Nehru Report: Recommendations, Jinnah 14 Points, Nehru Report 1928 UPSC

What is Nehru Report?

The Nehru Report 1928 suggested new status for India as a sole dominion under the British administration only. Additionally, a central government was to be established for the Indian Constitution, and joint elections with seats designated for minorities were to be designed.

The Nehru report was created by the All Parties Conference. The President was Motilal Nehru, and the secretary was Jawaharlal Nehru, his son. There were nine further members of the committee.

History of Nehru Report 1928

The history of the Nehru report is traced back to the time when the British government established the Simon Commission in November 1927 to examine the functioning of the Indian government. Additionally, he was tasked with providing constitutional amendments for India.

Nehru Report PDF

Numerous politicians rebelled against the Simon Commission because there were no Indian members of the commission.

• Indians, particularly the Congress Party, fiercely opposed the Simon Commission when it visited India in 1928 since there wasn’t a solitary Indian on the commission.
• Lord Birkenhead, the Secretary of State for India, tacitly implied that Indians were unable to forge a consensus and design a constitution by challenging Indian leaders to do so.
• The political leaders agreed to take on this problem, and an All-Party Conference was organised with the responsibility of creating a constitution assigned to a committee.
• Motilal Nehru served as the chairman of this committee, and Jawaharlal Nehru served as the secretary. Subhas Chandra Bose, Ali Imam, Mangal Singh, Shuaib Qureshi, Tej Bahadur Sapru, M. S. Aney, and G. R. Pradhan were additional members.
• The Nehru Committee Report, also known as the Nehru Report was the name given to the committee’s new constitution. On 28 August 1928, the report was presented during the all-party conference’s Lucknow session.
• This was the Indian people’s first significant attempt at drafting their own constitution.
• The British left the commission unchanged even after the uprising. Instead, they requested that the Indians drafted the constitution on their own. ‘…let the Indians establish a constitution which carries behind it a fair degree of broad agreement among the great peoples of India,’ said Lord Birkenhead, Secretary of State for India.
• The Nehru report 1928 is the outcome of many nationalists accepting this challenge. In response to the Simon Commission, the Indian National Congress took the following two actions:
• Congress did not assist the Commission in any way.
• The All Parties Conference was established by Congress to design the Indian Constitution.

Chairman of Nehru Committee Report

The Chairman of the Nehru Report was Motilal Nehru who was accompanied by Jawaharlal Nehru who was the Secretary. There were other members of the committee as well who supported drafting the Nehru Report. The formation of the Committee was a response to the statement made by the British officers that India was incapable of making a proper constitution of their own.

The constitution drafted by the committee came to be known as the Nehru Report. The report was put forth in the session held in Lucknow on 28th August 1928. Therefore it is also referred to as the Nehru Report 1928. The report was the first trial from the side of the Indian political leaders to frame a constitution for India.

Nehru Report Members

The Nehru Report members were headed by Motilal Nehru and Secretary Jawaharlal Nehru. The other members who accompanied them were Tej Bahadur Sapru, Ali Imam, Mangal Singh, S.C.Bose, M.S Aney, G.R Pradhan and Shuaib Qureshi.

The Nehru Committee was formed in 1928 as a response towards the opinion of the British government regarding the incompetency of Indian leaders. The submission of the Nehru Report was done at a conference held in Lucknow in August 1928. The formation of the committee gave an independent status to the Indian leaders & a chance to prove their capability.

Nehru Report Recommendations

A number of issues were raised in the Nehru Report 1928, like 19 essential rights, including the ability to vote for men and women over 21 without being barred. Equal citizenship rights for men and women. no official religion. No community has its own electorate. Following are some important Nehru Report recommendations in detail:

• To have the status of dominion status for India within the British Commonwealth, similar to Canada, Australia, etc. This issue caused friction with the younger generation of politicians, which favoured total independence and included Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose.
• There are 19 important rights, including the ability to vote for men and women over 21 without being barred.
• The Nehru report recommended providing equal citizenship rights for men and women.
• No official religion.
• No community has its own electorate. Minority seats were reserved, as stated. It stipulated that seats for Muslims would be reserved in the centre and in regions where they were a minority, but not in Bengal or Punjab. The NWFP, also allowed for non-Muslim reservations.
• A centralized form of governance leaves the centre with some authority. A bicameral legislature would be located in the middle. The legislature would be the ministry’s boss.
• The constitutional ruler of India will be the governor-general. He would be chosen by the British king or queen.
• A suggestion was added in the Nehru report to establish a Supreme Court.
• The provinces would be divided according to language.
• Indian would be the official language, and it would be written in Devanagari (Hindi/Sanskrit), Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, Bengali, or Gujarati. English usage is authorised.

Muslim League Response to Nehru Report

Community representation was a contentious topic. Numerous Muslim leaders met Motilal Nehru in Delhi in December 1927 and made a few recommendations for the Nehru report. At its Madras session, Congress approved them. These so-called “Delhi Proposals” were-

• The 1916 Congress-Muslim League accord gave the Muslim minority separate electorates and importance, but the Nehru Report rejected these provisions. Muslims realised that they would always be a minority at the Centre even though they would be the majority in India’s North-East and North-West regions, where they would dominate the regional legislature.
• They thus asked that residuary powers be transferred to the provinces, which was against the recommendations of the Nehru Report. Muslims should make up at least 13 of the Central Legislature.
• Separate electorates should be offered, and communal group participation should persist. If a territorial distribution is taking place, it shouldn’t negatively affect the Muslims living in the provinces of Punjab, and Bengal.
• If the bill is opposed by three-fourths of the members, no decision from the legislature must be produced. It is necessary to separate Sindh from Bombay.
• Balochistan will undergo reform. All Muslims should receive a fair share of all services.
• The Constitution should pay significant attention to the preservation of the Muslim religion, culture, education, charitable organisations, and personal laws.
• All Muslims are represented by one-third in both the national and provincial ministries. If amendments to the Constitution are required, their approval by the provinces is required.

Jinnah 14 Points

The recommendations provided by the Nehru report were rejected outright by Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Muslim League. On the country, he provided ‘Jinnah 14 points’ on behalf of the Muslim League committee.

1. The federal government with some remaining provincial authority.
2. Provincial independence.
3. There can be no constitutional amendment without state approval.
4. Without lowering the Muslim majority in a province to equality or minorities, there should be enough Muslim representation in all legislatures and political bodies.
5. Muslims are adequately represented in the workforce and in self-governing entities.
6. Muslims make up a third of the Central Legislature’s membership.
7. Muslims make up 1/3 of the state and federal cabinets.
8. Distinct electorates.
9. No law in any legislature may be approved if it is opposed by 3/4 of the minority community’s members.
10. Any redistribution of territory that does not impact Bengal’s, Punjab’s, or the NWFP’s Muslim majority.
11. Split between Sindh and the Bombay Presidency.
12. Constitutional changes in Baluchistan and the NWFP.
13. Complete religious freedom for all groups.
14. Safeguarding Muslims’ liberties to their religion, culture, education, and language.

Nehru Report UPSC

The Nehru Report UPSC topic is part of Modern Indian History. In the UPSC Mains paper, the direct question can be asked on the Nehru Report. For that, the aspirants should have complete knowledge of the report and the recommendations provided by it. To know more about this topic and other relevant topics of modern Indian history, visit the UPSC history syllabus and study material provided by us on our website.

Nehru Report UPSC Questions

The Nehru Report UPSC Questions are likely to appear in the IAS exam. The best possible method to prepare for questions of modern Indian history is referring to the previous years’ published question papers. But here we are providing you with two sample questions for reference purposes.

Q1. Leading the first significant Indian initiative to establish an Indian Constitution were

1. Motilal Nehru
2. Jawaharlal Nehru
3. S.C. Bose
4. Rash Behari Ghose

Answer- Option A

Q2. The primary suggestions made in the Nehru report were:

1. Dominant Position
2. Fundamental Rights
3. Provinces with a Language
4. All the aforementioned

Answer: Option D

Important Notes for UPSC
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Narmada Bachao Andolan	Russian Revolution
Subhas Chandra Bose	Pressure Belts of Earth