constitutional progress conditional on a solution of the communal problem,
and even offered to accept all Muslim claims provided they supported the
Congress demand for independence, but the Muslim delegates rejected the
offer while the Hindu Mahasabha and the Sikhs strongly opposed it. With
regard to the question of federation too, the Indian princes were less
enthusiastic than in the first session.
    The Conference ended with Ramsay MacDonald announcing the
formation of two new Muslim majority provinces (North Western Frontier
Province and Sind) and the setting up of an Indian consultative committee,
and three expert committee (on franchise, finance and states), and holding out
the prospect of a unilateral British communal award if the Indians failed to
agree on the minorities issue. An out manoeuvred and dejected Gandhi
returned to India and was immediately arrested and imprisoned by the
British.
Third Session (November 17 to December 24, 1932)
It was held without Congress representation, and was attended by a far
smaller number of representatives than that of the first two. In this session,
the delegates agreed on almost all the issues. The British government, on the
basis of the discussion at the three sessions, drafted its proposals for the
reform of the Indian constitution, which were embodied in the White Paper
published in March 1933. The White Paper was examined and approved by a
joint committee of the British Parliament (October, 1934) and a bill, based on
the report of this committee, was introduced and passed in the British
Parliament as the Government of India Act of 1935.
The Communal Award (1932)
On August 16, 1932, Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald made an
announcement in the British Parliament about the representation of Indian
communities in the provincial legislatures. Popularly known as the
‘Communal Award’, it provided for separate electorates for Muslims, Sikhs,
Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans. Secondly, the Depressed Classes
were assured separate special constituencies with a right to vote in the
remaining general constituencies also. Thirdly, special constituencies with
separate communal electorates       were to be constituted for women in all