31. Which of the following was NOT discussed at the Third Round Table Conference?
Correct Answer: C. The partition of India into India and Pakistan
Explanation: The Third Round Table Conference (1932) discussed federal finance, provincial constitutions, minorities representation, services, and other constitutional details feeding into the Government of India Act 1935. The partition of India into two separate states was not yet on the table — the Lahore Resolution demanding Pakistan would not come until 1940, eight years later.
32. The franchise (voting rights) after the Government of India Act 1935 was extended to how many Indians?
Correct Answer: C. About 30 million (roughly 14% of the population) — a major expansion from the 1919 reforms but still far from universal suffrage
Explanation: The Government of India Act 1935 expanded the Indian electorate from about 7 million (under the 1919 reforms) to about 30 million voters — mostly propertied men and some women who met property qualifications. This was still far from universal adult suffrage (India’s total population was about 350 million), but was unprecedented in scale for an Asian colony.
33. The Round Table Conferences’ venue in London was _____.
Correct Answer: C. St. James’s Palace (Royal Gallery of the House of Lords)
Explanation: The Round Table Conferences were held at St. James’s Palace in London (the formal plenary sessions in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords). Sub-committees met at various London government buildings. The grand venue reflected the constitutional importance the British government attached to the conferences.
34. Congress’s decision to boycott the First and Third Round Table Conferences was primarily based on _____.
Correct Answer: B. The Civil Disobedience Movement being active, making Congress participation in British-organized talks appear as surrender
Explanation: Congress boycotted the Round Table Conferences when Civil Disobedience was the Congress policy — participating in British-organised talks while simultaneously running a non-cooperation movement would have been politically contradictory. Only when Civil Disobedience was suspended (Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 1931) did Congress attend — the Second Conference. When the British reverted to repression (1932), Congress again boycotted.
35. The Burma separation question was also discussed at the Round Table Conferences. Burma was eventually separated from India in _____.
Correct Answer: C. 1937 (under the Government of India Act 1935)
Explanation: Burma’s separation from India was discussed at the Round Table Conferences. Burmese representatives wanted separation (to avoid being governed under Indian constitutional law) while some Indian leaders (concerned about losing the large Indian immigrant population in Burma) initially opposed it. The Government of India Act 1935 provided for Burma’s separation, implemented in April 1937.
36. The “safeguards” (Governor’s special powers) retained in the Government of India Act 1935 were criticised by Congress because _____.
Correct Answer: B. They allowed Governors to override elected ministers and veto legislation, making provincial autonomy less than genuine
Explanation: Congress denounced the Government of India Act 1935’s “safeguards” — powers reserved to Governors to intervene in provincial government, send messages to legislatures, certify legislation, and take over direct administration in emergencies. Congress called it a “charter of slavery” and refused to contest elections under it — until eventually deciding to participate in 1937.
37. Which Indian state / territory was specifically NOT included in the discussions for provincial autonomy at the Round Table Conferences?
Correct Answer: C. The Princely States (which had their own treaties with the Crown and were separate from British India)
Explanation: British India’s 11 provinces were subject to the provincial autonomy discussions. The 565+ Princely States (covering about 40% of India’s territory) had their own Paramountcy relationship with the Crown and could only join the proposed All-India Federation voluntarily — which most refused to do. Their fate was only resolved during the 1947 partition process.
38. The total number of Round Table Conferences held between 1930 and 1932 was _____.
Correct Answer: C. Three
Explanation: Three Round Table Conferences were held in London: First (November 1930 – January 1931), Second (September – December 1931), and Third (November – December 1932). Together they produced the constitutional recommendations that led to the Government of India Act 1935.
39. The Federal Court established by the Government of India Act 1935 was _____.
Correct Answer: C. India’s first supreme federal judiciary, established in Delhi as the highest court for constitutional matters
Explanation: The Government of India Act 1935 established a Federal Court of India (inaugurated October 1937) as India’s highest constitutional court for federal matters. It was the predecessor of both the Indian Supreme Court and the Pakistani Supreme Court after independence in 1947.
40. The Depressed Classes (Dalits) were represented at the Round Table Conferences by _____.
Correct Answer: C. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (who attended all three)
Explanation: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Oxford and Columbia University-educated Dalit leader, represented the Depressed Classes at all three Round Table Conferences. His powerful advocacy for Dalit political rights — particularly his confrontation with Gandhi over separate electorates — was one of the most significant dimensions of the entire conference process.
41. For Pakistan’s constitutional history, the most important outcome of the Round Table Conferences was _____.
Correct Answer: C. The Government of India Act 1935, which became Pakistan’s first interim constitution in 1947 (with Quaid-e-Azam as Governor-General)
Explanation: Pakistan’s constitutional origin traces directly to the Round Table Conference process. The Indian Independence Act 1947 stipulated that both new Dominions would be governed by the Government of India Act 1935 (suitably adapted). Pakistan used this Act as its constitution from August 1947 until the adoption of its first constitution in March 1956 — making the Round Table Conferences directly foundational to Pakistani constitutionalism.
42. The language used for the Round Table Conferences’ proceedings was _____.
Correct Answer: C. Primarily English, with translations provided — reflecting how English had become the lingua franca of Indian elite politics
Explanation: The Round Table Conferences were conducted primarily in English — a legacy of the Aligarh Movement and Macaulay’s educational reforms which had made English the language of Indian political and administrative elite. The fact that diverse Indian delegates from different regions and religions could all communicate in English was itself a product of 19th century educational policies.
43. The “minority pact” that failed to materialise before the Second Round Table Conference was the _____.
Correct Answer: C. An agreement between Congress and the minorities (Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits) on a shared representation formula — which all parties tried and failed to negotiate
Explanation: Before the Second Round Table Conference, British officials hoped Indian leaders could arrive with an agreed minorities representation formula (avoiding the embarrassing spectacle of Indian disunity in London). Multiple attempts were made — notably the All-Parties Conference (1928) and its Nehru Report — but no lasting Hindu-Muslim-Sikh agreement was reached, forcing Britain to impose the Communal Award.
44. The Round Table Conferences showed that Indian political unity _____.
Correct Answer: C. Was fractured along communal, caste, regional, class (zamindars vs. peasants), and princely lines — making a simple transfer of power extremely complicated
Explanation: The Round Table Conferences exposed the extraordinary complexity of Indian society: Hindu vs. Muslim vs. Sikh vs. Dalit divisions; landlord vs. peasant interests; nationalist vs. loyalist princely states; Congress modernists vs. traditional religious leaders; and regional differences. This fragmentation is one reason simple majority democratic government was seen by minorities as a potential tyranny requiring elaborate constitutional protections.
45. The “Reforms Enquiry Committee” (Muddiman Committee, 1924) that reviewed the 1919 reforms preceded the Round Table Conferences. It found that _____.
Correct Answer: B. Dyarchy was fundamentally flawed and producing administrative deadlocks, but its majority opposed accelerating reforms
Explanation: The Muddiman Committee (1924) found that the dyarchy system was indeed producing deadlocks between elected transferred ministers and British reserved ministers. Its majority report recommended cautious incremental changes; the minority dissent (from Indian members) called for more rapid progress towards full responsible government — setting the stage for the Simon Commission and Round Table Conferences.
46. After the Round Table Conferences, the Muslim League’s key constitutional demand that was satisfied by the Communal Award was _____.
Correct Answer: C. Retention of separate Muslim electorates — Muslims would continue to vote only for Muslim candidates in reserved Muslim seats
Explanation: The Communal Award (1932) confirmed separate Muslim electorates as demanded by the Muslim League at the Round Table Conferences. This meant Muslim voters would vote only in Muslim-reserved constituencies — preserving Muslim political identity as a distinct bloc. This system continued through the 1937 and 1946 elections until partition in 1947.
47. The Round Table Conference process took place during which phase of Gandhi’s political life?
Correct Answer: C. His mass movement phase — he led Civil Disobedience (1930–34) and only briefly suspended it to attend the Second Conference
Explanation: The Round Table Conferences (1930–32) coincided with Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Movement (launched March 1930 with the Salt March). Gandhi temporarily suspended Civil Disobedience via the Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 1931) specifically to attend the Second Conference, then relaunched it when the conference failed and Willingdon’s repression began (early 1932).
48. The Round Table Conferences’ treatment of the “Services” (Civil Service and Military) question involved _____.
Correct Answer: C. Discussing the Indianisation (gradual replacement of British with Indian officers) and future constitutional guarantees for civil servants’ tenure
Explanation: The Round Table Conferences debated the “Services” question extensively: How fast should British officers of the Indian Civil Service and Indian Army be replaced by Indians? What constitutional guarantees should civil servants get against political dismissal? These discussions shaped provisions in the Government of India Act 1935 protecting civil service tenure.
49. The Round Table Conference process demonstrated that the British government’s strategy was to _____.
Correct Answer: C. Transfer power gradually by expanding Indian participation in government while retaining imperial controls — a careful balancing act
Explanation: The British approach at the Round Table Conferences embodied cautious, step-by-step devolution: give Indians more control over provincial government; promise a future All-India Federation; but retain Viceregal authority at the center, Governor’s special powers in provinces, and British control of defence and foreign affairs. This “dominion status in stages” approach was too slow for Congress but genuinely too fast for Churchill’s wing.
50. The Round Table Conferences’ most enduring legacy for the subcontinent is _____.
Correct Answer: C. The Government of India Act 1935 — which governed both India and Pakistan at independence and forms the constitutional DNA of both modern states
Explanation: The Round Table Conferences’ most tangible and enduring legacy is the Government of India Act 1935. Beyond governing both countries at independence, its structure — strong central government with provincial autonomy, an independent judiciary, a bicameral legislature, fundamental rights — shaped the constitutional architecture of both India’s 1950 Constitution and Pakistan’s 1956 Constitution. The Act remains one of the most consequential pieces of British imperial legislation.