14. NEHRU REPORT (1928)

In response to a challenge by the British Secretary of State (Lord Birkenhead) that Indians could not agree on a constitution, an All Parties Conference appointed a committee chaired by Motilal Nehru to draft a constitution for India.
Members included Motilal Nehru (Chairman), Tej Bahadur Sapru, Subhas Chandra Bose, and others; Jawaharlal Nehru acted as secretary.
Report presented August 1928; key recommendations:
- Dominion Status for India (not full independence) as the immediate political goal.
- Joint (not separate) electorates, with reservation of seats for minorities in provinces where they were significant.
- Fundamental rights, and a bicameral central legislature.
- Full responsible government at the centre.
Rejected by the Muslim League (led by Jinnah, who proposed his "Fourteen Points" in 1929 in response, demanding separate electorates, one-third Muslim representation in the central legislature, and provincial autonomy) — deepened Hindu-Muslim political divide.
Also debated within Congress: younger radicals (Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose) pushed for full independence (Purna Swaraj) rather than Dominion Status — this tension fed into the 1929 Lahore session.