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The Round Tables, the Communal Award and the Poona Pact, 1931–1934

मराठीत स्पष्टीकरण

Civil Disobedience and the Round Table Conferences, 1922–1934 · Part 3 / 3 · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

The second Round Table Conference and its deadlock on minorities, the resumption and suppression of civil disobedience under Willingdon, the Communal Award, Gandhi's Yerawada fast and the Poona Pact, the Harijan campaign, the third conference and the White Paper, the withdrawal of 1934, the Congress Socialist Party and an assessment of the movement.

Each idea is explained first in Marathi (मराठी), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Marathi and revise it in English.

दुसरा भाग काँग्रेसने लंडनला जायचे मान्य केले तिथे संपला. मार्च 1931 च्या तहानंतर काय झाले ते हा भाग सांगतो. दुसरी गोलमेज परिषद अल्पसंख्याकांचे प्रतिनिधित्व कसे असावे या प्रश्नावर फसली, आणि गांधी परतले तेव्हा सरकार पुन्हा वाटाघाटी करण्याऐवजी सविनय कायदेभंग चळवळ चिरडायला तयार होते. चळवळ थकत असताना, मतदारसंघांबाबतच्या ब्रिटिश निर्णयाने मिठाच्या कायद्यापेक्षा खोल प्रश्न उभा केला: अस्पृश्य मानल्या गेलेल्या जातींनी इतर हिंदूंपासून वेगळे मतदान करावे का? एका कुटुंबात 'चूल वेगळी मांडायची की एकाच घरात हक्क वाटून घ्यायचे' असा प्रश्न पडतो तसा. गांधींचे उपोषण आणि पुणे करार यांनी त्याचे उत्तर दिले. शेवटी तिसरी परिषद, श्वेतपत्रिका, 1934 मध्ये चळवळ मागे घेणे आणि मूल्यमापन येते. (→ English: Civil Disobedience Movement, Round Table Conference · हिन्दी: सविनय अवज्ञा आंदोलन, गोलमेज़ सम्मेलन)

In exam EnglishPart 2 ended with the Congress agreeing to go to London. This part follows what came after the truce of March 1931. The second Round Table Conference broke down over how minorities should be represented, and when Gandhi came home the government was ready to crush the Civil Disobedience Movement rather than bargain again. While the movement was being worn down, the British decision on electorates, the Communal Award, raised a question deeper than any law on salt: should the castes treated as untouchable vote separately from other Hindus? Gandhi's fast and the Poona Pact answered it, and turned his energy towards the fight against untouchability. The part closes with the third conference, the White Paper, the withdrawal of the movement in 1934 and an assessment of what it achieved.

गांधी जहाजात बसले तोवर परिस्थिती बदलली होती. एप्रिल 1931 मध्ये आयर्विन यांच्या जागी लॉर्ड विलिंग्डन व्हाइसरॉय झाले — काँग्रेसला बरोबरीने वागवायला ते फारसे तयार नव्हते; ब्रिटनमध्ये हुजूर पक्षाचे वर्चस्व असलेले राष्ट्रीय सरकार आले. खेळ चालू असताना पंच आणि समोरच्या संघाचा कर्णधार दोघेही बदलावेत तसे. दुसरी गोलमेज परिषद लंडनमध्ये 7 सप्टेंबर ते 1 डिसेंबर 1931 या काळात झाली. काँग्रेस अनेक पक्षांपैकी एक नसून सर्व भारतीयांच्या वतीने बोलते, म्हणून तिने गांधींना एकमेव प्रतिनिधी नेमले. गांधी लंडनच्या गरीब ईस्ट एंडमधील किंग्सले हॉलमध्ये राहिले आणि बहिष्कारामुळे काम गमावलेल्या लँकेशायरच्या कापड कामगारांना भेटले; त्यांनी आपुलकीने स्वागत केले. पण परिषदेच्या आत वातावरण वेगळे होते. (→ English: Viceroy · हिन्दी: वायसराय)

In exam EnglishThe setting had changed by the time Gandhi sailed. Irwin had been replaced in April 1931 by Lord Willingdon, a Viceroy far less willing to treat the Congress as an equal, and in Britain a National Government dominated by Conservatives had taken office. The second Round Table Conference met in London from 7 September to 1 December 1931. The Congress named Gandhi its sole representative, on the ground that it spoke for all Indians, not as one party among many. Gandhi stayed in the poor East End of London at Kingsley Hall and visited the cotton workers of Lancashire, many of whom had lost work through the boycott of British cloth, and they received him warmly. Inside the conference, however, the mood was very different.

परिषद अल्पसंख्याकांच्या प्रश्नावर अडकली. इंग्रजांनी वेगवेगळ्या समाजांच्या वतीने बोलणारे प्रतिनिधी बोलावले होते; मुस्लिम, शीख, भारतीय ख्रिस्ती, अँग्लो-इंडियन, युरोपीय — बहुतेकांनी स्वतंत्र मतदारसंघ मागितले. आपले प्रतिनिधी आपणच निवडता यावेत म्हणून बी. आर. आंबेडकर यांनी दलित वर्गांसाठीही स्वतंत्र मतदारसंघ मागितले. मुस्लिम आणि शिखांनी आधीची व्यवस्था ठेवावी हे गांधींनी मान्य केले, पण दलित वर्गांना वेगळा अल्पसंख्याक मानण्यास नकार दिला — त्याने हिंदू समाज कायमचा दुभंगेल असा त्यांचा युक्तिवाद होता. घरात वाटणीचे भांडण चालू असताना बाहेरचा माणूस 'तुम्ही मिटवले नाही तर मी मिटवतो' म्हणतो तसे — मॅकडोनल्ड यांनी ब्रिटनच निर्णय देईल असे जाहीर केले. परिषद अयशस्वी झाली; गांधी डिसेंबर 1931 च्या अखेरीस परतले. (→ English: separate electorates, depressed classes · हिन्दी: पृथक निर्वाचक मंडल, दलित वर्ग)

In exam EnglishThe conference stuck on the minorities question. The British had invited delegates who spoke for separate communities, and most of them asked for separate electorates: the Muslims, the Sikhs, the Indian Christians, the Anglo-Indians and the Europeans. B. R. Ambedkar asked for separate electorates for the depressed classes as well, so that they could choose their own representatives. Gandhi accepted that Muslims and Sikhs might keep the arrangements they already had, but he refused to treat the depressed classes as a separate minority, arguing that this would divide Hindu society permanently. No agreement was reached. Ramsay MacDonald announced that if Indians could not settle the question, Britain would decide it, and the conference ended in failure. Gandhi returned to India at the end of December 1931.

गांधी परतले तेव्हा तह आधीच मोडला होता. त्यांच्या गैरहजेरीत सरकारने संयुक्त प्रांत, वायव्य सरहद्द प्रांत आणि बंगालमध्ये नवे अध्यादेश काढले होते; नेहरू आणि खान अब्दुल गफ्फार खान तुरुंगात होते. विलिंग्डन यांनी भेट नाकारल्यावर भारतीय राष्ट्रीय काँग्रेसने कायदेभंग पुन्हा सुरू केला आणि 4 जानेवारी 1932 रोजी गांधींना अटक झाली. या वेळी सरकारने आधीच जोरदार घाव घातला — शेतात तण उगवण्याआधीच औषध फवारावे तसा. काँग्रेस आणि तिच्या संस्थांवर बंदी, कार्यालये-निधी जप्त, देशभर अध्यादेशांचे राज्य; काही महिन्यांतच हजारो लोक तुरुंगात. 1932 भर लोक निदर्शने, मीठ बनवणे, करबंदी करत लढत राहिले; पण नेते आणि संघटनेशिवाय 1933 मध्ये चळवळ हळूहळू क्षीण झाली. (→ English: Indian National Congress · हिन्दी: भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस)

In exam EnglishGandhi came back to find the truce already broken. In his absence the government had issued new ordinances in the United Provinces, the North-West Frontier Province and Bengal, and Jawaharlal Nehru and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan were in jail. When Willingdon refused to meet him, the Indian National Congress resumed civil disobedience, and Gandhi was arrested on 4 January 1932. This time the government struck first and hard. The Congress and its many bodies were banned, their offices and funds seized, and the country placed under rule by ordinance; tens of thousands were imprisoned within months. The people fought on through 1932, picketing, making salt and refusing taxes, but without leaders or organisation the movement steadily lost strength through 1933.

16 ऑगस्ट 1932 रोजी रॅम्से मॅकडोनल्ड यांनी ब्रिटिश निर्णय — जातीय निवाडा — जाहीर केला. प्रांतिक विधिमंडळांत मुस्लिम, शीख, भारतीय ख्रिस्ती, अँग्लो-इंडियन आणि युरोपीय यांच्यासाठी स्वतंत्र मतदारसंघ कायम राहिले; आणि त्याहून पुढे जाऊन दलित वर्गांनाही अल्पसंख्याक मानून स्वतंत्र मतदारसंघ दिले — आपल्या जागांसाठी फक्त तेच मत देतील, आणि सर्वसाधारण मतदारसंघांतही मत देतील. आंबेडकरांसाठी ही स्वतःच्या राजकीय आवाजाची हमी होती. येरवडा तुरुंगातील गांधींसाठी हे संकट होते: एकाच झाडाची फांदी कायमची तोडावी तसे दलित वर्गांना हिंदू समाजापासून कायमचे तोडले जाईल आणि अस्पृश्यता तशीच राहील असे त्यांना वाटले. त्यांनी याविरुद्ध आमरण उपोषण जाहीर केले. (→ English: Communal Award, depressed classes · हिन्दी: सांप्रदायिक पंचाट, दलित वर्ग)

In exam EnglishOn 16 August 1932 Ramsay MacDonald announced the British decision, known as the Communal Award. It kept separate electorates for Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans in the provincial legislatures, and it went further: the depressed classes were also treated as a minority and given separate electorates, in which only they would vote for their own seats, while still voting in the general constituencies as well. For Ambedkar this was a guarantee that the depressed classes would have a political voice of their own. For Gandhi, then in Yerawada jail, it was a disaster: he believed it would cut the depressed classes off from the rest of Hindu society for ever and leave untouchability untouched. He announced that he would fast unto death against it.

गांधींनी 20 सप्टेंबर 1932 रोजी येरवडा तुरुंगात उपोषण सुरू केले. प्रकृती खालावू लागल्यावर नेते तडजोडीसाठी पुण्याला धावले; गांधींचा मृत्यू झाला तर दोष आपल्यावर येईल म्हणून आंबेडकरांवर प्रचंड दडपण होते. 24 सप्टेंबर 1932 रोजी आंबेडकर आणि मदन मोहन मालवीय यांच्यासह सवर्ण हिंदू नेत्यांनी पुणे करारावर सह्या केल्या. दलित वर्गांसाठीचे स्वतंत्र मतदारसंघ सोडून दिले; त्याऐवजी संयुक्त मतदारसंघ यांच्या आतच त्यांच्यासाठी राखीव जागा. एकाच बसमध्ये सगळे बसतात पण काही आसने त्यांच्यासाठी राखीव — तसे. प्रांतिक विधिमंडळांत निवाड्याने दिलेल्या 71 वरून जागा 148 झाल्या; केंद्रीय विधिमंडळात ब्रिटिश भारताच्या सर्वसाधारण जागांपैकी 18 टक्के राखीव. प्रत्येक राखीव जागेसाठी आधी दलित मतदार चार उमेदवारांचे पॅनेल निवडतील, मग सगळे मिळून त्यांपैकी एकाला निवडतील. (→ English: Poona Pact, joint electorates · हिन्दी: पूना समझौता, संयुक्त निर्वाचक मंडल)

In exam EnglishGandhi began his fast in Yerawada jail on 20 September 1932. As his health failed, leaders hurried to Poona to find a compromise, and Ambedkar was under heavy pressure, for Gandhi's death would have been blamed on him. On 24 September 1932 Ambedkar and leaders of the caste Hindus, among them Madan Mohan Malaviya, signed the Poona Pact. Separate electorates for the depressed classes were given up. In their place seats were reserved for them within joint electorates: their number in the provincial legislatures rose from the 71 offered by the Award to 148, and 18 per cent of the general seats for British India in the central legislature were reserved. For each reserved seat, depressed-class voters would first choose a panel of four candidates, and the joint electorate would then elect one of them.

दोन्ही बाजूंना ठोस कारणांनी वेगवेगळे हवे होते. सवर्ण हिंदू मतदार जातीय अत्याचाराविरुद्ध लढणारे उमेदवार कधी निवडतील याबद्दल शंका असल्याने, फक्त दलित वर्गांना उत्तरदायी असे प्रतिनिधी हवेत असे आंबेडकरांना वाटत होते. अस्पृश्यता हिंदू समाजाच्या आतूनच नष्ट व्हावी, आणि स्वतंत्र मतदारसंघ दलितांना कायमचा राजकीय अल्पसंख्याक बनवून गोठवतील अशी गांधींना भीती होती. करार हा मधला मार्ग होता: अधिक जागा, पण सर्व मतदारांनी निवडलेल्या — गावचे तळे सगळे वाटून घेतात तरी काही घाट काहींसाठी राखून ठेवावेत तसे. ब्रिटिश सरकारने निवाड्याच्या त्या भागाऐवजी हा करार स्वीकारला, आणि 1935 च्या कायद्याने तो पाळला. ही कल्पना आजच्या संविधानात जिवंत आहे: अनुच्छेद 330 लोकसभेत आणि अनुच्छेद 332 राज्य विधानसभांत अनुसूचित जातींसाठी जागा राखीव ठेवतात. (→ English: Constitution · हिन्दी: संविधान)

In exam EnglishThe two sides had wanted different things for good reasons. Ambedkar wanted the depressed classes to elect representatives answerable only to them, because he doubted that caste Hindu voters would ever choose candidates who would fight caste oppression. Gandhi wanted untouchability abolished from within Hindu society, and feared that a separate electorate would freeze the depressed classes into a permanent political minority. The pact was a compromise: more seats, but chosen by all voters. The British government accepted it in place of the relevant part of the Award, and the Government of India Act, 1935 followed it. The idea of reserved seats in joint electorates lives on in the Constitution, which reserves seats for the Scheduled Castes in the Lok Sabha under Article 330 and in the state assemblies under Article 332.

उपोषणाने गांधींचे लक्ष थेट अस्पृश्यता या प्रश्नाकडे वळवले. 1932 च्या अखेरीस दलित वर्गांसाठी काम करणारी एक अखिल भारतीय संस्था स्थापन झाली — लवकरच तिचे नाव हरिजन सेवक संघ झाले; अध्यक्ष जी. डी. बिर्ला, सचिव अमृतलाल ठक्कर. फेब्रुवारी 1933 मध्ये गांधींनी 'हरिजन' साप्ताहिक सुरू केले — तेव्हा अस्पृश्य म्हटल्या जाणाऱ्यांसाठी त्यांनी वापरलेला शब्द 'हरिजन'. मे 1933 मध्ये आत्मशुद्धीसाठी एकवीस दिवसांचे उपोषण; नोव्हेंबर 1933 पासून महिनोन् महिने देशभर फिरून मंदिरे, विहिरी, शाळा आणि रस्ते सर्वांसाठी खुले करावेत असा आग्रह धरला. सनातनी हिंदूंनी विरोध केला, कधी हिंसकपणे. घर बांधणे म्हणजे फक्त भिंती नव्हे, आत सर्वांना जागा हवी — गांधींच्या दृष्टीने सामाजिक सुधारणा स्वराज्याचा भाग होती; काँग्रेसमधील अनेकांना हे राजकीय लढ्यापासून बाजूला होणे वाटले. (→ English: untouchability · हिन्दी: अस्पृश्यता)

In exam EnglishThe fast turned Gandhi's attention to untouchability itself. In late 1932 an all-India body was set up to work for the depressed classes, soon named the Harijan Sevak Sangh, with G. D. Birla as president and Amritlal Thakkar as secretary. In February 1933 Gandhi began a weekly paper called Harijan, his word for the people then called untouchable. In May 1933 he fasted for twenty-one days for self-purification, and from November 1933 he toured the country for months, collecting money and urging that temples, wells, schools and roads be opened to all. Orthodox Hindus opposed him, sometimes violently. Many in the Congress saw the campaign as a turning away from the political struggle; Gandhi saw social reform as part of what swaraj had to mean.

दरम्यान ब्रिटनने काँग्रेसशिवायच आपले घटनात्मक काम पूर्ण केले. तिसरी गोलमेज परिषद लंडनमध्ये 17 नोव्हेंबर ते 24 डिसेंबर 1932 या काळात झाली. ही छोटी बैठक होती: नेते तुरुंगात असल्याने काँग्रेस नव्हती, आणि ब्रिटिश मजूर पक्षही दूर राहिला. लग्नातली वडीलमंडळी निघून गेल्यावर उरलेल्या थोड्यांबरोबर पंगत उठवावी तसे. तिन्ही परिषदांना हजर राहिलेल्या मोजक्यांत बी. आर. आंबेडकर आणि तेज बहादूर सप्रू होते. मार्च 1933 मध्ये ब्रिटिश सरकारने आपले प्रस्ताव श्वेतपत्रिकेत मांडले; ब्रिटिश संसदेच्या संयुक्त निवड समितीने ती तपासली. त्यातून भारत सरकार कायदा, 1935 आला — अखिल भारतीय संघराज्य आणि प्रांतिक स्वायत्तता यांच्या योजनेसह. (→ English: Round Table Conference · हिन्दी: गोलमेज़ सम्मेलन)

In exam EnglishMeanwhile Britain finished its constitutional work without the Congress. The third Round Table Conference met in London from 17 November to 24 December 1932. It was a small gathering: the Congress was absent, its leaders in jail, and the British Labour Party also stayed away. B. R. Ambedkar and Tej Bahadur Sapru were among the few who attended all three sessions. In March 1933 the British government set out its proposals in a White Paper, which was examined by a Joint Select Committee of the British Parliament. Its work led to the Government of India Act, 1935, with its plan for an all-India federation and provincial autonomy, taught in the chapter on constitutional development.
The three Round Table Conferences
SessionDatesCongressMain features and outcome
First12 November 1930–19 January 1931Absent (civil disobedience under way)Opened by George V, chaired by Ramsay MacDonald; princes accept an all-India federation
Second7 September–1 December 1931Gandhi as sole representative (after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact)Deadlock on the minorities question and separate electorates; ended in failure
Third17 November–24 December 1932Absent (movement resumed, leaders in jail)Small gathering, Labour Party also absent; followed by the White Paper (March 1933)

1933 पर्यंत चळवळ जनलढा म्हणून चालवणे अशक्य झाले होते. गांधींनी 1933 मध्ये सामूहिक कायदेभंग स्थगित करून फक्त वैयक्तिक सत्याग्रहाला परवानगी दिली, आणि एप्रिल 1934 मध्ये तो पूर्णपणे मागे घेतला. 1922 चा प्रश्न परत आला: जनलढा शक्य नसताना काँग्रेसने काय करायचे? पाऊस नसताना शेतकरी विहिरीच्या पाण्यावर काम चालू ठेवतो तसे — कौन्सिल प्रवेशाच्या समर्थकांनी 1934 मध्ये स्वराज्य पक्ष पुन्हा उभा केला, आणि त्याच वर्षी केंद्रीय विधानसभेच्या निवडणुका लढवण्याचे काँग्रेसने ठरवले. दुसऱ्या टोकाला समाजवादाकडे ओढलेल्या जयप्रकाश नारायण, आचार्य नरेंद्र देव, मिनू मसानी यांसारख्या तरुणांनी 1934 मध्ये काँग्रेसच्या आतच काँग्रेस समाजवादी पक्ष स्थापन केला. ऑक्टोबर 1934 मध्ये गांधींनी काँग्रेसचे सदस्यत्व सोडले, तरी ते मार्गदर्शक राहिले. (→ English: Swaraj Party · हिन्दी: स्वराज पार्टी)

In exam EnglishBy 1933 the movement could no longer be sustained as a mass struggle. Gandhi suspended mass civil disobedience in 1933 and allowed only individual satyagraha, and in April 1934 he withdrew civil disobedience altogether. The question of 1922 returned: what should the Congress do when no mass struggle was possible? Those who favoured council entry revived the Swaraj Party in 1934, and the Congress decided to contest the elections to the Central Legislative Assembly held later that year. At the other end, young Congressmen drawn to socialism, among them Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev and Minoo Masani, formed the Congress Socialist Party in 1934 as a group within the Congress. In October 1934 Gandhi left the Congress as a member, though he remained its guide.

पूर्ण स्वराज्य या ध्येयाने मोजले तर सविनय कायदेभंग चळवळ अयशस्वी ठरली: ती स्वातंत्र्याशिवाय संपली, आणि 1935 चा कायदा बहुतांश काँग्रेसशिवाय तयार झाला. भारतीय राजकारणावरच्या परिणामाने मोजले तर ती एक कलाटणी होती. बी लगेच पीक देत नसले तरी जमीन बदलून टाकते ना — स्त्रिया, शेतकरी, व्यापारी, आदिवासी आणि सरहद्दीवरचे पठाण पूर्वी कधी न दिसलेल्या संख्येने सामील झाले; अहिंसक कायदेभंग ब्रिटिश राजवट टिकवणे महाग करू शकतो हे दिसले; आणि गांधी-आयर्विन करारामुळे ब्रिटनला काँग्रेसशी वाटाघाटी कराव्या लागल्या. दुर्बलताही स्पष्ट होत्या: सरहद्दीबाहेर मुस्लिमांचा सहभाग मर्यादित, आणि दुसरी परिषद बुडवणारा अल्पसंख्याकांचा प्रश्न पुढील वर्षांत आणखी मोठा झाला. पुणे कराराने त्या प्रश्नाचा एक भाग सोडवला आणि भारताच्या प्रतिनिधित्व व्यवस्थेवर कायमची छाप सोडली. (→ English: Civil Disobedience Movement, Purna Swaraj · हिन्दी: सविनय अवज्ञा आंदोलन, पूर्ण स्वराज)

In exam EnglishJudged against its aim of Purna Swaraj, the Civil Disobedience Movement failed: it ended without independence, and the 1935 Act was drafted largely without the Congress. Judged by what it did to Indian politics, it was a turning point. It drew in women, peasants, merchants, tribal people and the Frontier Pathans in numbers never seen before; it showed that non-violent law-breaking could make British rule costly to maintain; and through the Gandhi-Irwin Pact it forced Britain to negotiate with the Congress. Its weaknesses were also clear. Muslim participation outside the Frontier was limited, and the minorities question that wrecked the second conference would grow larger in the years ahead. The Poona Pact settled one part of that question and left a lasting mark on India's system of representation.

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Who represented the Indian National Congress at the second Round Table Conference in 1931?

  1. Jawaharlal Nehru
  2. Vallabhbhai Patel
  3. M. K. Gandhi
  4. Motilal Nehru
Show answer

Answer: C. M. K. Gandhi

(c) is correct: the Congress named Gandhi its sole representative. (a) is wrong: Nehru did not go to London as the Congress delegate. (b) is wrong: Patel, the Karachi president, stayed in India. (d) is wrong: Motilal Nehru had died in February 1931, before the conference.

Q2. Consider the following statements about the Communal Award:
1. It was announced by the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald in August 1932.
2. It provided separate electorates for the depressed classes.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: C. Both 1 and 2

(c) is correct: MacDonald announced the Award on 16 August 1932, and it treated the depressed classes as a minority with separate electorates. (a) is wrong because statement 2 is also true. (b) is wrong because statement 1 is also true. (d) is wrong because both are true.

Q3. With reference to the Poona Pact (1932), consider the following statements:
1. It was signed by B. R. Ambedkar and leaders of the caste Hindus.
2. It raised the number of seats reserved for the depressed classes in the provincial legislatures from 71 to 148.
3. It retained separate electorates for the depressed classes.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 and 2 only

(a) is correct: Ambedkar and caste Hindu leaders such as Malaviya signed it, and reserved seats rose from 71 to 148. Statement 3 is false: the pact gave up separate electorates in favour of reserved seats in joint electorates, so (b), (c) and (d), which include statement 3, are wrong.

Q4. Match List I (person) with List II (role, 1931–1934):
List I
A. Lord Willingdon
B. Ramsay MacDonald
C. G. D. Birla
D. Jayaprakash Narayan
List II
1. First president of the Harijan Sevak Sangh
2. Viceroy when civil disobedience was resumed in 1932
3. Founder member of the Congress Socialist Party
4. Announced the Communal Award
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3
  2. A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3
  3. A-2, B-4, C-3, D-1
  4. A-1, B-4, C-2, D-3
Show answer

Answer: A. A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3

(a) is correct: Willingdon was Viceroy from 1931, MacDonald announced the Award, Birla was the Sangh's first president and Jayaprakash Narayan helped found the Congress Socialist Party. (b) is wrong because it swaps Willingdon and MacDonald. (c) is wrong because it swaps Birla and Jayaprakash Narayan. (d) is wrong because Willingdon did not head the Harijan Sevak Sangh and Birla was not Viceroy.

Q5. Consider the following statements about the third Round Table Conference:
1. The Indian National Congress did not take part in it.
2. It was followed by the British government's White Paper of 1933.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: C. Both 1 and 2

(c) is correct: the Congress, its leaders in jail, stayed away, and the White Paper followed in March 1933. (a) is wrong because statement 2 is also true. (b) is wrong because statement 1 is also true. (d) is wrong because both are true.

Q6. Arrange the following events in chronological order:
1. The Poona Pact
2. The second Round Table Conference
3. The Communal Award
4. The final withdrawal of civil disobedience
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 2-3-1-4
  2. 3-2-1-4
  3. 2-1-3-4
  4. 2-3-4-1
Show answer

Answer: A. 2-3-1-4

(a) is correct: the second conference (September–December 1931), the Award (16 August 1932), the Poona Pact (24 September 1932) and the withdrawal (April 1934). (b) is wrong because the Award came after the second conference. (c) is wrong because the Poona Pact answered the Award and so came after it. (d) is wrong because the withdrawal in 1934 came after the Poona Pact.

Q7. Which one of the following was NOT among the founders of the Congress Socialist Party in 1934?

  1. Jayaprakash Narayan
  2. Acharya Narendra Dev
  3. Minoo Masani
  4. B. R. Ambedkar
Show answer

Answer: D. B. R. Ambedkar

(d) is correct: Ambedkar was not a Congress member and had no part in founding the Congress Socialist Party. (a), (b) and (c) are wrong because Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev and Minoo Masani were among its founders.

Q8. Which one of the following statements about the Civil Disobedience Movement, compared with the Non-Cooperation Movement, is correct?

  1. Muslim participation was greater than in 1920–22.
  2. It drew in women and peasants on a larger scale.
  3. It was called off after a violent clash between villagers and police.
  4. It ended with Britain granting dominion status.
Show answer

Answer: B. It drew in women and peasants on a larger scale.

(b) is correct: far more women and peasants took part than in 1920–22. (a) is wrong: outside the Frontier, Muslim participation was smaller than during Non-Cooperation and Khilafat. (c) is wrong: that describes the withdrawal of Non-Cooperation after Chauri Chaura in 1922. (d) is wrong: the movement ended in 1934 without dominion status.

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