ABSTRACT
For Jinnah the meeting of the Round Table Conference in London in November 1930 was the fulfilment of a long-cherished wish. The Conference was inaugurated on 12 November with a brief ceremony by the King in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords. The Conference resumed its plenary meetings in St. James Palace on 17 November. The first five days were devoted to important issues as to whether the Indian constitution should be federal or unitary. Jinnah clarified his stand in emphatic terms. The negotiations for a Hindu–Muslim accord continued almost till the end of the Conference, and at times it seemed that the only difficulty was Sikh opposition to statutory majority for Muslims in the Punjab. The First Round Table Conference ended on 19 January 1931 on an inconclusive note with a carefully phrased statement from the Prime Minister designed to please all.
