Lord Irwin accepted Mahatma Gandhi’s offer in the 1931 Gandhi–Irwin Pact.
Irwin, whose title was the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, negotiated with Gandhi after the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Salt March had created sustained pressure on British rule. The agreement was signed on 5 March 1931. Congress agreed to suspend the movement and participate in the Second Round Table Conference in London.
The pact also included commitments involving political prisoners, confiscated property, peaceful picketing, and limited salt-making rights for coastal communities. It did not grant independence, and many Indian nationalists considered its concessions too modest. Nevertheless, it marked an important moment when the British government negotiated directly with Gandhi as a major representative of Indian political opinion.
Lord Irwin is often confused with later viceroys. Lord Linlithgow was viceroy during the 1942 Quit India Movement, while Lord Mountbatten was the last viceroy in 1947. The agreement’s name combines Gandhi and Irwin.