Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, more commonly known as Lord Irwin, was a senior British Conservative politician of the 1930s and the Viceroy of British India from 3 April 1926 to 18 April 1931. During his tenure, major events occurred during the Indian Independence War, cementing his reputation in Britain as one of the most capable Viceroys to govern India. Lord Irwin was appointed 30th Viceroy and Governor-General of India on April 3, 1926. This was the most turbulent period in Indian politics. In this article, we will discuss the Viceroy of India Lord Irwin (1926-1931) which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

Lord Irwin

Lord Irwin - Background

• Lord Edward Frederick Wood Irwin, son of the second Viscount Halifax, was educated at Eton and served as a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1925.
• During that time, he held several cabinet ministerial positions. He was appointed Governor General and Viceroy of India in 1926, a position he held until 1931. During Irwin's viceroyalty, there was a lot of political upheaval.
• The Simon Commission Report, the Nehru Report, the All Parties Conference, Jinnah's 14 Points, the Civil Disobedience Movement, Round Table Conferences, and a variety of other issues had made his regime extremely stressful.
• In fact, the series of crises stemmed primarily from the exclusion of Indian leaders from the Simon Commission. New crises arose as a result of dealing with one political crisis.
• Another difficult issue was the issue of Dominion Status, as understood by Indian leaders and interpreted by the India Council.
• In April 1930, the Indian National Congress, led by Mahatma Gandhi, launched the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Significant Events under Lord Irwin

Simon Commission

• According to the provisions of the GOI Act 1919, the Simon Commission visited India in 1927 to investigate the progress of the governance scheme and suggest new reform steps.
• After 10 years of the GOI Act, such a commission was to be announced in 1929, but the conservative government in England advanced its date due to India's tumultuous political situation.
• This commission had no Indian members, and its seven members were drawn from three British political parties. This provided Congress with an excellent opportunity to develop an agenda.
• They protested that the Simon commission was there to deprive them of their right to participate in the formation of their own country's constitution.
• The Madras session of the Congress passed a resolution advocating a boycott of the Simon Commission at all stages and in all forms.

Nehru Report, 1928

• The Simon commission visited India twice, in 1928 and 1929, and issued a report in 1930. Indians were uninterested in its discoveries.
• The secretary of state for India, Lord Birkenhead, challenged these congressmen to draft an Indian constitution.
• In February and May 1928, the political leaders accepted the challenge and convened an All Party Conference. To prepare the draft constitution, all political parties formed a committee led by Motilal Nehru.
• It was known as the Nehru Committee Report, and it was presented on August 28, 1928, at the Lucknow conference of all parties.

Lahore Session, 1929

• Lahore hosted the 1929 Congress session. This session was significant because the Indian National Congress, a prominent party, adopted the Poorna Swaraj, or complete independence, resolution in Lahore.
• Jawaharlal Nehru presided over this session, which was supported by Gandhi. On the Ravi River's bank, he raised the Indian tricolor flag.
• The Calcutta Congress session saw a near-split between leaders seeking dominion and those seeking complete independence.
• Finally, it was agreed that if the British parliament accepted the Nehru report by December 31, 1929, Congress would accept it in its entirety.
• If the report is not accepted by the British parliament, Congress will demand complete independence and organize a nonviolent non-cooperation movement.
• The one-year deadline passed without the government responding. The Congress Session in Lahore was then presided over by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
• The most important resolution was that the Nehru Committee Report had now expired and that Dominion status was no longer acceptable.
• A Poorna Swaraj Resolution, with Swarajya referring to complete independence, was passed.

Chittagong Armory Raid, 1930

• On April 18, 1930, an attempt was made to raid the Police and Auxiliary forces' armory in Chittagong, Bengal.
• The plan was to seize Chittagong's two main armories and then destroy the Telegraph and telephone offices.
• It was to be followed by the murder of Europeans. This conspiracy was carried out by 65 people under the guise of the Indian Republican Army.
• After that, all of the revolutionaries gathered outside the police armory, where leader Surya Sen took a military salute, hoisted the National Flag, and declared a Provisional Revolutionary Government.
• They then fled to the hills. The police were on a hot pursuit. Many of the members were apprehended, tried, and sentenced to life in prison.
• Surya Sen, the leader, was apprehended in 1933 after a tip. He was probably the last of the militant nationalists to be executed when he was hanged in 1934.

Dandi March (1930) to launch Civil Disobedience Movement

• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led the Dandi March, also known as the Salt March, Dandi March, and Dandi Satyagraha, an act of nonviolent civil disobedience.
• The march was a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly that lasted from March 12th to April 6th, 1930.
• Another reason for this march was that the Civil Disobedience Movement required a powerful inauguration to inspire more people to follow Gandhi's example.
• Gandhi began his march with 78 of his most trusted volunteers.
• Thousands more followed in his footsteps at Dandi, and Indian nationalists led crowds of citizens in making salt in the coastal cities of Bombay and Karachi.
• The march was 239 miles (385 kilometres) long, from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, which was then known as Navsari (now in the state of Gujarat).
• Along the way, an increasing number of Indians joined them. When Gandhi defied the British Raj salt laws at 8:30 a.m. on April 6, 1930, it sparked widespread civil disobedience by millions of Indians.
• Civil disobedience erupted throughout India, involving millions of Indians, and British authorities arrested over 60,000 people. On May 5, Gandhiji was arrested, but the satyagraha continued without him.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 1931

• After the First Round Table Conference failed, some pro-British members of the Indian Liberal Party, including Tej Bahadur Sapru, C.Y. Chintamani, and Srinivasa Sastri, urged Gandhi to meet with the Viceroy.
• The meetings between Gandhi and Irwin were pre-planned. To create a favorable environment, many congress leaders were released.
• The talks resulted in a Gandhi-Irwin pact on 5 March 1931, which proposed the following:
  • Gandhi would discontinue the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM);
  • Congress would participate in the Second Round Table Conference;
  • The ordinance enacted in response to the CDM would be withdrawn;
  • Those detained in connection with the CDM would be released;
  • People living near the sea coast would be allowed to collect duty-free salt;
  • The government would allow peaceful picketing of liquor stores.

Impact of Lord Irwin’s Tenure

• Irwin attempted to deal with political issues with patience and fortitude. However, the situation was so enigmatic and complex that traditional diplomacy and artistry appeared ineffective in the midst of unprecedented political upheaval.
• Hindus, Muslims, the Anglo-Indian community, extremists, and native states all had claims to be settled prior to the passage of the India Act.
• The crisis was exacerbated further by the fact that each of these communities was led by parties with diametrically opposed views on the intercommunal status to be recognised in the future constitution.
• Congress, the most organized party, represented a wide range of interests that wanted to be heard by the Viceroy, but it was nearly impossible to satisfy all of Congress' factions.
• As a strategy, Irwin had all of the Congress leaders behind the bar at one point, and then had opened negotiations with Gandhi alone at another. The strategy was successful. A deal known as the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was reached (on 5 March 1931).

Conclusion

Irwin held Mahatma Gandhi in high regard, and he expressed his admiration for Gandhi on several formal occasions before his departure. Irwin was more interested in academics than politics. In 1932, he turned down the position of Foreign Secretary in favor of becoming a Master of the Middleton Hunt. Later, Irwin was persuaded to become Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. From 1938 to 1940, he served as President. He inherited the title Viscount Halifax from his father in 1934. From 1935 to 1938, Irwin was the leader of the House of Lords. He was appointed Chancellor of Oxford University in 1933 and served in that capacity until his death on December 23, 1959.