Gandhi-Irwin Pact

At a Glance

• Signed 5 March 1931, Delhi, by Irwin and Gandhi
• Government Released non-violent prisoners, ended ordinances, allowed home salt-making
• Congress Suspended civil disobedience; to attend the next Round Table Conference
• Refused Public inquiry into police excesses; commutation of Bhagat Singh’s sentence
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Civil Disobedience Movement and Round Table Conferences

Where Does It Fit?

This is the sixth topic of the category on the Civil Disobedience Movement and Round Table Conferences. The previous topic covered participation and impact. This topic covers the government response and the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. The next topic covers the Karachi session of 1931. Previous topic: Extent of Mass Participation and Impact of the Agitation.

How Did the Government Respond in 1930?

The government’s attitude throughout 1930 was ambivalent, as it was puzzled and perplexed. It faced the classic dilemma of damned if you do, damned if you do not: if force was used, the Congress cried repression, and if little action was taken, the Congress cried victory. Either way the government’s power eroded. Even Gandhi’s arrest came after much vacillation. Once repression began, ordinances banning civil liberties were freely used and the press was gagged. Provincial governments were given freedom to ban civil disobedience organisations, though the Working Committee was not declared illegal until June. There were lathi-charges and firing on unarmed crowds that left several killed and wounded, and thousands of satyagrahis, with Gandhi and other leaders, were imprisoned.

The repression and the publication of the Simon Commission report, which made no mention of dominion status and was regressive in other ways, upset even moderate opinion. The report is in dyarchy; autonomy and representative government Centre No parliamentary responsibility Fate Overtaken by…">Recommendations of the Simon Commission.

What Efforts Were Made for a Truce?

In July 1930 Viceroy Irwin suggested a Round Table Conference and repeated the goal of dominion status. He also accepted the suggestion that Tej Bahadur Sapru and M.R. Jayakar be allowed to explore the possibility of peace between the Congress and the government. In August 1930 Motilal and Jawaharlal Nehru were taken to Yeravda Jail to meet Gandhi and discuss a settlement. The Nehrus and Gandhi unequivocally repeated three demands: the right of secession from Britain, a complete national government with control over defence and finance, and an independent tribunal to settle Britain’s financial claims. Talks broke down.

How Was the Pact Reached?

On 25 January 1931 Gandhi and all other members of the Working Committee were released unconditionally. The committee authorised Gandhi to start discussions with the Viceroy. As a result, a pact was signed in Delhi between the Viceroy, representing the British Indian government, and Gandhi, representing the Indian people. It is called the Delhi Pact or the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, and it placed the Congress on an equal footing with the government. The date of signing is widely recorded as 5 March 1931, after about three weeks of talks, though some books give 14 February 1931.

What Did Each Side Agree?

The Viceroy turned down two of Gandhi’s demands: a public inquiry into police excesses and commutation of the death sentence on Bhagat Singh and his comrades to life imprisonment.

As an analytical point, the pact was a compromise in which the government gave up some of its powers, such as the ordinances and the ban on picketing, and the Congress gave up a campaign it could not sustain for much longer, while both left the major constitutional question, the final status of India, to the conference. The conference is in First and Second Round Table Conferences, and the Congress endorsement in Karachi Congress Session, 1931.

How Was the Pact Received?

The youth were disappointed. The peasants of Gujarat were disappointed because their lands were not restored at once; they were restored only under the Congress ministry in the province. But many people were jubilant that the government had been made to regard the movement as significant and to treat its leader as an equal and sign a pact with him. Political prisoners released from jail were given a hero’s welcome. The question whether the pact was a retreat is discussed in Evaluation of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Terms of the pact The seven concessions and the two refusals are Prelims favourites
• Equal footing Shows a change in the government’s treatment of the Congress
• Link to the Round Table Conference The Congress agreed to attend the second conference

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the Karachi session of the Congress in March 1931, which endorsed the pact. Next topic: Karachi Congress Session, 1931.

Key People and Terms

• Delhi Pact Another name for the Gandhi-Irwin Pact
• Yeravda Jail Where the Nehrus met Gandhi in August 1930
• Tej Bahadur Sapru Liberal leader who tried to explore peace
• M.R. Jayakar Leader who joined Sapru’s efforts
• Emergency ordinances Orders banning civil liberties, withdrawn under the pact
• Lynch-pins Federation, Indian responsibility and safeguards

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the terms and significance of the pact. These points add depth.

• Concessions Prisoners, salt, picketing and ordinances
• Refusals Inquiry and commutation
• Equality Congress treated as an equal