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Simon Commission NCERT Notes On UPSC Modern Indian History

The Simon Commission was appointed in 1928 by the British government to report on constitutional reforms in India. It was boycotted by Indian political parties because it did not include any Indian members. Mass protests erupted across the country opposing the all-British composition of the commission. The commission's report recommended more power to Indian legislatures but retention of separate electorates, and led to the Government of India Act of 1935 which formed the basis for India's post-independence constitution. The appointment of the Simon Commission galvanized the Indian independence movement.

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765 views2 pages

Simon Commission NCERT Notes On UPSC Modern Indian History

The Simon Commission was appointed in 1928 by the British government to report on constitutional reforms in India. It was boycotted by Indian political parties because it did not include any Indian members. Mass protests erupted across the country opposing the all-British composition of the commission. The commission's report recommended more power to Indian legislatures but retention of separate electorates, and led to the Government of India Act of 1935 which formed the basis for India's post-independence constitution. The appointment of the Simon Commission galvanized the Indian independence movement.

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UPSC Civil Services Examination

UPSC Notes [GS-I]

Topic: Simon Commission - NCERT Notes on UPSC Modern Indian


History

The Simon Commission was a group of 7 MPs from Britain who was sent to India in 1928 to study
constitutional reforms and make recommendations to the government. The Commission was originally
named the Indian Statutory Commission. It came to be known as the Simon Commission after its chairman
Sir John Simon.
Important for IAS Exam, this topic is a part of Modern Indian History. This article will provide relevant
information about the Simon Commission from both prelims and mains perspectives.

Simon Commission – Background


It was Government of India Act 1919 that announced that in 10 years from 1919, a royal commission will be
set up to report on the working of the act. Read the points below to understand the background of the Simon
Commission:

 Diarchy was introduced in India by the Government of India Act 1919. The Act also promised that a
commission would be appointed after 10 years to review the working and progress made on the
measures taken through the Act.
 The Indian people and leaders wanted a reform of the diarchy form of government.
 The Conservative Party-led government in the UK feared a defeat at the hands of the Labour Party
in the elections due, and so hastened the appointment of a commission in 1928 even though it was
due only in 1929 as per the 1919 Act.
 The Commission was composed entirely of British members with not a single Indian member being
included in it. This was seen as an insult to Indians who were right in saying that their destiny could
not be determined by a handful of British people.
 The Secretary of State for India, Lord Birkenhead had berated Indians on account of their perceived
inability to formulate a concrete scheme of reforms through consensus among all sections of the
Indian political scene.
 Lord Birkenhead was responsible for setting up the Commission.
 Clement Atlee was a member of the Commission. He would later become Britain’s Prime Minister
during Indian independence and partition in 1947.

Why was Simon Commission boycotted?


Indian Response:

 Indians were outraged at their exclusion from the Commission.


 The Congress Party decided to boycott the Commission at their session at Madras in 1927.
 The Muslim League led by M A Jinnah also boycotted it. A certain section of members led by
Muhammad Shafi supported the government.
 The Justice Party in the South decided to side with the government on this issue.
 When the Commission landed in February 1928, there were mass protests, hartals and black flag
demonstrations all over the country.
 People were chanting the slogan, ‘Simon Go Back.’
 The police resorted to lathi charges to suppress the movement. Even senior leaders like Pandit
Nehru were not spared.
 In Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai, who was leading the demonstration against the Simon Commission, was
brutally lathi-charged. He died later that year due to injuries sustained then.
 Dr. B R Ambedkar had submitted a report on behalf of the Bahishkrita Hitakarini Sabha on the
education of the depressed classes in the Bombay Presidency.

Impact of the Simon Commission


 The Commission’s report was published in 1930. Before the publication, the government assured
that henceforth, Indian opinion would be considered and that the natural outcome of constitutional
reforms would be dominion status for India.
 It recommended the abolition of diarchy and the setting-up of representative governments in the
provinces.
 It also recommended the retention of separate communal electorates until the communal tensions
had died down.
 The Simon Commission led to the Government of India Act 1935 which acted as the basis for many
parts of the current Indian Constitution.
 The first provincial elections were held in 1937 and it saw Congress governments being set up in
almost all the provinces.
 The arrival of the Commission gave an impetus to the Indian independence movement by
galvanizing leaders and masses.
Simon Commission is an important topic for Modern Indian History syllabus. Aspirants preparing for UPSC
2020 should carefully read the facts about the commission.

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