The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences, organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in December 1932. They were conducted as per the recommendation of Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Viceroy Lord Irwin and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, and by the report submitted by the Simon Commission in May 1930. Demands for Swaraj or self-rule in India had been growing increasingly strong. B. R. Ambedkar, Jinnah, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, K. T. Paul and Mirabehn were key participants from India. 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. The key topic was about constitution and India which was mainly discussed in that conference. There were three Round Table Conferences from 1930 to 1932.

First Round Table Conference (Nov 1930 – Jan 1931)

The First Round Table Conference was the first of three such conferences organized by the British government between 1930 and 1932 to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These conferences were held in accordance with the Simon Commission’s report from 1930. The British King George V officially inaugurated the First Round Table Conference on November 12, 1930, at the House of Lords in London, and it was chaired by the then-British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. 

Background

• Certain sections of the British polity were increasingly calling for India to be granted dominion status.
• In India, the freedom movement was in full swing, with the charismatic Gandhi leading the charge for swaraj, or self-rule.
• The conferences were based on Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s recommendation to Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of India, and James Ramsay MacDonald, the then British Prime Minister, as well as the Simon Commission report.
• It was the first time that Indians and British met as ‘equals.’ On November 12th, 1930, the first conference began.
• The Congress and some prominent business leaders refused to attend, but many other Indian groups were present.

Features

• Ramsay MacDonald presided over the first Round Table Conference, which took place in London between November 1930 and January 1931.
• This was the first meeting of equals between the British and the Indians.
• The Congress, as well as some prominent business leaders, declined to attend.
• It was attended by the Princely States, the Muslim League, the Justice Party, the Hindu Mahasabha, and others.
• The conference resulted in little progress. The British government recognised that the Indian National Congress’s participation was required in any discussion about India’s future constitutional government.

Participants

• The following people attended the First Round Table Conference:
  • There were a total of 16 delegates from three British political parties.
  • A total of 74 delegates from India were present.
  • 58 delegates from Indian political parties.
  • 16 princely state delegates
• There were also landlords (from Bihar, the United Provinces, and Orissa), universities, Burma, Sindh, and other provinces represented.
• However, neither the Indian National Congress nor any prominent political or business leaders from India participated because the majority of them were imprisoned for their involvement in the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Issues Discussed

• The federal government structure.
• The province’s constitution was discussed.
• Sindh and Northwest Frontier Provinces Minorities Defence Services.
• The executive’s accountability to the legislature.
• Dr. B R Ambedkar advocated for separate electorates for “untouchables.”
• Tej Bahadur Sapru proposed an All-India Federation. The Muslim League agreed with this.
• The princely states agreed on the condition that their internal sovereignty be preserved.

Outcome

• The First Round Table Conference took place from 1930 to 1931.
• The Round Table Conference (RTC) reforms were agreed upon, but they were never implemented.
• During the First RTC, leaders of the Indian National Congress carried on the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• As a result, the First Round Table Conference was deemed a failure.
• The British Government recognised the importance of the Congress Party’s participation in Round Table Conferences for effective reform implementation and expressed hope for INC leaders’ participation in the Second Round Table Conference.
• In March 1931, Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin signed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, which ended the Civil Disobedience Movement and agreed to take part in the Second RTC.
• The British Government administration understood that the Indian National Congress needed to be involved in determining India’s constitutional future.