Prelims MCQ · Modern History and the Freedom Struggle

The Second Round Table Conference deadlocked over demands for separate electorates and minority safeguards. Ramsay MacDonald warned that Britain might impose a settlement if Indian representatives failed to agree. The subsequent Communal Award granted separate electorates to the depressed classes, provoking Gandhi’s fast and negotiations leading to the Poona Pact.

Which one of the following conclusions best follows?

Indian representatives unanimously accepted joint electorates during the Second Conference, leaving Britain no role in determining minority representation.
Failure to reach an Indian agreement enabled British arbitration, turning the representation dispute into a political crisis that produced a negotiated modification through the Poona Pact.
The Poona Pact retained separate electorates for the depressed classes while reducing their reserved representation.
The Communal Award resolved the demand for Indian freedom and brought the Civil Disobedience Movement to an agreed conclusion.