SIMON COMMISSION, NEHRU REPORT, 14 POINTS OF JINNAH JINNAH’S DEHLI PROPOSALS MARCH ͳ9ʹ7:

1: Sind should be separated from Bombay and should be constituted into an independent province. 2:
Reforms should be introduced in the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan on the same footing
as in any other province of India. 3: Reservation of seats according to the population for different
communities in the Punjab and Bengal. 4: Muslims should be given 1/3rd representation in the Central
Legislature. THE SIMON COMMISSION 1927  The government of India act 1919 stated that a
commission was going to be set up after 10 years to enquire the working of the Montague Chelmsford
Reforms.  Conservative Government feared to lose power to the Labor part so it decided to bring date
of Simon Commission forward.  In 1927 a seven men committee was formed under the supervision of
John Simon to consider India’s situation. All of them were British. Composition of committee was
considered insult in India. And for that reason immediate protest was raised from all the important
political parties. When the Simon Commission arrived, the local masses welcomed it by with slogans of
"Go back Simon!". All the major political parties of Sub-continent, except the Shafi League of Punjab,
boycotted the Simon Commission.  All parties decided to settle their differences & work in opposition
to the Simon commission.  In May 1928, Congress, ML, Liberals, Hindu Mahasaba & Sikh league met in
all part conference to draft constitution which Indian people thought to govern their country and finally
Nehru report was introduced.  Motilal Nehru headed this committee. There were nine other members
in this committee including two Muslims, Syed Ali Imam and Shoaib Qureshi.

"The Provincial Legislative Assemblies of Punjab and Bengal were to meet in two groups: Muslim
majority districts and non-Muslim majority districts. If either group decided to divide the province, the
Governor General would set up a boundary commission to mark the borders based on the majority
areas of Muslims and non-Muslims.

The Legislative Assembly of Sindh (excluding its European Members) was to choose whether to join the
existing Constituent Assembly or the new one.

To decide the future of the North West Frontier Province, a referendum was proposed, using the same
voters as the 1946 provincial legislative assembly election.

Baluchistan would also be given a chance to express its opinion on the matter.

If Bengal decided to split, a referendum would be held in the Sylhet District of Assam to decide if it
would stay part of Assam or join the new province of East Bengal."

There were following recommendations on Commissions report: 1. The Diarchy system in the provinces
should be abolished. 2. The power of the central government and the provincial governors should be
reduced. 3. Federal system of government should be introduced in India. 4. The right to vote should be
extended to more people. 5. The separation of Sindh was not granted. 6. The demand of the frontier for
equal status was also neglected. NEHRU REPORT 1928 The following were the recommendations
advanced by the Nehru Report: 1. India should be given the status of a dominion. 2. There should be
federal form of government in India. 3. India should have a parliamentary form of government. 4. There
should be bi-cameral legislature. 5. There should be no separate electorate for any community. 6.
System of weightage for minorities should be rejected. 7. Reservation of Muslim seats should not be
maintained. 8. Muslims should enjoy one-fourth representation in the Central Legislature. 9. Sindh
should be separated from Bombay. 10. The N. W. F. P. should be given full provincial status. 11. Hindi
should be made the official language of India. The recommendations of the Nehru Report went against
the interests of the Muslim community. It was an attempt to serve Hindu predominance over Muslims.
The Nehru Committee's greatest blow was the rejection of separate electorates. If the report had taken
into account the Delhi Proposals, the Muslims might have accepted it. But the Nehru Committee did not
consider the Delhi Proposals at all while formulating their report. The Muslims were asking for one-third
representation in the center while Nehru Committee gave them only one-fourth representation. It is
true that two demands of Muslims were considered in the Nehru Report but both of them incomplete. It
was said that Sindh should be separated from Bombay but the condition of self-economy was also put
forward. It demanded constitutional reforms in N. W. F. P. but Baluchistan was overlooked in the

report. Of the two Muslim members of the Nehru Committee, Syed Ali Imam could attend only one
meeting due to his illness and Shoaib Qureshi did not endorse views of the Committee on the issue of
Muslim representation in legislature. Thus the Nehru Report was nothing else than a Congress
document and thus totally opposed by Muslims of the Sub-continent. The Hindus under Congress
threatened the government with a disobedience movement if the Nehru report was not implemented
into the Act by December 31, 1929. This Hindu attitude proved to be a milestone in the freedom
movement of the Muslims. It also proved to be a turning point in the life of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. After
reading the Nehru Report, Jinnah announced a 'parting of the ways' and introduced his famous 14
points. The Nehru Report reflected the inner prejudice and narrow-minded approach of the Hindus.