Question

With reference to the period of the Indian freedom struggle, which of the following was/were recommended by the Nehru report?

1. Complete Independence for India.

2. Joint electorates for reservation of seats for minorities.

3. Provision of fundamental rights for the people of India in the Constitution.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:  

1. 1 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : 2 and 3 only

The correct answer is 2 and 3 only.

• Nehru report: 
  • “Nehru Committee Report“ was also called as the draft constitution that was prepared in 1928.
  • The Nehru Report had the primary motive of assigning Dominion status to India within the British Commonwealth.
  • When the Simon Commission came to India in 1928, it was vehemently opposed by Indians especially the Congress Party for the lack of a single Indian in the Commission.
  • So, the Secretary of State for India, Lord Birkenhead challenged the Indian leaders to draft a constitution for India, implicitly implying that Indians were not capable of finding a common path and drafting a constitution.
  • The political leaders accepted this challenge and an All Party Conference was held and a committee appointed with the task of drafting a constitution.
  • This committee was headed by Motilal Nehru with Jawaharlal Nehru as the Secretary. Other members were Ali Imam, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Mangal Singh, M S Aney, Subhas Chandra Bose, Shuaib Qureshi and G R Pradhan.
  • The draft constitution prepared by the committee was called the Nehru Committee Report or Nehru Report. The report was submitted at the Lucknow session of the all-party conference on August 28, 1928.
  • This was the first major attempt by Indians to draft a constitution for themselves.
  • Recommendations of the report:
    • Dominion status for India. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
    • Nineteen fundamental rights including the right to vote for men and women above 21 years of age, unless disqualified. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
    • Equal rights for men and women as citizens.
    • A federal form of government with residual powers with the centre. There would be a bicameral legislature at the centre. The ministry would be responsible to the legislature.
    • Governor-General to be the constitutional head of India. He would be appointed by the British monarch.
    • A proposal for the creation of a Supreme Court.
    • The provinces would be created along linguistic lines.
    • No separate electorates for any community. It did provide for reservation of minority seats. It provided for reservation for seats for Muslims at the centre and in provinces where they were in a minority and not in Bengal and Punjab. Similarly, it provided for reservation for non-Muslims in the NWFP. Hence, statement 3 is correct.