Round Table Conference – Second and Third Round Table Conference

What is Round Table Conference?

Round table conference is actually a series of conferences held between the British government and Indian political personalities to maintain peace in the country and bring out constitutional reforms in India. In Indian history, the British administration convened the Round table conference in three sessions between 1930 and 1932 to discuss the potential future of the Indian Constitution. The meeting was a product of the Simon commission’s assessment of the Government of India Act 1919, which was started in 1927 and whose report was released in 1930. The meeting took place in London.

Round Table Conference Dates

The round table conference dates for the first, second, and third meetings are as follows:

• The first Round table conference was held between November 12, 1930, to January 19, 1931.
• The 2nd round table was held between September to December 1931.
• And the 3rd round table conference was held between November 17 to December 24, 1932.

History of Round Table Conference

A total of three round table conferences have been held altogether. The Indian National Council did not attend the first and last conferences. In fact, during the conference, there was a movement going on in India named Civil Disobedience Movement.

• Demands for India to be given Dominion status were growing in some sectors of the British political system.
• The flamboyant Mahatma Gandhi was super-heading the fight for Purna Swaraj while the Liberation Movement in India was in full swing.
• The foundation of the discussions was the advice given by Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Simon Commission report to Lord Irwin, who was the viceroy of India at that time and Ramsay McDonald who was the British Prime Minister at that time.
• For the very first time, the Indians and British interacted as equals. The inaugural round table conference started on 12th November 1930. Although Congress and other notable business figures declined to attend the meeting, numerous other Indian organizations were present at it.

First Round Table Conference

The British administration held three round table conferences to consider constitutional changes in India between 1930 to 1932, the first of which was held in 1930. The 1930 report of the Simon Commission was followed during these conferences.

The first Round table conference was formally launched by British king George V on 12th November 1930 in London at the House of Lords under the leadership of Ramsay McDonald, who was the prime minister of the country at that time.

Second Round Table Conference

Congress abstained from the first Round table conference, which was not successful at all. The Gandhi-Irwin pact, which was reached between Viceroy Lord Irwin and Mahatma Gandhi in response to some requests, led the Congress to the second round table conference. The meeting of the 2nd round table commenced on 7th September 1931. During this period, McDonald was heading a coalition political alliance with a majority and appointing Samuel Hoare as the Secretary Head of India.

On November 7, 1931, Mahatma Gandhi and McDonald had a meeting in which the Government of India Act 1935 was enacted as a result. There were many differences between the first and second round table conference on the grounds of representation of the Indian National Congress, the Government of Britain, the finances, etc.

Participants of Second Round Table Conference

As compared to the first conference, the second round table conference was attended by some intellectual and political leaders along with Indian National Congress.

• The British Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald along with other heads of other political parties joined the conference.
• Maharajas and rulers of many princely states were part of the second round table conference.
• There were many representatives of the British Indian group. However, the Indian National Congress was completely represented by Mahatma Gandhi.
• Many specific community representatives also joined the conference, like Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Mohammed Iqbal, and Mohammad Zafarullah Khan was the Muslim representative at the 2nd Round Table Conference.
• Deewan Bahadur Raja Narendra Nath, B.S. Moonje per Hindu representatives.
• Bhim Rao Ambedkar was the representative of the depressed classes.
• Sarojini Naidu and Radhabai Subramanian were the women representatives, and many Indian Christian justice parties and Anglo-Indian Sindh industries were the liberal representatives at the second round table conference.

Outcome of Second Round Table Conference

The second round table conference could not produce any meaningful conclusions about the constitution of India because there was no consensus between the diverse delegate groups. The administration also refused to give into the fundamental demand for freedom made by Indians.

• The second round table conference got underway on 7 September 1931. The Indian National Congress was present at the conference, which significantly differed from the first.
• Another distinction was that, Unlike the last conference, the British Prime Minister McDonald was in charge of our national administration rather than a labour one. In Britain, the labour party had been overthrown to weights earlier than the conference was held.
• By creating distinct electorates for the minority population, the British decided to provide a communal prize for representing minorities in India which was highly opposed by Mahatma Gandhi.
• On the contrary, Bhimrao Ambedkar was quite in favour of this decision therefore, Bhimrao Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi had two different opinions on the need for separate electorates for the underprivileged section of the concept of separating untouchables from the Hindu society.

Third Round Table Conference

The third round table conference was the final one. It took place on November 17, 1932. The Indian National Congress chose to skip the convention due to their dissatisfaction. The British Labour Party and INC both declined to attend the summit.

Only 46 persons from the summit remained, and several prominent political figures were absent. From September 1931 through March 1933, it took place. This suggested several changes to the 1935 Government of India Act. Sir Samuel Hoare oversaw the completion of all of these tasks.

Participants of Third Round Table Conference

The number of participants in the third round table conference was comparatively lower than in the 2nd conference.

• Only 46 delegates attended the third round table conference since the majority of political leaders could not turn up for the meeting.
• The British labour party declined to participate in the conference, and this time Indian National Congress was not invited to the conference.
• The representative of British Indians in the 3rd conference was Aga Khan 3.
• Again, the depressed class was represented by Bhimrao Ambedkar, and this time Begum Jahanara was the representative of women, whereas the representatives of liberal delegates were the same as in the second conference.

Outcome of Third Round Table Conference

The outcome of the 3rd round table conference was also not game-changing. Some of the recommendations were made in the third conference, which was published in a white paper in 1933, on the basis of which the government of India Act 1935 was passed.

• Nothing significant was addressed at the round table meeting because most of the Important political leaders and rulers of princely states were not present in the third round table conference.
• The suggestions and recommendations made at this conference were written down and considered by the British Parliament.
• After deeply analysing the report submitted in the white paper, the Government of Britain decided to pass the Government of India Act 1935.

Round Table Conference UPSC

There are a total of three round table conferences held in the Modern History of India. History in itself is a fascinating and vast subject. The candidates preparing to appear for the UPSC exam should have a strong grip over the subjects and specially dates and events in modern Indian history. You can get the complete syllabus of history at our website and some UPSC previous year question papers along with that for reference purposes.

It is really important to have an idea of the type of questions being asked in the exam. This is because in modern Indian history, the topics are quite confusing due to the number of dates and events. That is why the following two sample questions on Round Table Conference UPSC are provided for your reference.

Q1. Consider the following statements [Prelims 2005]

1. In the first Round table conference, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the depressed classes.
2. In the Poona pact, special provisions for the representation of depressed people in the local bodies and civil services were made.
3. The Indian National Congress did not take part in the third round table conference.

Choose the correct code from the options given below

1. One and two only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2, and 3

Answer- Option C

Q2. Who was the representative of Christians at the first Round table conference?

1. Rao Bahadur Shrinivas
2. Sir Akbar Haidari
3. Sir A.P. Petro
4. K.T. Paul

Answer- Option D

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