Background:
The background of the Simon commission is connected with the Government of India Act 1919 which is also called Montegue Chelmsford Reform.
With this act, the British government had increased the participation of Indians in the Indian administration.
It was also thought in this act that a commission would be appointed after 10 years of this act and would see the progress. The commission also gives advice if needed.
In 1927, Lord Birkenhead was secretary of state of India. Under his supervision, the Simon Commission was set up in 1927.
What was Simon commission:
There were 7 members of the British Parliament in Simon commission and Sir John Simon was made the chairman of this commission and this commission was also named after Sir John Simon.
Why was Simon Commission Boycotted/Rejected in India:
The Indians did not accept the Simon Commission because all the members were British. Whereas in the Government of India Act 1919, the British government wanted more number of Indians in Indian policy making.
Different parties like Congress, Muslim League had also thought of boycotting the Simon Commission.
When Lord Birkenhead came to know about this, he replied that the Indians were not capable enough to make a constitution.
The constitution should be such that it is accessible to every class, community, and political party of India.
Birkenhead said that the Simon Commission has been formed, but if you think that you can make a constitution, then you should also make a constitution. The Indians accepted this challenge.
In December 1927, the Madras session of the Congress was held with Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari as its president.
Two decisions were taken in this session, the first being that there would be no cooperation with the Simon Commission, and the second will be an all-party conference to draft the Indian Constitution.
The All Party Conference formed a committee and its president was Motilal Nehru. The report prepared by this committee is called the Nehru Report.
When Simon Commission came to India in 1928, there was a strike all over the country. Black flags were shown to the members of the Simon Commission from place to place.
People were raising slogans of Simon Go Back from place to place. In Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai agitated against the Simon Commission and an officer named Scott ordered a lathi charge.
Lala Lajpat Rai was badly injured in the lathi charge and died of a heart attack in 1928.
On 28 August 1928, in the Lucknow session of the All Party Conference, the Nehru Committee submitted its draft report.
However, this report was not accepted as many delegates did not accept this report. Actually, the demand for Dominion Status was made in the Nehru Report, which angered Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose.
Therefore, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose together started a new organization in April 1928 called the Independence of India League.
After this, Motilal Nehru himself was the President in the Calcutta session of the Congress in 1928. Here Nehru Committee published his final report and it was also accepted on the basis of majority. Here also the demand for Dominion status was made.
The report was submitted to the British government and it was told that if this report is not accepted after a year, then to be ready for a new movement.
The Simon Commission published its report in May 1930. The British government said that both these reports will be discussed in the 3rd round table conference and then it will be decided which points are to be kept and which are not.
Both the British and Indian members are present in Round Table Conferences.
Between 1930 and 1932, there were 3 round table conferences, on the basis of which the Government of India Act 1935 was made.
In the Government of India Act 1935, most of the points were from the Simon Reports and very few points were from the Nehru Reports.
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