Second and Third Round Table Conference

There were 3 round table conferences between the time of 1930-1932. The first round table conference was started in the 1930’s November and the last one ended in December of 1932. These conferences were aimed to resolve the problems between Indian leaders and the British government . 

It was during the 1930’s that the British leaders thought of making India a self-governing state of the empire. The Indians wanted freedom instead. There were many disagreements among the British and Indian leaders which needed to be solved by the conferences but none of them worked and all the problems were not resolved . These three round table conferences mainly discussed the constitutional reforms of India. 

The Second Round Table Conference

The First Round Table Conference didn’t do so well as the Congress boycotted it. After some requests a settlement was brought between Gandhiji and the Viceroy Lord Irwin, known as the Gandhi-Irwin pact, which drew the Congress towards the Second Round Table Conference. 

The conference started from 7th September, 1931. At this time the Prime Minister of Britain was the same but now MacDonald was leading a coalition government with a majority along with making Samuel Hoare the new Secretary of India. 

Mahatma Gandhi had met MacDonald on the 7th November, 1931. This meeting was the reason for passing the Government of India Act 1935.

The main differences between the first and the second round table conference are :- 

• Representation of the Congress –

After the Gandhi-Irwin pact the Congress was invited to the conference for participation. Mahatma Gandhi was the only official congress representative who was invited and was accompanied by Sarojini Naidu. Gandhiji also told the Britishers that the untouchables were also Hindus and are not minorities. The Congress represented India as a whole. 

• Government of Britain –

There was a fall of the Labour government and the Conservative Party dominated the national government with Ramsay MacDonald being the Prime Minister. 

• Finances –

It was the time when Britain was facing some financial crunches and were seen sliding off the gold standard. 

At the end of the second round table conference Gandhi had to return disappointed as the pact he signed made it necessary for the Civil Disobedience Movement to stalled  and in return the prisoners would be freed other than those who had criminal charges of killing British officials . 

The Third Round Table Conference 

The Third round table conference was the last of them all. It was held on 17th November, 1932. After the disappointment faced by the Indian National Congress they decided to boycott the conference. Not only INC but also The Labour Party of Britain refused to attend the conference. 

The conference was left with only forty-six people who attended the conference with major political faces missing. It lasted from September of 1931 till March of 1933. This proposed some reformations in the Government of India Act 1935 . All these things were done under the supervision of Sir Samuel Hoare. 

Conclusion

The second round table conference and the third round table conference could have turned out to be more productive in resolving the disputes between the Indian National Congress and the Government of Britain. The regular disagreements between them during the conferences prohibited the conferences from resolving the problems. However, 3 round table conferences had been conducted within just 2 years which was from 1930-32.