Previous Year Question
Who amongst the following had demanded first the dominion status for India?
Raj Gopalachari and Sardar Patel
Pt. Motilal Nehru and Govind Ballabh Pant
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Jaykar
Jawaharlal Nehru and Jagjeevan Ram
Correct Answer: D
Detailed Solution
The UPPSC 2013 answer key marks option (c), Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Jaykar, as the correct answer.
Dominion Status referred to the status of a self-governing country within the British Commonwealth—providing substantial autonomy in internal administration while retaining a constitutional relationship with the Crown.
In 1928, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and M. R. Jayakar were among the important constitutionalist figures associated with the Nehru Committee. The Committee was chaired by Pt. Motilal Nehru, while Jawaharlal Nehru served as its Secretary. The resulting Nehru Report of 1928 proposed Dominion Status for India as a major constitutional objective.
During this period, two political approaches became increasingly distinct—one regarded immediate Dominion Status as a practical constitutional advance, while younger leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose increasingly pressed for complete independence.
Later, at the Lahore Session of December 1929, the Congress adopted Purna Swaraj as its objective. Thus, for examination purposes, Dominion Status should be distinguished from the later demand for complete independence.