In January 1931, the Quaid called for his daughter
and sister Fatima in London and took up residence there. He was disappointed by the attitude of the British and the Hindus at the Round Table
Conferences. He wrote in a letter to his friend Abdul Matin Choudary:
‘I have come to the conclusion that I can be more
useful here at any rate for the present. The centre of gravity is here and for
the next two or three years London will be the most important scene of the
Indian drama of constitutional reforms.’
The Quaid addressing the students of the Muslim
University Union said:
“I received the shock
of my life at the Round Table conference…. I began to feel that neither could I
help India, nor change the Hindu mentality, nor make the Mussalmans realize
their precarious position. I felt so disappointed and so depressed that I
decided to settle down in London. Not that I did not love India; but I felt
utterly helpless. I kept in touch with India. At the end of four years I found
that the Mussalmans were in the greatest danger. I made up my mind to come back
to India, as I could not do any good from London.”
When the Indians delegates at the Round Table conference had been unable to agree upon
any suitable reforms especially concerning the communal issue, the job was left
to the British once again. The British Prime Minister announced the Communal
Award on the 16th of April 1932, in which he introduced reforms on
the lines of Lucknow Pact, which was the only juncture in history when the Muslims and
Hindus had agreed uopn any issue. With the introduction of the Award
however, the Muslims lost their majority in important provinces like Bengal and
Punjab which was a set back for them. The understanding that had been reached
between Gandhi and Irwin had been nullified as Nehru was arrested before Gandhi
got back from London after the Round Table Conference. Gandhi officially
resigned from the Congress in October 1934 but still was a supporter of the
Congress.