Nehru Report 1928

History glossary

Topic: The National Movement: Gandhian Era · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Nehru Report (1928) was a draft constitution for India. It was written by a committee of the All Parties Conference, chaired by Motilal Nehru, and finished in August 1928. It asked for dominion status, a list of fundamental rights, joint electorates with reserved seats for minorities, and linguistic provinces.

It matters for two reasons:

  • It was the first major attempt by Indians themselves to write a full constitution.
  • Its failure to win over Muslim leaders, especially Jinnah, was a turning point in the communal question. That failure helped create the demands that later led to partition.

Explanation

Background: why the report was written

  • The Simon Commission challenge
  • In 1927 the British set up the Simon Commission to suggest constitutional reforms. It had no Indian member.
  • The Secretary of State, Lord Birkenhead, challenged Indians to produce a constitution that all parties would accept.

  • Indian leaders took up the challenge to prove they could agree among themselves.

  • The 1927 near-settlement (the Jinnah formula)

  • Muhammad Ali Jinnah was willing to give up separate electorates (seats where only Muslim voters elect Muslim candidates).
  • In return he asked for reserved seats for Muslims in the Central Assembly, and representation in Bengal and Punjab in proportion to population.

  • This offer is usually called the Delhi Proposals (1927).

  • The All Parties Conference

  • The conference set up a committee under Motilal Nehru to draft a constitution.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru was its secretary. Tej Bahadur Sapru of the Liberals was one of its members.

Main features of the report

  • Dominion status. This meant India would govern itself inside the British Commonwealth, as Canada and Australia did. It did not mean complete independence.
  • Fundamental rights. These included equal rights for men and women, freedom of conscience and religion, and universal adult suffrage (every adult gets the vote).
  • No state religion. The state would not favour any one faith.
  • Joint electorates with reserved seats.
  • Joint electorates: all communities vote together in the same constituency.
  • Seats were to be reserved for Muslims at the Centre and in provinces where Muslims were a minority.

  • Seats were not to be reserved for Muslims in Punjab and Bengal, where they were a majority.

  • Linguistic provinces. Provinces would be drawn on the basis of language.

  • A strong Centre. Residuary powers (subjects not listed for either level) would go to the Centre, not to the provinces.

How it was received: the 1928 breakdown

  • The All Parties Conference, Calcutta, December 1928
  • Jinnah proposed changes. He wanted one-third of the seats in the central legislature for Muslims, seats reserved in Punjab and Bengal by population, and residuary powers given to the provinces.

  • M.R. Jayakar of the Hindu Mahasabha strongly opposed any compromise. Jinnah's changes were rejected and the talks broke down.

  • Muslim response.

  • Jinnah's group moved away from the report. Jinnah replied with his Fourteen Points (1929).

  • Some Sikh groups also objected to the report.

  • The split inside Congress.

  • Younger leaders, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose, did not accept dominion status. They wanted complete independence.
  • They formed the Independence for India League.

Results

  • At its Calcutta session (December 1928), Congress accepted the report but gave the British a one-year deadline.

  • If dominion status was not given by the end of 1929, Congress would demand complete independence.

  • When the deadline passed, Congress declared Purna Swaraj (complete independence) at its Lahore session (1929). This opened the way to the Civil Disobedience Movement.

  • On the communal side, the chance of a joint Hindu–Muslim settlement was lost.
  • In 1930, Muhammad Iqbal, as President of the Muslim League, again demanded separate electorates and spoke of a "Muslim India within India".

Time, place and evidence

  • Period: the Gandhian era. The report came between the Simon Commission (1927–28) and the Lahore Congress (1929).
  • Key places: the committee drafted the report in 1928, and it was presented in August 1928. It was debated at the All Parties Conference held in Calcutta in December 1928.
  • Key people:
  • Motilal Nehru (chairman)
  • Jawaharlal Nehru (secretary)
  • Tej Bahadur Sapru (member)
  • M.A. Jinnah, who proposed the amendments
  • M.R. Jayakar (Hindu Mahasabha), who blocked the compromise

  • Subhas Chandra Bose, a critic who wanted complete independence

  • Evidence:

  • The report itself, published as a document.
  • The records of the All Parties Conference.
  • Jinnah's Fourteen Points, his written answer to the report.
  • The resolutions of the Calcutta (1928) and Lahore (1929) sessions of Congress.

Don't confuse with

  • Delhi Proposals (1927): these were Jinnah's offer before the report. He would give up separate electorates in return for safeguards. The Nehru Report was the Congress-led reply, and it did not accept his main demands.
  • Jinnah's Fourteen Points (1929): these were the Muslim answer to the Nehru Report. They brought back the demand for separate electorates and asked for residuary powers for the provinces. The Nehru Report had given residuary powers to the Centre.
  • Purna Swaraj resolution (Lahore, 1929): this demanded complete independence. The Nehru Report asked only for dominion status.
  • Poona Pact (1932): this was about dalit (depressed classes) seats, not Muslim seats. It dropped separate electorates in favour of reserved seats filled by the general electorate [1]. The Nehru Report's offer of joint electorates with reserved seats for Muslims was never accepted.

Prelims Hooks

  • The Nehru Report (August 1928) was drafted by a committee chaired by Motilal Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru was its secretary.
  • It asked for dominion status, not complete independence. Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Bose opposed it for this reason and formed the Independence for India League.
  • It proposed joint electorates with reserved seats for minorities, but no reservation for Muslims in Punjab and Bengal.
  • M.R. Jayakar (Hindu Mahasabha) blocked Jinnah's amendments at the All Parties Conference, 1928.
  • Correct order: Delhi Proposals (1927) → Nehru Report (1928) → Fourteen Points (1929) → Lahore Purna Swaraj (1929) → Iqbal's address (1930).
  • Trap: the report gave residuary powers to the Centre, not to the provinces.

Mains Points

  • The first Indian constitution draft. The report contained ideas that later appeared in the Constitution of India: fundamental rights, adult suffrage, equal rights for women, no state religion and linguistic provinces. It also answered Birkenhead's claim that Indians could not agree on a constitution, at least on general principles.
  • Its failure shows the communal question was about the constitution, not only religion.
  • The 1927 Jinnah formula was dropped when the Hindu Mahasabha opposed it at the 1928 All Parties Conference.
  • Jinnah's Fourteen Points and Iqbal's 1930 demand followed.

  • Together these show that the Pakistan demand grew out of repeated failures to agree on minority safeguards, meaning who gets a guaranteed share of seats and power.

  • A bridge to Purna Swaraj.

  • The young radicals rejected dominion status, which made the gap between moderates and radicals inside Congress clear.
  • The one-year deadline set at Calcutta forced the issue. It led to the Lahore resolution of 1929 and the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1Poona Pact | History, Significance, & Factsbritannica.com · tier 3