Why did the Indian National Congress demand Purna Swaraj in 1929?

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Collage of raised-fist silhouettes over a halftone orange, yellow, and green background, featuring historic newspaper text and faint crowd imagery. — Indian Independence Movement In August 1947 British rule ended on the Indian subcontinent.

The Indian National Congress demanded Purna Swaraj ("Complete Self-Rule") in 1929 because the goal of dominion status—which would have granted India a position within the British Empire similar to that of Canada or Australia—was increasingly viewed by party leaders as inadequate.1

While the Nehru Report of 1928 had initially articulated a demand for dominion status, the Congress Party revised its objective to press for full sovereignty. During the party's session in Lahore in December 1929, under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress passed the Purna Swaraj resolution, decisively rejecting the idea of remaining a dominion. This resolution was publicly declared on January 26, 1930, establishing complete independence as the definitive goal of the movement.123