The second session of the Round Table Conference broke down on the question of:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Separate electorates for the minorities.
At the second Round Table Conference in London in 1931, Gandhiji claimed that the Congress represented all of India. The claim was challenged by the Muslim League, which spoke for the Muslim minority, by the Princes, and by B.R. Ambedkar, who argued that the Congress did not really represent the lowest castes. Gandhiji opposed the demand for separate electorates for the “lower castes”, and the Conference ended inconclusive.
Option (1) Gandhi’s ‘fast unto death’. — Incorrect. The Conference did not end over a fast by Gandhiji. When it proved inconclusive, he returned to India and resumed civil disobedience.
Option (2) Gandhi not being treated on equal terms. — Incorrect. Gandhiji took part in the Conference as the Congress’s representative. What was disputed was whom the Congress represented, not how Gandhiji was treated.
Option (3) British Government unwilling to release all political prisoners. — Incorrect. The release of prisoners had already been agreed earlier in 1931 in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, by which civil disobedience would be called off and all prisoners released.
Option (4) Separate electorates for the minorities. — Correct. The Muslim League and Ambedkar spoke for the minorities, and Gandhiji opposed separate electorates for the “lower castes”, believing that they would permanently segregate them from other caste Hindus.
Note: The NCERT book (2026-27) says only that the Conference was inconclusive; it does not state the issue on which it broke down. The delegates could not agree on the representation of the minorities through separate electorates, which Gandhiji opposed, and the British settled the question themselves in 1932 by the Communal Award. This is explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.2 Dialogues … Gandhiji was released from jail in January 1931 and the following month had several long meetings with the Viceroy. These culminated in what was called the ‘Gandhi-Irwin Pact’, by the terms of which civil disobedience would be called off, all prisoners released, and salt manufacture allowed along the coast. The pact was criticised by radical nationalists, for Gandhiji was unable to obtain from the Viceroy a commitment to political independence for Indians; he could obtain merely an assurance of talks towards that possible end. A second Round Table Conference was held in London in the latter part of 1931. Here, Gandhiji represented the Congress. However, his claims that his party represented all of India came under challenge from three parties: from the Muslim League, which claimed to stand for the interests of the Muslim minority; from the Princes, who claimed that the Congress had no stake in their territories; and from the brilliant lawyer and thinker B.R. Ambedkar, who argued that Gandhiji and the Congress did not really represent the lowest castes. The Conference in London was inconclusive, so Gandhiji returned to India and resumed civil disobedience.…”
|
