Mahatma Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference in London in 1931. Identify the demand he opposed and the reason he gave for opposing it.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Separate electorates for the lower castes - it would permanently segregate them from other caste Hindus
Option (1) Separate electorates for the lower castes - it would weaken the Congress hold over the provincial assemblies — Incorrect. The demand is right, but the reason is wrong. Gandhi's worry was social: he feared the lower castes would be cut off from the rest of Hindu society.
Option (2) Separate electorates for the lower castes - it would permanently segregate them from other caste Hindus — Correct. At this conference Gandhi opposed separate electorates for the lower castes. He believed they would block their integration into mainstream society and keep them apart from other caste Hindus for good.
Option (3) Autonomy for the Muslim-majority areas - it would split the subcontinent into separate states — Incorrect. The demand for autonomy of Muslim-majority areas came in the Muslim League resolution of March 1940, years after this conference.
Option (4) A restricted franchise for elections - it would keep the poor and landless out of the assemblies — Incorrect. A restricted franchise was the basis of the 1937 provincial elections under the 1935 Act. Gandhi did not raise it at the Round Table Conference.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.2 Dialogues … “Mahatma Gandhi opposed the demand for separate electorates for “lower castes”. He believed that this would prevent their integration into mainstream society and permanently segregate them from other caste Hindus.” |