RTC's

Question 1

when was the 1st RTC opened?

Answer 1

The first RTC was opened by Lord Irwin in the House of Lords, November 1930.

Question 2

what happened prior to the 1st RTC?

Answer 2

Simon Commission

Question 3

what was the Simon Commission?

Answer 3

• a group appointed in Nov 1927 by the British Conservative government to report on the working of the Indian constitution as established by the Government of India Act 1919
• it consisted of seven members: 4 tories, 3 labourites and 1 liberal, notedly no Indians present causing huge uproar and political violence
• it proposed for provincial autonomy in India but rejected parliamentary responsibility at its centre
• was not supposed to review until 1929, but brought back two years

Question 4

what was the Government of India Act 1919?

Answer 4

• it was passed to expand participation of Indians in the government of India
• set to be reviewed 10 years later in 1929 by the Simon Commission
• the act provided a dual form of government ( a ‘diarchy’) in the major provinces

Question 5

who attended the 1st RTC?

Answer 5

• the 3 British political parties were represented by 16 delegates
• 58 delegates represented the spectrum of India political opinion, though they were all nominated by the Viceroy and Gandhi and Nehru were in jail so could not attend
• the princes also sent 16 representatives, strengthening their case for dominion status

Question 6

what was decided in the 1st RTC?

Answer 6

• it was decided that India would be run as a type of dominion
• it would take the form of a federation that would include the princely states, as well as the 11 British provinces
• there would be Indian participation in all levels of government

Question 7

what is a federation?

Answer 7

‘a group of states with a central government but independence in internal affairs’

Question 8

what were the conservatives reaction to the outcome of the 1st RTC?

Answer 8

the conservatives were disgusted:
‘ the whole conference was manipulated and manoeuvred by the Socialist Party to achieve the result they had set before themselves from the beginning, namely the conferring of responsible government at the centre upon Indians.’
-Winston Churchill

Question 9

what was the consequence of the 1st RTC?

Answer 9

In February 1931, the British formally inaugurated New Delhi as the administerative capital of the Raj

Question 10

when was the 2nd RTC held?

Answer 10

Sep - Dec 1931

Question 11

how was Gandhi able to attend the 2nd RTC?

Answer 11

due to the Gandhi-Irwin Pact

Question 12

what was the Gandhi-Irwin Pact?

Answer 12

• a political agreement signed in March 1931 marking the end of the civil disobedience campaign of proposed conditions, such as:
• discontinuation of the salt march
• participation of congress in the 2nd RTC
• removal of tax on salt
• release of all political prisoners, totalling 90,000 altogether

Question 13

what was gandhi’s role in the 2nd RTC?

Answer 13

no progress was made whatsoever as he mostly focused on reserving seats for racial and religious minorities and how this would effect the resulting balance of powers
- Gandhi, a hindu, wanted to speak on behalf of muslims too - to establish Congress as an umbrella organisation
- instead, this alienated all the groups seeking separate representation

Question 14

what was happening back in Britain at the time of the 2nd RTC?

Answer 14

In August 1921, the first Labour government resigned after splitting and subsequently was replaced by a Tory-dominated coalition facing a depression, unemployment and the collapse of the economy.

Question 15

what were the consequences of the 2nd RTC?

Answer 15

• India Defense League
• Communal Award
• Yeravda Pact

Question 16

what was the India Defense League?

Answer 16

• a British pressure group dedicated to keeping India within the Empire
• it thought Indians were unsuited for democracy and should remain subordinate to the Empire forever
• it had over 100 members, including Winston Churchill
• they campaigned over Britain and had support from the Daily Mail

Question 17

what was the Communal Award?

Answer 17

• proposed by Ramsay McDonald after the failure of the 2nd RTC
• the British government would officially recognise a number of minority groups, being granted separate representation in any future constitution in India

Question 18

what was the Yeravda Pact?

Answer 18

• in response to the Communal Award, Gandhi embarked on a fast unto death protest
• he wrote that separate electorates would ‘vivisect and disrupt Hinduism’
• Gandhi made an agreement with Dr Ambedkar (leader of the Untouchables) to reserve them more electoral seats if they ran in the next general election
• settled on 147 seats, nearly twice that was offered by McDonald

Question 19

when was the 3rd RTC held?

Answer 19

Nov-Dec 1932?

Question 20

who attended the 3rd RTC?

Answer 20

only 46 delegates, with Labour and Congress point-blank refusing

Question 21

what was the consequence of the 3rd RTC?

Answer 21

Government of India Act 1935

Question 22

what did the Government of India Act 1935 do?

Answer 22

• the establishment of a federation with autonomous provinces
• Indians would control everything but defence and foreign affairs

Question 23

what was the criticism of the Government of India Act 1935?

Answer 23

the power of the Viceroy was overwhelming:
- he could exercise legislative powers to a large extent or visa versa prohibit the legislative from exercising its legislative powers by the exercise of his veto powers