Previous Year Question
With reference to the period of Indian freedom struggle, which of the following was/were recommended by the ‘Nehru Report’?
Complete Independence for India.
Joint electorates for reservation of seats for minorities.
Provision of Fundamental Rights for the people of India in the Constitution.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
The Nehru Report was prepared in 1928 by a committee chaired by Motilal Nehru. It was a major attempt by Indian leaders to present a detailed constitutional framework for the future government of India.
Statement 1 is incorrect.
The Nehru Report did not recommend complete independence for India. It proposed that India should receive Dominion Status within the British Empire, similar to Canada and Australia.
Young leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose opposed the acceptance of Dominion Status instead of complete independence. In the following year, the Lahore Session of the Congress in 1929 adopted Purna Swaraj as its objective.
Statement 2 is correct.
The Nehru Report recommended the abolition of separate electorates and the establishment of joint electorates throughout India.
Seats were to be reserved in proportion to population for Muslims in provinces where they were a minority.
No communal reservation was proposed in Punjab and Bengal, where Muslims constituted a majority.
Reservation was proposed for non-Muslims in the North-West Frontier Province.
The reservation arrangement was generally proposed for a period of ten years.
Statement 3 is correct.
The Report provided a detailed set of Fundamental Rights under the proposed Constitution. These principally included:
Equality before the law and equal civic rights.
Protection of personal liberty.
Freedom of opinion and expression.
Right to peaceful assembly and association.
Freedom of conscience and religion.
Right to Habeas Corpus.
Absence of a State religion.
Equal civic rights for men and women and voting rights at the age of 21.