Irwin’s Declaration (october 31, 1929):
Before the Simon Commission report came out, the declaration by Lord Irwin was made to restore faith in the ultimate purpose of British policy. The Declaration was a five-line statement in simple non-legal language and it triggered political developments both in Britain and India.
The suggestion of Sir John Simon (suggestion was to convene a conference of the representatives of both British India and the Indian states to take a final decision on the question of constitutional reforms for India) was accepted by the British cabinet (at that time Ramsay MacDonald was British Prime Minister) and subsequently Lord Irwin, the governor general of India made his famous declaration, known as the ‘Deepavali Declaration’ (October 31,1929) according to which the objective of British policy was to grant Dominion status to India and a round table conference would be held in London after the Simon commission had reported.
> It said: “In view of the doubts which have been expressed both in Great Britain and in India regarding the interpretations to be placed on the intentions of the British government in enacting the statute of 1919, I am authorized on behalf of His Majesty’s Government to state clearly that in their judgment it is implicit in the Declaration of 1917 that the natural issue of India’s constitutional progress as they contemplated is the attainment of Dominion status.”
> However, there was no time scale. The dominion status promised by Irwin would not be available for a long time to come. Lord Irwin also promised a Round Table Conference after the Simon Commission submitted its report.