New Delhi: On this day, the British government inaugurated the First Round Table Conference in London to deliberate upon India’s constitutional future. Convened amid rising political unrest, the conference was intended to discuss the framework of self-governance for India.
A total of 73 representatives, including 56 from India and 23 from Britain, attended the historic session — but notably, the Indian National Congress boycotted the event due to the ongoing Civil Disobedience Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. For the first time, Indian and British leaders sat across the same table as equals to discuss India’s political destiny.
The discussions revolved around the federal structure, provincial constitutions, minority rights, defense, and electoral representation. Proposals were made to separate Sindh and the North-West Frontier Province, while Dr. B. R. Ambedkar demanded a separate electorate for the Depressed Classes, and Tej Bahadur Sapru presented the idea of an All-India Federation, which gained support from the Muslim League.
Although the conference failed to achieve concrete results due to the absence of Congress, it marked the beginning of India’s constitutional evolution and set the stage for the later Round Table Conferences and the Government of India Act of 1935.
Important Historical Events on November 12:
- 1781: The British captured Nagapattinam.
- 1847: British physician Sir James Young Simpson used chloroform as an anesthetic for the first time.
- 1918: Austria became a republic.
- 1925: The United States and Italy signed a peace treaty.
- 1936: Temples in Kerala were opened to all Hindus.
- 1953: Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion resigned.
- 1956: Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia joined the United Nations.
- 1963: 164 people died in a train accident in Japan.
- 1969: Indira Gandhi was expelled from the Congress Party.
- 1974: South Africa was suspended from the UN General Assembly due to its apartheid policies.
- 1990: Japan’s Emperor Akihito was formally enthroned.
- 2001: An American Airlines plane crashed in New York, killing all 260 passengers.
- 2005: The 13th SAARC Summit began in Dhaka; India called for collective action against terrorism.
- 2008: India’s first unmanned lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, successfully entered its final lunar orbit.
- 2009: India’s Incredible India tourism campaign won the World Travel Award.
Birth Anniversaries:
- 1896: Salim Ali, Indian ornithologist and naturalist (National Bird Day).
- 1940: Amjad Khan, acclaimed Indian actor.
- 1943: B. N. Suresh, Indian space scientist.
Death Anniversaries:
- 1946: Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, freedom fighter and educationist.
- 2018: Ananth Kumar, Indian politician and MP from Bengaluru South.
Observances:
- National Bird Day (Birth anniversary of Dr. Salim Ali)
- World Pneumonia Day
(This story is a translated version from a syndicated Agency feed. Except for the headline, The content has not been edited by The Central Post staff.)
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