A series of three conferences held in London (1930 to 1932) between the British government and Indian representatives to discuss constitutional reforms, following the recommendations of the Simon Commission.
- First Round Table Conference (1930 to 1931): boycotted by the Congress because Civil Disobedience was on; it discussed federation and provincial autonomy.
- Second Round Table Conference (1931): attended by Gandhi as the sole Congress representative after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact; it broke down over the communal question, with the British unwilling to commit to a clear timetable for self-rule.
- Third Round Table Conference (1932): attended by neither the Congress nor the major British Labour figures and produced little of substance.
- The discussions and deadlock over minority representation led directly to the Communal Award (1932) and the Poona Pact (1932).
- Their cumulative outcome fed into the White Paper of 1933 and ultimately the Government of India Act, 1935.
The "who attended which conference" sequence (Congress boycott of the first, Gandhi alone at the second, near-total absence at the third) is a classic objective question.
Gandhi attended only the Second Round Table Conference (1931); the Congress boycotted the first and effectively the third.
Three London conferences (1930 to 1932): Congress boycotted the first, Gandhi alone at the second, third produced little; led to the Communal Award and Poona Pact.