1. The main purpose of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was to
(a) To make the participation of Congress easier in round table conference
(b) To end the Civil Disobedience Movement.
(c) To break the death strike of Gandhiji
(d) To end the tax on salt.
[U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 1998]
Ans. (a) To make the participation of Congress easier in round table conference
- Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of India, signed a political agreement called the Gandhi-Irwin Pact on March 5th, 1931 before the Second Round Table Conference in London.
- This agreement included ending the Civil Disobedience Movement, the Indian National Congress taking part in the conference, the British Government no longer restricting INC’s activities, no more prosecutions for people taking part in the movement, and the release of prisoners who had been arrested.
|
2. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact included which of the following?
1. Invitation to Congress to participate in the Round Table Conference
2. Withdrawal of Ordinances promulgated in connection with the Civil Disobedience Movement
3. Acceptance of Gandhiji’s suggestion for inquiry into police excesses
4. Release of only those prisoners who were not charged with violence
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 1, 2, and 4 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 2, 3, and 4 only
[I.A.S. (Pre) 2020]
Ans (b) 1, 2, and 4 only
- The Viceroy Irwin agreed to:
- Withdraw all ordinances and prosecutions related to the Civil Disobedience Movement.
- Release political prisoners who had not been convicted of violence.
- Permit peaceful picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops.
- Restore confiscated properties of satyagrahis, where not yet sold.
- Allow free collection or manufacture of salt by persons near the sea-coast.
- Invite Congress to participate in the Second Round Table Conference.
- The British did NOT accept Gandhiji’s demand for an official inquiry into police excesses
|
6. Who among the following leaders did NOT participate in the Second Round Table Conference?
(a) M.K. Gandhi
(b) Sarojini Naidu
(c) Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya
(d) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
[U.P.P.C.S (Pre) 2020]
Ans (d) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Participants of the Second Round Table Conference
- From the Indian National Congress
- Mahatma Gandhi – attended as the sole representative of the Congress after the Gandhi–Irwin Pact.
- Other Political Leaders and Groups
- Sarojini Naidu – representative of women’s organizations.
- Madan Mohan Malviya – Hindu Mahasabha.
- Annie Besant (Theosophical Society, Home Rule).
- B. R. Ambedkar – leader of the Depressed Classes.
- M. C. Rajah – Depressed Classes representative.
- Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Aga Khan, Sir Shafaat Ahmed Khan, Maulana Shaukat Ali – representing Muslims.
- Tej Bahadur Sapru, Jayakar, Chintamani – Liberals.
- E. V. Ramaswami Naicker (Periyar) – Justice Party (Non-Brahmin movement).
- Mirza Ismail – representing Princely States.
- M. R. Jayakar and Vallabhbhai Patel did not attend (Patel was in prison; Jayakar was invited but did not participate).
- Dr. Rajendra Prasad did not attend as well.
- British Representatives
- Ramsay MacDonald – British Prime Minister (presided over the conference).
- Winston Churchill, Samuel Hoare, Lord Irwin, and others from British Parliament and administration.
|
8. Who played an important role in the signing of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact?
(a) Motilal Nehru
(b) Madan Mohan Malviya
(c) Tej Bahadur Sapru
(d) Chintamani
[47th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2005]
Ans. (c) Tej Bahadur Sapru
- Lord Irwin, the Viceroy, released Mahatma Gandhi on January 26, 1931 after witnessing the Civil Disobedience Movement grow.
- Tej Bahadur Sapru and M.R. Jaykar worked together to initiate a conversation between Gandhi and Irwin in the middle of February, 1931.
- This led to the creation of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact on March 5, 1931, which Sarojini Naidu referred to as ‘The Two Mahatmas.’
|
9. Who of the following persons called Irwin and Gandhi ‘The Two Mahatmas’?
(a) Mira Bahan
(b) Sarojini Naidu
(c) Madan Mohan Malviya
(d) Jawaharlal Nehru
[.P. P.C.S. (Pre) 2001]
Ans. (b) Sarojini Naidu
- Sarojini Naidu gave title of ‘The Two Mahatmas’ in reference to the Gandhi Irwin pact.
|
11. Who among the following took Mahatma Gandhi’s gain in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact as “Consolation Prizes”?
(a) S.C. Bose
(b) Alan Campbell Johnson
(c) B.G. Horniman
(d) Sarojini Naidu
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2014]
Ans. (b) Alan Campbell Johnson
- Alan Campbell Johnson, Lord Irwin’s biographer, referred to Mahatma Gandhi’s gains from the Gandhi–Irwin Pact as “consolation prizes”, implying that the concessions were minor compared to expectations.
- Though Subhas Chandra Bose was a vocal critic of the pact—believing it fell short of achieving meaningful progress and referring to the context as a “great tragedy”.
- The UPPSC first thought option (a) was the right answer, but they changed it to option (b) in their revised answer key.
|
