Gandhi-Irwin Pact & its effect on national movement

Gandhi-Irwin Pact & its effect on national movement.

Question:-What was the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and what changes did it bring to the national movement?

The arrest and imprisonment of Gandhi at the end of the Dandi march was one of his most effective civil disobedience moves in the whole movement. Around the end of 1930 thousands of protesters were put in jail, including Jawaharlal Nehru. With Miller’s report the movement had got worldwide publicity, and Lord Irwin had to end the matter.

- Congress participation in second round table conference

In the First Round Table Conference Congress had not attended. It failed to reach any settlement as there was no one to represent the people. So, The Government started taking measures to make the Congress participate in the Second Round Table Conference in 1931. For this purpose, the Government released Gandhi along with all the Congress leaders from prison on 25th January, 1931.

Gandhiji was persuaded to talk and negotiate with the Government. He met Lord Irwin, the British viceroy (1926–31) of India, on 19th of February, 1931 and the talks went on for around fifteen days.

- Gandhi-Irwin Pact

An agreement was signed on March 5, 1931, between the ‘two Mahatmas’ (as Sarojini Naidu puts it), M. K. Gandhi and Lord Irwin. It concluded a period of civil disobedience (satyagraha) in India against the British rule that had started with the Salt March. 

- Conditions of the Pact:

- Political prisoners not convicted for violence should be immediately released

- The government has to return all the confiscated properties which had not been sold to third parties and remit all the fines that had not been collected

- The Government employees who had resigned, should be treated leniently

- The tax on production and selling of salt by people along the coast should be removed

- Ordinances imposing restrictions on the activities of INC should be withdrawn and peaceful picketing was allowed

In return, the Cogress agreed to,

- Participate in the Second Round Table Conference

- Put an end to the Disobedience Movement

This pact was also called the Delhi Pact and it reinforced the objective of ‘Poorna Swaraj’ of The Congress.