History Notes Page 1 Section 2
NEHRU REPORT
WHY IT WAS ISSUED?
The Nehru Report was issued as a response to the rejection of the proposals
made by the Simon Commission. The Congress, not satisfied with the ideas
presented by the Simon Commission, particularly in terms of benefits for
Hindus, decided to put forth its own vision for constitutional reforms in India.
The Simon Commission's recommendations did not align with Congress's
desires for more advantages for Hindus, leading to a rejection of those
proposals. In response, the Congress felt the need to present its own
suggestions for shaping the future of India.
Additionally, the Nehru Report was influenced by the broader context of
discussions among Congress leaders and leaders from other parties
regarding constitutional reforms. The Nehru Report focused on suggesting
constitutional reforms that would provide a political structure for India. It
recommended the establishment of a federal form of government with a
strong center and provinces having autonomy in certain matters. The idea
was to create a political system that would address the diverse needs and
interests of the various regions within India.
The Congress agenda, or their plan, was also to give fewer rights and less
power to Muslims. The Nehru Report, by not considering separate
electorates and not giving enough importance to the rights of minority
groups, fit with this plan. It totally alienated, or pushed away, Muslims
because they felt that Congress was denying the promises made in the
Lucknow Pact and not giving them the rights they wanted. So, the Nehru
Report marked the end of cooperation between Congress and Muslims
because it went against what was agreed upon before, making Muslims
feel like they were losing their rights.
Moreover, the Nehru Report was a reaction to Lord Birkenhead's comments
about Congress. Lord Birkenhead had remarked that Congress was not a
mature party and couldn't frame a good constitution. In response, Congress
wanted to demonstrate its capability to make decisions independently for
India.
NEHRU REPORT
In 1928 members of Congress, League, Liberals, Hindu Mahasaba, Sikh
League & so on met in All-Party Conference to frame the future
constitution.
The Muslims were also called for this but in the committee they had
nominal representation.
Moti Lal Nehru chaired the meeting and devised the constitution known as
“Nehru Report” with the recommendations:
History Notes Page 2 Section 2
A responsible govt. on the basis of self-governing dominion to be formed.
Separate electorates should not be given to the minorities & through joint
electorate reserved seats should be given according to population.
The departments such as foreign affairs, army and defense should be
controlled by parliament and Viceroy.
A Unitary form to government in Center & India to be a federation with
two-chamber parliament.
Hindi should be given the status of official language.
Men and women and all religions should have equal rights.
The voting right for all adult men and women.
Separation of Sindh from Bombay & full provincial status for NWFP and
Baluchistan.
Jinnah proposed three amendments, which were:
In the central Legislature, one-third representation for the Muslims.
In the Punjab and Bengal Muslim representation on the basis of
population.
Main powers should be given to Central govt. but the remaining powers
should be given to provinces.
The Congress rejected all these amendments.
The Nehru report ended any future cooperation between the Congress
and the Muslim League.
It is considered as the turning point between the Hindu-Muslim relations.
Whatever they had accepted in the Lucknow pact, they even rejected all
those agreements.
So, the Muslims could not trust the Hindus anymore because they had
been betrayed several times.
WHY ALL INDIA MUSLIM CONFERENCE REJECTED NEHRU REPORT?
Firstly, back in 1916 in Lucknow, the Congress and Muslim League agreed
to have separate electorates for Muslims. This means Muslims would vote
separately. But later, when Nehru wrote a report, the Congress changed its
mind. They didn't want separate electorates anymore. This upset the
Muslims because having separate electorates was one of their main wishes.
Since Congress didn't agree, Muslims had to say no to Nehru's report.
Secondly, the Muslim League was worried about Punjab and Bengal. They
thought that in these places, not everyone would be allowed to vote. So,
they wanted seats reserved for Muslims based on how many people there
were. This means they wanted a fair share in the government. They were
worried that if they didn't do this, Muslims might not get a fair chance to
vote.
Lastly, Nehru's report said Hindi should be the main language for the
government. But this upset the Muslims because they really liked Urdu, and
it was an important part of their culture. Many Muslims didn't know Hindi
History Notes Page 3 Section 2
well, and if Hindi became the main language, they might not get
government jobs. This made Muslims feel like the Hindus were trying to be in
control and take away their culture and language. So, the Nehru report
made Hindu-Muslim relations worse because Muslims felt their way of life
was in danger.
History Notes Page 4 Section 2
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS SOLVED
BY MUHAMMAD YOUSUF MEMON
Question 1 N2016/P1/Q4/B
Explain why All India Muslim Conference rejected Nehru Report? [7]
After Writing Any 1 Paragraph from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 5 Marks
After Writing Any 2 Paragraphs from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 6 Marks
After Writing Any 3 Paragraphs from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 7 Marks
Firstly, back in 1916 in Lucknow, the Congress and Muslim League agreed to
have separate electorates for Muslims. This means Muslims would vote
separately. But later, when Nehru wrote a report, the Congress changed its
mind. They didn't want separate electorates anymore. This upset the Muslims
because having separate electorates was one of their main wishes. Since
Congress didn't agree, Muslims had to say no to Nehru's report.
Secondly, the Muslim League was worried about Punjab and Bengal. They
thought that in these places, not everyone would be allowed to vote. So, they
wanted seats reserved for Muslims based on how many people there were. This
means they wanted a fair share in the government. They were worried that if
they didn't do this, Muslims might not get a fair chance to vote.
Lastly, Nehru's report said Hindi should be the main language for the
government. But this upset the Muslims because they really liked Urdu, and it
was an important part of their culture. Many Muslims didn't know Hindi well,
and if Hindi became the main language, they might not get government jobs.
This made Muslims feel like the Hindus were trying to be in control and take
away their culture and language. So, the Nehru report made Hindu-Muslim
relations worse because Muslims felt their way of life was in danger.
Question 2 QUESTION BY MYM
Why Nehru Report was issued? [7]
After Writing Any 1 Paragraph from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 5 Marks
After Writing Any 2 Paragraphs from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 6 Marks
After Writing Any 3 Paragraphs from Paragraphs Mentioned Below You Will Score L3 7 Marks
The Nehru Report was issued as a response to the rejection of the proposals
made by the Simon Commission. The Congress, not satisfied with the ideas
presented by the Simon Commission, particularly in terms of benefits for Hindus,
decided to put forth its own vision for constitutional reforms in India. The Simon
Commission's recommendations did not align with Congress's desires for more
History Notes Page 5 Section 2
advantages for Hindus, leading to a rejection of those proposals. In response,
the Congress felt the need to present its own suggestions for shaping the future
of India.
Additionally, the Nehru Report was influenced by the broader context of
discussions among Congress leaders and leaders from other parties regarding
constitutional reforms. The Nehru Report focused on suggesting constitutional
reforms that would provide a political structure for India. It recommended the
establishment of a federal form of government with a strong center and
provinces having autonomy in certain matters. The idea was to create a
political system that would address the diverse needs and interests of the
various regions within India.
The Congress agenda, or their plan, was also to give fewer rights and less
power to Muslims. The Nehru Report, by not considering separate electorates
and not giving enough importance to the rights of minority groups, fit with this
plan. It totally alienated, or pushed away, Muslims because they felt that
Congress was denying the promises made in the Lucknow Pact and not giving
them the rights they wanted. So, the Nehru Report marked the end of
cooperation between Congress and Muslims because it went against what
was agreed upon before, making Muslims feel like they were losing their rights.
Moreover, the Nehru Report was a reaction to Lord Birkenhead's comments
about Congress. Lord Birkenhead had remarked that Congress was not a
mature party and couldn't frame a good constitution. In response, Congress
wanted to demonstrate its capability to make decisions independently for
India.
History Notes Page 6 Section 2
04 MARKS
What was Nehru report?
It was drafted by the Nehru Committee, headed by Mr. Motilal Nehru and
approved by the All-Party Conference in September 1928. It asked for
Dominion status or selfrule for India, a federal form of government with a
bicameral parliament and Hindi as the official language of India. It also
rejected the separate electorates for minorities though it recommended a
system of reserved seats in the central parliament. This meant there would be
no separate electorates or one third seats in the Central Government for
Muslims. Gandhi gave a deadline of one year to the British to accept it. In
January 1929, the All India Muslim Conference rejected the report.
