Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Movement (1919–1947) — Part 5: 5. Constitutional Developments (1935 Act)

4.4 Round Table Conferences

The British government convened three Round Table Conferences in London to discuss constitutional reform. The First RTC (November 1930) was held without the Congress and proved futile. At the Second RTC (September-December 1931), Gandhi represented the Congress as its sole delegate. The conference was inconclusive: Gandhi's claim that the Congress represented all of India was challenged by the Muslim League (claiming to speak for Muslims), the Princes (claiming autonomy from the Congress), and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (arguing that the Congress did not represent the lowest castes). The British watched these divisions with satisfaction. Gandhi returned from London having achieved nothing, and civil disobedience was resumed.

The new Viceroy, Lord Willingdon, was deeply unsympathetic. When the movement was restarted, 120,000 people were jailed in the first three months — indicating the intensity of repression rather than the breadth of the movement, which gradually declined. Gandhi suspended the CDM temporarily in May 1933 and formally withdrew it in April 1934. He then made Harijan work the centrepiece of his new rural constructive programme.

4.5 Poona Pact (1932)

At the Second RTC, Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the "Depressed Classes" (Dalits), arguing they could not trust upper-caste Hindus to protect their interests. In August 1932, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award granting separate electorates to Depressed Classes, with 71 reserved seats in provincial legislatures.

Gandhi, then in Yeravada Jail, opposed the Award. He argued that separate electorates would "perpetuate the stigma" of untouchability and permanently divide the Hindu community. He undertook a fast unto death in prison. Intensive negotiations followed between Gandhi's associates and Ambedkar. The result was the Poona Pact, signed on 24 September 1932: Ambedkar agreed to forgo separate electorates; in return, the number of reserved seats for Depressed Classes within a joint (Hindu) electorate was increased from 71 to 148 in provincial legislatures, with additional seats at the central level. Gandhi survived his fast. The Poona Pact is significant both as a settlement and as a marker of the unresolved tension between integrationist and separatist approaches to Dalit political representation.

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5. Constitutional Developments (1935 Act)

The Government of India Act, 1935 was the most substantial constitutional reform of the colonial period. Its key provisions included:

• Provincial Autonomy: Elected ministries with Indian ministers responsible to provincial legislatures, replacing the dyarchy system introduced in 1919
• All-India Federation: Proposed (but never implemented) federation of British India and willing princely states, with a bicameral central legislature
• Safeguards: Extensive "reserved subjects" and "special responsibilities" maintained British control over defence, external affairs, and fiscal policy
• Separate Electorates: Retained and extended for various religious and other communities

The Congress initially criticised the Act for not granting independence and retaining British control over key domains. However, it decided to contest the 1937 provincial elections under the Act. The result was a decisive Congress victory: the party swept the general category seats and formed governments in eight out of eleven provinces ("Prime Ministers" responsible to elected legislatures). The Congress governments, in office from 1937 to 1939, gained crucial governing experience. The Muslim League, which fared poorly in the elections, launched a campaign to position itself as the sole representative of Muslims.

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, the Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declared India a belligerent without consulting Indian opinion. Gandhi and Nehru had both expressed opposition to fascism, but the Congress demanded that if India was to fight for democracy abroad, Britain must first grant it democracy at home. When negotiations broke down, all Congress provincial ministries resigned in October 1939. The Muslim League marked their resignation as a "Day of Deliverance."

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