Round Table Conferences, Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Communal Award and Poona Pact

After the failure of the Simon Commission, Lord Irwin, the Governor-General of India, announced that a Round Table Conference was to be held in London to hold discussions on the India’s Constitutional Settlement and future reforms.
But, the INC refused to participate in the Round Table Conference because the INC wanted the conference to proceed on the basis of Dominion Status for India and Lord Irwin, the Governor-General, regretted his inability to give any such type of assurance to INC.
Gandhi Ji also started Civil Disobedience movement against the British Government on January 1, 1930 and again started Dandi March on March 12, 1930 and Salt Law was violated on 06/04/1930.
The First Round Table Conference held in London on November 12,1930, but in the absence of the Congress Party which failed to achieve anything.
After the failure of the First Round Table Conference, A Pact (Gandhi-Irwin Pact) was signed between the Governor-General and Gandhi JI and through this Pact the Indian National Congress Party agreed to take part in the Second Round Table Conference which was held in London in September, 1931. During the Second Round Table Conference because of the uncompromising attitude of Mr. M.A. Jinnah, the Muslim League Leader, the Second Round Table Conference also could not reach any settlement.
On the failure of these discussions, Mr. Ramsay Macdonald, the British Prime Minister, announced on 16/08/1932, his “Communal Award”.
This award not only continued separate electorates for the Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans but also extended it to the depressed classes (Scheduled Castes).
Gandhi Ji could not bear this attack of the British Government on the Indian unity so he undertook fast unto death in Yerawada Jail (Poona) to get the Communal Award modified.
Due to this Fast, the condition of Gandhi Ji was detorated and at the last, there was an agreement signed on September 25, 1932 between the leaders of the Congress and the depressed classes.
This agreement was known as Poona Pact, which retained the Hindu Joint Electorate and gave reserved seats to the depressed classes.
The Communal Award was thus modified in the light of the Poona Pact.
It was followed by the Third Round Table Conference.
On the basis of these discussions during the Third Round Table Conference ( November 17 to December 24,1932) , a ‘White Paper on Constitutional Reforms’ was published in March 1933 and it had been submitted for the consideration of the Joint Select Committee of the British Parliament.
This Joint Select Committee submitted its report recommending some changes in the proposals contained in the White Paper.
Based on this report the Government of India Act 1935 was introduced in Parliament in December, 1934.
The Bill got the Royal assent on August 4, 1935 and came to be known as “The Government of India Act 1935”.