   descriptions of what happened vary greatly (listed from the most to least probable) 1. malaviya proposed round table, the viceroy lord reading agreed, mahatma gandhi sabotages the idea read p 194-5 (references not given) :"the prince of wales was due in calcutta on 24 december, and any more violent disorder there had to be prevented at all costs..... during the next two months over 30,000 people were arrested in india as a whole, and of the top leadership of the non-cooperation movement, only gandhi remained freeâ¦. there was a very real danger for the government that its new wave of repression would drive the liberals and moderates back into the congress camp, which would have been disastrous. malaviya had been urging the viceroy for some time to call a round-table conference with gandhi and the moderates. in mid-december, reading agreed, promising at the same time to release the political prisoners, end the repressive measures, and even grant 'full provincial autonomy' if gandhi would call off the non-co-operation movementâ¦.[footnote 1] at first, gandhi agreed. but he quickly changed his mind, wiring malaviya: ânon-co-operation can cease only after satisfactory result conference. in no case have i authority to decide for congress.â his âprivate notesâ made at the time give a more complex, perhaps more revealing, reason for his decision: âi am sorry,' he wrote, 'that i suspect lord reading of complicity in the plot to unman india for eternity.â[footnote 2] :"there is little doubt that if gandhi had agreed to attend the conference, the moderates would have joined forces with him to achieve substantial constitutional concessions. reading was prepared to give full responsible government to the provinces, despite the doubts of london and most of the senior governors. he told montagu: âi ... was prepared to act on my own responsibility if the proper assurances had been forthcoming.â this would have been not merely a step but a giant leap towards self-government, advancing the eventual transfer of power by a full 15 years. but it was not to beâ¦. at a stormy annual session of congress in ahmedabad, gandhi came under attack both from those who wanted to seek an accommodation with the government and those who wanted more militant action immediately. but in the end, as always, gandhi carried the day, his rejection of reading's offer was confirmed, and he was given dictatorial powers over non-co-operation.[footnote 5] he announced that the postponed campaign of 'offensive civil disobedience' in bardoli would go ahead. :"although they had been upset by gandhi's intransigence, some of the moderates were still hoping to find some way of bringing gandhi and reading together, to achieve the positive constitutiona
1922_in_India 1922_in_international_relations British_India Indian_independence_movement