Cemented The Gulf/ Conclusion
The new era of the national freedom struggle was begun after the appointment of the Simon Commission. Congress decided to boycott the Commission “at every stage and in every form”, soon after the Muslim League decided to support the congress. Congress and the Muslim League tried to meet the Simon Commission’s challenge by meeting and trying to come up with an alternative approach to constitutional reform. As a gesture of unity with the nationalists, the Muslim league even accepted the joint electorates, provided seats were reserved for the Muslims. The inclusion of common electorates in the Report showed the cooperation between Congress and the Muslim League. As can be seen, not all demands of the Muslim League were met due to national interests rather than common interests, but instead, the report temporarily united the Muslim League and Congress, which previously accepted each other as a separate party. The Muslim League demanded residual powers for provinces but in the Report residual powers rested with the center, showing that the nation was given priority. Ultimately, the All-Party Convention failed to pass the Report because of communal interests but we can say that somehow Nehru Report was an attempt to cement the gulf between Congress and the Muslim League.
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Nehru’s Report – Gulf Between Congress and Muslim League
The Nehru Report proceeded with the primary aim of assigning Dominion status to India, situated under the British Commonwealth. The major components of the Nehru Report would include:
- Bills of Rights
- Assignment of Equal Rights to men and women as citizens
- Formation of a federal form of government with the help of residuary powers within the hands of center
- Proposal for the development of a Supreme Court.
In order to broaden and review the British Raj and the Government of India Act, of 1919 a seven-member Statutory Commission was set up by the British government to examine the issue of further constitutional reform. The two mainstream parties, Congress and the Muslim League, countered the commission in their own way and received full public support when the commission landed in Bombay, through rallies, boycotts, and hartals. The Indians were challenged to draft a constitution that was acceptable to all Indians, all parties, and all provinces. The challenge was taken seriously and the All-Party Conference took place, with all parties, including Congress and the Muslim League, working enthusiastically and collectively to finalize the recommendations of the report popularly known as the Nehru Report.