conferences

The First Round Table Conference was held from 12 November 1930 to 19 January 1931. The Congress boyacotted the conference as its demand for a discussion on “Poorna Swaraj” of India was rejected by the British Government.

The representatives of the Princely states, minority communities and depressed class attended the conference. But without the congress the conference failed to reach any settelement on Indian problems. It ended with an appeal by the British Prime-minister, Ramsay Macdonald, to all Indians to end the civil disobedience.

After the failure of First Round Table Conference efforts were made by the Government to make an agreementz the congress so that it would attend the next Round Table Conference. The Viceroy, Lord Irwin, was authorised to hold talks with Mahatma Gandhi. Finally, Gandhi and Irwin reached an agreementon 5 March 1931.

The agreement is called Gandhi-Irwin pact. By this pact Government agreed to release most of tcivil disobedience volunteers, against whom there was no allegation of violence. The Congress suspended the Civil Disobedience Movement and agreed to participate in the second Round Table Conference.

The Second Round Table Conference was held in London in Septemebr 1931. Gandhi went to England to attend it along with Sarojinui Naidu, Mahadev Desai, G.D. Birla and Madan Mohan Malavya. He powerfully advocated for the immediate grant of Dominion status to India which was refused. This led to the failure of the Second Round Table Conference. Moreover, Gandhi discovered how the British wanted to apply “divide and rule” policy through their proposed constitution. On his return Gandhi resumed the Civil Disobedience movement in 1932.

When the Civil Disobedience movement was resumed, the Government took stern measures to supress it. The new Viceroy, Lord Willingdon was determined to crush it. The Congress was declared an illegal body and special ordicances were made to arrest the Satyagrahis.Gandhi and many other Congress leaders were arrested in January 1932. Over a lakh of Satyagrahis were jailed and the propoties of some of them were confiscated.

In August 1932, the Government announced the communal Award which provided spearate electrorates for Muslims, Sikhs and depressed classes. Gandhi strongly opposed the order by undertaking a fast unto death in the Yeravada Jail. The nation was shocked at Gandhi’s decision. The leaders immediately negotiated with the representatives of the backward castes and compromise was affected.

It was agreed to reserve some seats of backward castes in the legislatures and they were to remain together with the rest of the Hindus. There should be no separate electrorates for them. The British Government agreed to accept that formula and withdraw the communal Award. Gandhi broke the fast. Credit went to B.R. Ambedkar, the leader of the depressed classes for such a fine settlement.

The arrest of the congress leaders and continued Government repression had adversely affected the Civil Disobedience Movement. Gandhi suspended the movemnt in 1933 and finally withdrew it in May 1934.