At the end of 1927 the British Government, in pursuance of the Government of India Act of 1919, appointed a statutory Commission to inquire into the working and future of Indian Constitution. It consisted of members of Parliament and no Indian was represented on it. The All-Parties Conference, which had been convened by the Congress to protest against the composition and terms of reference of the statutory commission, was now asked by the Congress leaders to prepare a Constitution for India to confound Birkenhead and the British Government. The Conference appointed a committee, with Motilal Nehru as Chairman. The report of this Committee is known as the Nehru Report.
It would be pertinent to recall that in February 1928, an All Parties Conference was held. A committee as referred to above was formed under the chairmanship of Motilal Nehru to formulate a constitution for a 'Responsible Government' in India within the colonial framework. The composition of the committee was such that there was little hope for a sympathetic consideration of Muslim League formula. Only two Muslims namely Shoaib Qureshi and Sir Ali Imam, represented the Muslims. It is interesting to observe that Ali Imam attended only one meeting whereas Shoaib Qureshi wrote a discenting note on the Nehru Report, The report as expected, ignored all Muslim demands. The constitution thus outlined was a unitary one, strong Centre with no power to the provinces. The Congress had actually yielded to all the demands of Hindu Mahasabha. The Indian National Congress and fanatic Hindu Mahasabha had joined hands. Nehru Report was also a manifestation of Hindu attitude reflecting that they did not need the cooperation of Muslims in their struggle for the independence of India.
Recommendations of Nehru Report
- "Full responsible Government of the model of the constitution of the self-governing dominions to be introduced in the subcontinent;
- Separate electorate should be replaced by the joint electorate with reservation of seats for the minorities in proportion to their population;
- The foreign affairs, defence and army should be placed under the control of parliament and Viceroy;
- Sindh should be separated from Bombay to form a new province. Full provincial status should be given to N.W.F.P. and Balouchistan;
- Unitary form of Government to be established at the Centre;
- The Muslims would be given representation in the Indian Legislative council according to their population."
The Nehru Report failed to make an impact on the public as it aired the Hindu-Muslim rift. It recommended a full responsible government in the Centre in which the Hindu majority was to have a sway in political authority. Further, the Report clearly rejected federation as a possible solution of the communal problem. The Muslim League's resolution of 1924 was not even mentioned in the Report. The immediate result of the Publication of the Report was that Muslims of all shades of opinion united in opposition to it. The two wings into which the Muslim League had been split since 1927 came closer.
The Muslims, therefore, had no other course left open than to formulate their demands afresh that led to the holding of an All-Parties Muslim Conference in 1929. The Conference presided over by the Aga Khan III, formulated the Muslims national demands, later known as "Jinnah's Fourteen Points."
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