Discuss Gandhi-Irwin Pact in brief.

The Gandhi-Irwin Pact (5 March 1931 / Delhi Pact):

Signed in Delhi between Mahatma Gandhi and Viceroy Lord Irwin following months of negotiations, placing the Indian National Congress on an equal diplomatic footing with the British Raj:

• 1. Major Terms Agreed by Lord Irwin (British Government):
  • Immediate release of all political prisoners not convicted of violent offenses.
  • Remission of all uncollected fines and return of confiscated lands not yet sold to third parties.
  • Right to make salt for domestic consumption along coastal areas.
  • Right to peaceful picketing of foreign cloth and liquor shops.
• 2. Concessions Agreed by Mahatma Gandhi (Congress):
  • Suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
  • Agreement to participate as sole Congress representative in the Second Round Table Conference (London, 1931).
• Controversy: Irwin rejected Gandhi's plea to commute the death sentences of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru (executed on 23 March 1931).