Question 35 from UPSC CSE 2020 - MODERN INDIA

Question

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 enquiry into police excesses.
4. Release of only those prisoners who were not charged with violence
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Accepted Answer

Correct Option: B. 1, 2, and 4 only

Strategy: Identify the demands accepted and rejected in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact:
*   Congress's invitation to the Round Table Conference was accepted.
*   Emergency ordinances were withdrawn.
*   Only prisoners not involved in violence were released.
*   The demand for an inquiry into police excesses was explicitly rejected.

Key Info: The Gandhi-Irwin Pact, signed on 5 March 1931, was an agreement between Mahatma Gandhi (representing the Indian National Congress) and Lord Irwin (the British Viceroy).

Major terms included:
*   The Congress agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement and participate in the Second Round Table Conference in London.
*   The Government agreed to:
    *   Release all political prisoners not convicted of violence.
    *   Allow peaceful picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops.
    *   Withdraw all ordinances and prosecutions relating to the Civil Disobedience Movement (except for cases involving violence).
    *   Restore confiscated properties not yet sold.
    *   Abolish the salt tax for villages along the coast, permitting them to manufacture salt for personal consumption.
*   Demands rejected by Viceroy Irwin included:
    *   An inquiry into police excesses during the movement.
    *   Commutation of the death sentence for Bhagat Singh and his associates.
*   The pact increased the status of Congress as a negotiating party and temporarily eased repressive measures in India. The three Round Table Conferences (1930-1932), held in London, sought to discuss constitutional reforms for India and included political and community representatives.

## Key References
*   Indian National Movement
*   Salt Satyagraha (1930)
*   Civil Disobedience Movement
*   Round Table Conferences
*   Bhagat Singh case
*   British Constitutional Reforms in India

Answer

Option A: 1 only

Answer

Option C: 3 only

Answer

Option D: 2, 3, and 4 only