The Round Table Conferences and the Communal Award, 1930-1932

O Level Pakistan Studies History · The emergence of Pakistan: 1905 to 1939. A short explanation of the idea, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid, a worked example and practice questions with answers.

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The idea

After the Simon Report the British called Indian leaders to London to agree a new constitution. Three Round Table Conferences were held between 1930 and 1932.

The first made some progress, but the Congress, the largest party, was absent because it was running civil disobedience. Gandhi came to the second after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, but he claimed that the Congress alone spoke for all India and no agreement was reached on the minorities. The third achieved little.

Because Indians could not agree, the British Prime Minister settled the question of seats himself in the Communal Award of 1932.

Rules to remember

Common mistake

Do not confuse the two pacts. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) brought Gandhi to the second conference. The Poona Pact (1932) came after the Communal Award and dealt with the depressed classes.

Worked example

Why could the first Round Table Conference not produce a lasting settlement, even though the princes and the Muslim delegates agreed on a federation?

  1. A settlement needed the support of the main Indian parties.
  2. The Congress, the largest party, was not there because it was leading civil disobedience and its leaders were in prison.
  3. Anything agreed without it could not be put into practice in India.

Answer: Because the Congress was absent, so the agreement had no backing from the largest party.

Practice questions

Try each one, then open the answer.

1. Which claim by Gandhi at the second conference did the minority delegates reject?

  1. A
    that separate electorates should be given to the Sikhs
  2. B
    that princely states should stay out of any federation
  3. C
    that the Congress alone represented all of India
  4. D
    that Muslims should be given one-third of central seats
Show answer

Answer: C. Muslim and other minority delegates refused to accept that the Congress spoke for them.

2. How did Gandhi respond to separate electorates for the depressed classes?

  1. A
    he welcomed them and ended civil disobedience
  2. B
    he fasted, leading to the Poona Pact
  3. C
    he walked out of the second Round Table Conference
  4. D
    he signed the Delhi Proposals with Jinnah
Show answer

Answer: B. Gandhi opposed separating the depressed classes from Hindus; the Poona Pact of 1932 gave them reserved seats in joint electorates instead.

3. What was agreed in principle at the first Round Table Conference?

  1. A
    the partition of India into two separate states
  2. B
    an all-India federation including the princely states
  3. C
    the ending of separate electorates for all minorities
  4. D
    the appointment of an Indian as the next Viceroy
Show answer

Answer: B. The princes' willingness to join a federation was the main outcome; it shaped the 1935 Act.

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← The Delhi Proposals, Simon Commission, Nehru Report and Jinnah's Fourteen Points, 1927-1929The Government of India Act 1935 and Congress rule, 1937-1939 →All rules on one pageStuck? Ask a question