1931 Indian Round Table Conference

Between 1930 and 1932, the British government called a series of conferences to consider the future government of India. The first session was opened by King George V in the Royal Gallery in the House of Lords, and chaired by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. Representatives of several Indian political parties attended the meeting alongside British politicians. However, members of the Indian National Congress, including leader Mahatma Gandhi, did not participate because they initiated the Civil Disobedience Movement in India, and many members were subsequently incarcerated. Little was resolved at the first conference, and the British government acknowledged the need to involve the Indian National Congress. Representatives, including Gandhi, attended the second conference in 1931 after reaching a compromise with Viceroy of India Lord Irwin to end the Civil Disobedience Movement. Again, the second and third conferences did not succeed in determining the future of Indian rule, although the concluding recommendations of the meetings influenced the passing of the 1935 Government of India Act, which granted partial autonomy to India.