Question

Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labellec Reason (R).

Assertion (A): The Indian National Congress discontinued Civil Disobedience Movement in 1931 after signing the Gandhi-Irwin Pact

Reason (R): All the working committee members of the Congress attended the second Round Table Conference held in London.

In the context of the above two statements, which one of the following is correct?

• A. Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
• B. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
• C. (A) is true, but (R) is false.
• D. (A) is false, but (R) is true.

Answer 1

Answer:

C. (A) is true, but (R) is false.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931)

• The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was a political agreement signed by Mahatma Gandhi and the Viceroy of India, Lord Irwin, on March 5, 1931.

• Under this pact, the Indian National Congress agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement and participate in the Second Round Table Conference.

• In return, the British government agreed to release all political prisoners who had not been convicted of violence, allow peaceful picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops, and permit people living near the sea coast to collect salt.

Second Round Table Conference

• The Second Round Table Conference was held in London from September to December 1931.

• The Indian National Congress did not send all its working committee members. Instead, Mahatma Gandhi attended as the sole representative of the Congress.

• The conference failed to yield significant results as the British government refused to concede the basic demand for dominion status, and disputes arose over separate electorates for minorities.

• The Civil Disobedience Movement was first launched in 1930 with the historic Dandi March.

• After the failure of the Second Round Table Conference, Mahatma Gandhi returned to India and resumed the Civil Disobedience Movement in January 1932, which was finally withdrawn in 1934.

• The Congress had boycotted the First Round Table Conference (1930-1931) but participated in the Second Round Table Conference due to the Gandhi-Irwin Pact