Talking in London while India burned
The British called Indian leaders to London three times to discuss the future. The most important thing to come out of it was not agreed in London at all — but in a prison yard in Poona, over a dying man's fast.
The three Round Table Conferences were held in London between 1930 and 1932 to discuss constitutional reform for India, on the basis of the Simon Commission report. Ramsay MacDonald, the British Prime Minister, presided over all three. They settled little directly — but the chain of events they set off produced the Communal Award, the Poona Pact, and eventually the Government of India Act 1935.
The three conferences
| Conference | When | The key fact |
|---|---|---|
| First RTC | Nov 1930 – Jan 1931 | The Congress boycotted it — its leaders were in jail during Civil Disobedience. Ambedkar and Jinnah attended. It achieved little without the Congress |
| Second RTC | Sep – Dec 1931 | Gandhi attended as the sole Congress representative after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. It deadlocked over minority representation — Gandhi and Ambedkar clashed over separate electorates for the depressed classes |
| Third RTC | Nov – Dec 1932 | A shadow of the others. Only 46 delegates; the Congress stayed away, the Labour Party sent no one, Jinnah was absent. Its discussions fed the White Paper of 1933 |
Ramsay MacDonald presided over all three. The Congress joined only the Second. Ambedkar attended all three. Gandhi attended only the Second, and only after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact freed him to go. If a question pairs Gandhi with the First or Third RTC, it is wrong.
The Communal Award, August 1932
The Second Conference broke down over one question: how should minorities be represented? Unable to get Indians to agree, MacDonald imposed a British answer.
Announced by Ramsay MacDonald on 16 August 1932, it granted separate electorates to Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans — and, most controversially, to the depressed classes. Under it the depressed classes would vote separately from other Hindus for their own reserved seats. This was exactly what Ambedkar had demanded and what Gandhi could not accept.
The fast and the Poona Pact
Gandhi believed that giving the depressed classes a separate electorate would split them away from the rest of Hindu society permanently, freezing untouchability into the constitution rather than dissolving it. Ambedkar believed that only a separate electorate would give the depressed classes genuine, independent political power, free of upper-caste control. Both men were fighting for the same people and could not agree on how to help them.
Gandhi, imprisoned in Yeravada Jail in Poona, began a fast unto death against the separate electorate for the depressed classes. The country was gripped; if he died, the depressed classes feared they would be blamed and attacked.
After intense negotiation, Ambedkar and Gandhi's side reached agreement. Separate electorates for the depressed classes were dropped. In exchange, the number of seats reserved for them within the joint general Hindu electorate was greatly increased — from the 71 of the Communal Award to 148. Gandhi broke his fast on 26 September 1932.
| Communal Award | Poona Pact | |
|---|---|---|
| Electorate for depressed classes | Separate — they vote alone | Joint — they vote with other Hindus |
| Seats for depressed classes | 71 reserved (via separate electorate) | 148 reserved (within the general electorate) |
| Ambedkar's position | What he had demanded | Accepted under the pressure of Gandhi's fast |
| Gandhi's position | Opposed it as splitting Hindu society | Achieved his aim of a single Hindu electorate |
The Poona Pact is not a simple triumph. Ambedkar signed it to save Gandhi's life, and later wrote that the fast had left the depressed classes no real choice — he called it a kind of moral coercion. What they gained was more reserved seats; what they lost was the independent voting bloc Ambedkar believed they needed. The reserved-seats model of the Pact was carried into the Government of India Act 1935 and survives in the Indian Constitution today. Exams want the seat numbers and the electorate type; the deeper argument is worth understanding, not just memorising.
What did the Poona Pact change about the Communal Award?
The Communal Award had given the depressed classes a separate electorate with 71 reserved seats, meaning they voted alone. The Poona Pact of September 1932 replaced this with a joint electorate — they voted alongside other Hindus — but greatly increased their reserved seats to 148. It ended Gandhi's fast unto death.
MacDonald chaired all three, Congress joined only the Second, Ambedkar attended all three. And the Pact: separate becomes joint, 71 becomes 148.
Everything on one look
The conferences, the Award and the Pact.
- Three Round Table Conferences were held in London, 1930–1932
- Ramsay MacDonald presided over all three
- The Congress boycotted the First RTC
- Gandhi attended only the Second RTC, as sole Congress representative
- Ambedkar attended all three conferences
- The Third RTC fed the White Paper of 1933
- The Communal Award was announced by MacDonald on 16 August 1932
- It gave the depressed classes a separate electorate
- Gandhi began a fast unto death at Yeravada Jail on 20 September 1932
- The Poona Pact was signed on 24 September 1932
- It replaced separate electorates with reserved seats in a joint electorate
- Reserved seats rose from 71 to 148
- Ramsay MacDonald, not Lord Irwin, presided over the Round Table Conferences
- The Congress attended only the Second RTC
- Gandhi attended only the Second RTC, after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact
- Ambedkar attended all three conferences
- The Communal Award was announced on 16 August 1932 by MacDonald
- The Award gave the depressed classes a separate electorate
- Gandhi fasted at Yeravada Jail in Poona, not Sabarmati
- The Poona Pact replaced separate electorates with a joint electorate
- Reserved seats rose from 71 under the Award to 148 under the Pact
- The Poona Pact was between Gandhi and Ambedkar, signed September 1932
- Three Round Table Conferences were held between 1930 and 1932
- The conferences were held in London
- Ramsay MacDonald presided over all three conferences
- The First Round Table Conference was held from November 1930 to January 1931
- The Congress boycotted the First Round Table Conference
- The Second Round Table Conference was held in 1931
- Gandhi attended the Second RTC as the sole Congress representative
- Gandhi attended after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact freed him to go
- The Second RTC deadlocked over minority representation
- The Third Round Table Conference was held in 1932
- The Congress did not attend the Third RTC
- Ambedkar attended all three Round Table Conferences
- The Third RTC discussions led to the White Paper of 1933
- The Communal Award was announced on 16 August 1932
- The Award was announced by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
- The Award granted separate electorates to the depressed classes
- It also gave separate electorates to Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans
- Gandhi opposed the separate electorate for the depressed classes
- Gandhi began a fast unto death at Yeravada Jail on 20 September 1932
- The Poona Pact was signed on 24 September 1932
- The Poona Pact was an agreement between Gandhi and Ambedkar
- It replaced separate electorates with reserved seats in a joint electorate
- Reserved seats for the depressed classes rose from 71 to 148
- Gandhi broke his fast on 26 September 1932
- The reserved-seats model of the Poona Pact continues in the Constitution
- The Round Table discussions shaped the Government of India Act 1935