TheGandhi–Irwin Pact was a political agreement signed byMahatma Gandhi andLord Irwin,Viceroy of India, on 5 March 1931 before the SecondRound Table Conference inLondon.[1] Before this, Irwin, the Viceroy, had announced in October 1929 a vague offer of 'dominion status' forIndia in an unspecified future and aRound Table Conference to discuss a future constitution.[2] The Second Round Table Conference was held from September to December 1931 in London. This conference marked the end of theCivil Disobedience Movement in India.
Gandhi and Lord Irwin had eight meetings that totalled 24 hours. Although Gandhi was impressed by Irwin's sincerity, the terms of the pact fell manifestly short of those Gandhi had prescribed as the minimum for a truce.[3]
Gandhi managed to have over 90,000 political prisoners released under the Gandhi–Irwin Pact.[4]
Lord Irwin at this time headed the repression ofIndian nationalism, but did not relish the role, with British-runIndian Civil Service and the commercial community then favouring even harsher measures. Prime MinisterRamsay MacDonald andWilliam Benn,His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, were eager for peace so long as it didn't weaken the position of theLabour government. As such, they wished for the success of the Round Table Conference and knew that it would carry little weight without the presence of Gandhi. In January 1931, at the closing session of the Round Table Conference,Ramsay MacDonald expressed hope that the Congress would be represented at the next session. The Viceroy, taking the hint, promptly ordered the unconditional release of Gandhi and all members of the Congress Working Committee, who were imprisoned for theCivil Disobedience Movement. In response, Gandhi agreed to meet the Viceroy.[5]
This was the second high-level meeting between Gandhi and a Viceroy in 13 years and should be read in the context of theMontagu–Chelmsford Reforms that were the basis of theGovernment of India Act, 1919.
Many British officials in India, and inBritain, were outraged by the idea of a pact with a party whose avowed purpose was the destruction of the British Raj.Winston Churchill publicly expressed his disgust "...at the nauseating and humiliating spectacle of this one-timeInner Temple lawyer, now seditiousfakir, striding half-naked up the steps of theViceroy’s palace, there to negotiate and parley on equal terms with the representative of theKing Emperor."[6]
