Best 50 Third Round Table Conference MCQs with Answers
1. The Third Round Table Conference was held in _____.
Correct Answer: B. 1932 (November–December 1932)
Explanation: The Third (and final) Round Table Conference was held in London from 17 November to 24 December 1932. It was the least significant of the three conferences, attended by only 46 delegates (compared to over 100 at the first two).
2. The Indian National Congress attended the Third Round Table Conference?
Correct Answer: C. No – Congress boycotted all three conferences (technically Congress was only at the Second)
Explanation: Congress boycotted the Third Round Table Conference entirely. By late 1932, Gandhi had been re-arrested (January 1932), the Civil Disobedience Movement was ongoing, and the Gandhi-Irwin Pact had effectively broken down. The new Viceroy Lord Willingdon was taking a hardline approach, making Congress participation impossible.
3. The Third Round Table Conference was attended by how many delegates?
Correct Answer: C. Only 46 delegates
Explanation: The Third Round Table Conference had only 46 delegates – far fewer than the 58 at the First Conference and similar numbers at the Second. Congress’s absence, the smaller delegations from various Indian groups, and declining interest made this the smallest of the three conferences.
4. The main purpose of the Third Round Table Conference was _____.
Correct Answer: C. To finalize recommendations that would become the basis of the Government of India Act 1935
Explanation: The Third Round Table Conference’s purpose was to finalize constitutional recommendations based on all three conferences’ discussions. These recommendations were compiled into a White Paper (1933) and ultimately incorporated into the Government of India Act 1935 – the most comprehensive constitutional reform of British India before independence.
5. The White Paper that emerged from the Round Table Conferences (1933) led to _____.
Correct Answer: C. The Government of India Act 1935
Explanation: The White Paper (March 1933), based on the Round Table Conference recommendations, was reviewed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee. It eventually formed the basis of the Government of India Act 1935 – the longest act ever passed by the British Parliament, which introduced provincial autonomy, a proposed all-India federation, and became the framework for the crucial 1937 and 1946 elections.
6. The Third Round Table Conference’s key participants included _____.
Correct Answer: C. Various Indian princes, Muslim League representatives, Hindu Mahasabha, and other minority community leaders – but no Congress
Explanation: Without Congress (which had the largest popular following), the Third Round Table Conference comprised: representatives of Indian princely states, Muslim League delegates, Hindu Mahasabha representatives, liberal/moderate Indian political figures like M.R. Jayakar and Tej Bahadur Sapru, and various minority groups – a body that could not truly claim to speak for the Indian people.
7. The Government of India Act 1935, which emerged from the Round Table Conference process, introduced _____.
Correct Answer: C. Provincial autonomy (dyarchy replaced at provincial level with full responsible government) and a proposed All-India Federation
Explanation: The Government of India Act 1935 introduced: full provincial autonomy (elected provincial governments responsible to elected assemblies, replacing the dyarchy system); a proposed All-India Federation (which was never actually implemented); bicameral legislatures in larger provinces; reserved seats for minorities; and a federal court. It remains the most significant constitutional reform of the colonial era.
8. The significance of the Round Table Conferences for the Pakistan movement was that they _____.
Correct Answer: C. Demonstrated Muslim League’s constitutional minimum demands, produced the Government of India Act 1935 that held the 1937 elections, and showed Congress-Muslim League incompatibility
Explanation: The Round Table Conferences (1930–32) contributed to Pakistan’s eventual creation by: establishing Muslim League’s non-negotiable constitutional demands; demonstrating that Congress and minorities could never agree on constitutional safeguards; producing the Government of India Act 1935 that held the 1937 elections revealing League’s weakness; and setting in motion the reorganization that produced the League’s 1946 triumph and Pakistan in 1947.
9. Which famous Indian leader attended all three Round Table Conferences?
Correct Answer: C. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (who attended all three conferences representing Depressed Classes)
Explanation: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (the Dalit leader and future architect of India’s constitution) was the only major Indian leader to attend all three Round Table Conferences. His demands for separate electorates for Dalits and his direct confrontation with Gandhi at the Second Conference (leading to the Poona Pact) were key moments in the conferences.
10. The overall consequence of the three Round Table Conferences for India’s constitutional history was _____.
Correct Answer: C. The Government of India Act 1935 – which, while rejected by Congress as inadequate, became the framework for India’s pre-independence politics and formed the basis of both India’s and Pakistan’s first constitutions
Explanation: Despite being rejected by both Congress (as too little) and Muslim League (as not protective enough of Muslim interests), the Government of India Act 1935 became enormously important: it governed the 1937 and 1946 elections; it formed the constitutional basis of independent Pakistan’s government until 1956 (when Pakistan’s first constitution was adopted); and large portions of it were incorporated into India’s 1950 Constitution.
11. The Third Round Table Conference was chaired by _____.
Correct Answer: A. British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
Explanation: Like the previous two Round Table Conferences, the Third was presided over by British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, who headed the National Government (coalition). He later issued the Communal Award (1932) after the Second Conference failed to produce an agreed minority formula.
12. The Government of India Act 1935 gave Indian provinces _____.
Correct Answer: C. Full provincial autonomy – elected ministers fully responsible to provincial legislatures, with the Viceroy’s reserved powers greatly reduced
Explanation: The Government of India Act 1935 replaced dyarchy at the provincial level with full responsible government – meaning all provincial subjects were transferred to popularly elected ministers responsible to elected legislatures. This was the direct legislative outcome of the Round Table Conference process.
13. The proposed All-India Federation in the Government of India Act 1935 was _____.
Correct Answer: C. Never implemented – the princely states refused to join, so the federal structure was never activated
Explanation: The Government of India Act 1935 proposed an All-India Federation including British Indian provinces AND the princely states. However, since the princely states were to join voluntarily, and most refused (unwilling to accept elected legislatures), the federal part of the Act was never implemented. Only the provincial autonomy sections came into force for the 1937 elections.
14. The Communal Award issued after the Round Table Conferences was announced in _____.
Correct Answer: C. August 1932 (The Prime Minister’s Award)
Explanation: PM Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award on 16 August 1932 — after the Second Round Table Conference failed to produce an agreed minorities formula. It granted separate electorates to Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Europeans, Anglo-Indians, and controversially the Depressed Classes (Dalits), triggering Gandhi’s fast and the subsequent Poona Pact.
15. Which major political change did the Poona Pact (1932) bring about after the Round Table Conferences?
Correct Answer: C. It replaced separate Dalit electorates (from the Communal Award) with reserved seats in joint electorates — Gandhi stopped his fast after this was agreed
Explanation: Gandhi launched a “fast unto death” against the Communal Award’s separate Dalit electorates, which he said would split Hinduism. Dr. Ambedkar reluctantly agreed to replace separate Dalit electorates with reserved seats in joint electorates (but increased the number of reserved seats). This Poona Pact (September 1932) saved Gandhi’s life but was deeply resented by Ambedkar.
16. The Round Table Conferences were the first time _____ participated in British constitutional discussions about India.
Correct Answer: C. Representatives of both British India’s political parties AND the Indian princely states sat at the same table
Explanation: A historic feature of all three Round Table Conferences was that representatives of the British Indian political parties (Congress, Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha, etc.) and the Indian princely states met together for the first time, along with British parliamentarians, to discuss India’s constitutional future — a genuinely unprecedented constitutional exercise.
17. From a Muslim perspective, the Round Table Conferences were significant because they _____.
Correct Answer: C. Secured Muslim separate electorates in the Communal Award and produced the Government of India Act 1935, which provided the electoral framework for the 1937 and 1946 elections
Explanation: The Round Table Conference process ultimately delivered two major outcomes important to Muslim political history: the Communal Award confirming separate Muslim electorates; and the Government of India Act 1935 under which the pivotal 1937 elections (which shocked the League into reorganization) and the 1946 elections (which produced the mandate for Pakistan) were held.
18. The First Round Table Conference (1930–31) was historic because _____.
Correct Answer: C. It was the first time a British government formally invited Indian political representatives to London to discuss India’s constitutional future as equal partners
Explanation: The First Round Table Conference (November 1930 – January 1931) marked a historic shift — Britain formally invited Indian politicians (though Congress boycotted) to London to discuss their own constitutional future as participants rather than petitioners. This represented an implicit acceptance that India’s future governance was a matter for Indians to decide, not British parliament alone.
19. Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar’s famous statement “I belong to two circles of equal size — one is India and the other is the Muslim world” was made at _____.
Correct Answer: B. The First Round Table Conference in London (1930)
Explanation: Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar made this celebrated statement at the First Round Table Conference in London, encapsulating the dual identity of Indian Muslims — simultaneously part of the Indian nation and part of the global Islamic Ummah. He died in London in January 1931, having refused to return to a subjugated India.
20. The Aga Khan III’s role in the Round Table Conferences was _____.
Correct Answer: C. He led the Muslim delegation at the First and Second Round Table Conferences, presenting Muslim constitutional demands
Explanation: His Highness the Aga Khan III (Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah) led the Muslim delegation at the Round Table Conferences. He was an internationally respected Muslim statesman and spiritual leader of the Ismaili community, giving the Muslim delegation significant prestige. He had also led the Muslim delegation to meet with the Viceroy in 1906 (the Simla Deputation that led to the Muslim League).
21. The “safeguards” that Muslim delegates demanded at the Round Table Conferences included _____.
Correct Answer: C. Separate electorates, one-third central representation, Sindh separation, full provincial status for NWFP and Balochistan, and protection of Muslim personal law
Explanation: Muslim delegates at the Round Table Conferences consistently demanded: separate electorates (Muslims vote only for Muslim candidates); at least one-third Muslim seats at the Centre; separation of Sindh from Bombay; NWFP and Balochistan given reformed province status; no law passed abridging Muslim personal law (Shariah in family/inheritance matters); religious freedom guarantees.
22. The Sikh position at the Round Table Conferences was to demand _____.
Correct Answer: C. Separate Sikh electorates and reserved seats in Punjab (where Sikhs were a minority despite being large landowners)
Explanation: Sikh representatives at the Round Table Conferences, led by figures like Sardar Ujjal Singh and Master Tara Singh, demanded separate Sikh electorates and reserved seats particularly in Punjab, where Sikhs were about 13% of the population but owned a disproportionate share of agricultural land and had a strong martial/political identity.
23. The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that reviewed the White Paper from the Round Table Conferences was chaired by _____.
Correct Answer: B. Lord Linlithgow
Explanation: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that reviewed the Round Table Conference White Paper (1933) and produced the recommendations for the Government of India Act 1935 was chaired by Lord Linlithgow. Linlithgow later became Viceroy of India (1936–43) under the very Act he had helped draft.
24. Winston Churchill’s position on the Round Table Conferences and Indian self-government was _____.
Correct Answer: C. Fiercely opposed — he led the “India Defence League” of Conservative MPs who fought against any Indian self-government
Explanation: Winston Churchill was the most prominent British opponent of Indian constitutional reforms. He formed the “India Defence League” of Conservative MPs, delivered passionate speeches against Indian self-government, refused to meet Gandhi during his London visit, and bitterly fought the Government of India Act 1935 through Parliament — calling it a “monstrous monument of sham built by the pigmies.”
25. The Round Table Conferences ultimately failed because _____.
Correct Answer: C. The Congress and minorities (especially Muslims) could never agree on a minorities protection formula, and Congress refused to accept separate electorates
Explanation: The fundamental deadlock at all three Round Table Conferences was the same: Congress rejected separate communal electorates (which Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits and other minorities all demanded) as divisive and anti-national; minorities rejected joint electorates without adequate representation guarantees. This irreconcilable difference led Britain to impose the Communal Award and draft the 1935 Act unilaterally.
26. The Government of India Act 1935 is also significant because it _____.
Correct Answer: C. Became the constitutional framework used by both independent India and Pakistan after 1947 until they adopted their own constitutions
Explanation: A remarkable legacy: the Government of India Act 1935, produced by the Round Table Conference process, was so comprehensive that both India and Pakistan used it (with adaptations) as their governing constitution at independence in 1947. Pakistan used it until adopting its first constitution in 1956; India used it as a framework for its Constitution adopted in 1950.
27. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s critique of Gandhi at the Round Table Conferences was that _____.
Correct Answer: B. Gandhi falsely claimed to represent Dalits (Untouchables) while opposing the very separate electorates that would give Dalits genuine political power
Explanation: Ambedkar’s powerful critique at the Round Table Conferences exposed Gandhi’s contradiction: Gandhi claimed to speak for all Indians including Dalits, yet opposed separate electorates that would allow Dalits to elect their own representatives. Ambedkar argued this was Congress/caste-Hindu colonialism of Dalits disguised as nationalism.
28. The term “dyarchy” introduced by the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) was finally abolished for provinces by the _____.
Correct Answer: C. Government of India Act 1935 (which gave provinces full responsible government)
Explanation: Dyarchy (the division of provincial subjects into “transferred” subjects under elected ministers and “reserved” subjects under the Governor) was a key feature of the 1919 Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. It was widely criticised as unsatisfactory. The Government of India Act 1935 — produced by the Round Table Conference process — abolished provincial dyarchy and gave provinces full responsible government.
29. The Simon Commission (1927–29) that preceded the Round Table Conferences was controversial because _____.
Correct Answer: C. It had no Indian members — all seven members were British MPs, triggering India-wide boycott protests with “Simon Go Back” demonstrations
Explanation: The Simon Commission (officially the Indian Statutory Commission), appointed to review the working of the 1919 reforms, had no Indian members — all seven were British MPs. This was seen as an insult to Indian political maturity and triggered massive protests across India: the famous “Simon Go Back” demonstrations where Lala Lajpat Rai was lathi-charged and subsequently died.
30. The Round Table Conferences produced a new constitutional principle for India: that future reforms would be discussed with Indian leaders, not imposed. This principle is called _____.
Correct Answer: C. Responsible government / progressive realisation of self-governing institutions (Montagu Declaration 1917 principle)
Explanation: The Round Table Conferences embodied the principle first stated in Edwin Montagu’s August 1917 declaration: India would progressively develop self-governing institutions as part of the British Empire. The Round Table process was the practical attempt to implement this — bringing Indian leaders to London to negotiate the next constitutional steps.