Round Table Conferences (India)

They were conducted as per the recommendation of Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Viceroy Lord Irwin and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald,[2][3] and by the report submitted by the Simon Commission in May 1930.

The Round Table Conference officially inaugurated by George V on November 12, 1930 in Royal Gallery House of Lords at London[2] and chaired by the Prime Minister.

[4] One of the foremost advisers was Sir Malcolm Hailey, an Indian civil servant with thirty years experience.

"[5] Clement Attlee, who served on the Simon Commission, wanted an early resolution but was baulked by the Conservatives in government until 1945.

"[6] The idea was proposed by the princely states and other Liberal Indian leaders including Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru would welcome it.

"[8] The conference started with six plenary meetings where delegates put forward their issues nine sub-committees were formed to deal with several different matters including federal structure, provincial constitution, province of Sindh and NWFP, defense services and minorities e.t.c.

[9] These were followed by discussions on the reports of the sub-committees on Federal Structure, Provincial Constitution, Minorities, Burma, North West Frontier Province, Franchise, Defense services and Sindh.

After the failure of the First Round Table Conference, the British recognized they needed the participation of the Indian National Congress.

The resulting discussions culminated in the Gandhi–Irwin Pact (1931) under which the Congress agreed to participate in a Second Round Table Conference.

[12] Gandhi announced that henceforth he would work only on behalf of the Harijans: he reached a compromise with the leader of depressed classes, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, over this issue; the two eventually resolved the situation with the Poona Pact of 1932.

A Joint Committee was set up and had to present the recommendations as a Bill, which was eventually enacted as the Government of India Act 1935.