Prelims 2011 · archive
MediumWith reference to the period of 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 right for the people of India in the constitution.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
Answer (b): statements 2 and 3 are correct. The Nehru Report (1928) asked for dominion status, not complete independence, so statement 1 is wrong. It proposed joint electorates with seats reserved for minorities, and it included a bill of fundamental rights.
- ✗ 1. The Motilal Nehru Report called for dominion status. Complete independence (Purna Swaraj) became the Congress goal only at the Lahore session in December 1929, a year after the report.
- ✓ 2. The report rejected separate electorates. It proposed joint electorates with seats reserved for minorities: for Muslims at the Centre and in provinces where they were a minority.
- ✓ 3. The Motilal Nehru committee demanded a bill of rights in 1928. Its list of nineteen fundamental rights anticipated the Fundamental Rights later placed in India's Constitution.
- ✗ (d) This option is tempting because the report is remembered as a draft constitution. But it did not demand full independence, so statement 1 rules it out.
Remember · Nehru Report 1928 = dominion status (not Purna Swaraj) + bill of rights + joint electorates with reserved minority seats. Younger Congress leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Bose opposed the dominion goal. Jinnah rejected the report over Muslim representation and answered it with his Fourteen Points (1929).
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · Indian Constitution at Work, Chapter 2 “The Motilal Nehru committee had demanded a bill of rights as far back as in 1928.”
- NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 2 “1927–28: Simon Commission boycotted; Lala Lajpat Rai dies after police lathi charge; the Motilal Nehru Report calls for dominion status”
- Indian Freedom Struggle, 1857-1947 (MCRHRDI, Govt of India) ↗ “The Calcutta Session of the Congress in December 1928 gave an ultimatum to the British Government, that if dominion status was not granted by December 1929, a countrywide Civil Disobedience Movement would be launched.”
- Speech by the President of India at the Human Rights Day function ↗ “The Motilal Nehru Committee in 1928 and Tej Bahadur Sapru Committee in 1944-45 which drafted a Constitution for India laid emphasis on Fundamental Rights.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2011, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·