Simon Commission and Constitutional Politics

The Simon Commission was a statutory body appointed by the British government to review the working of the Government of India Act 1919 and recommend future constitutional reforms.

Statutory Mandate and Early Appointment

• Section 84A of the Government of India Act 1919 mandated the appointment of a Royal Commission ten years after its enactment to investigate the progress of governance.
• The commission was scheduled for appointment in 1929. The Conservative Party government, led by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, feared defeat in the upcoming British general elections and anticipated that a Labour Party government might grant excessive concessions to Indian nationalists.
• The British government appointed the commission in November 1927, two years ahead of the statutory schedule.

Composition of the Commission

• The official title of the body was the Indian Statutory Commission.
• Sir John Simon served as the Chairman of the seven-member committee.
• All seven members were British Parliamentarians representing the Conservative, Liberal, and Labour parties. Clement Attlee, who later served as British Prime Minister during Indian independence, was a member.
• The total exclusion of Indian members led nationalists to label it the “White Commission.”

Indian Response and Boycott Movement

The exclusion of Indians from a body tasked with determining India’s constitutional future created widespread outrage across political groups.

Opposition Across Political Spectrum

• The Indian National Congress decided to boycott the commission “at every stage and in every form” during its annual session at Madras in December 1927, presided over by Dr. M.A. Ansari.
• The All India Muslim League split over the issue. The faction led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah boycotted the commission, while the faction led by Sir Muhammad Shafi in Lahore chose to cooperate.
• The Liberal Federation led by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, the Hindu Mahasabha, and the Central Sikh League opposed the commission due to its all-British composition.

Protests and Death of Lala Lajpat Rai

• When the commission landed in Bombay on February 3, 1928, it faced nationwide strikes, black-flag demonstrations, and slogans of “Simon Go Back.”
• An All-Parties Conference met in Delhi in February 1928 to organize unified opposition against the commission.
• On October 30, 1928, while leading a peaceful demonstration against the commission at Lahore Railway Station, Lala Lajpat Rai suffered severe police lathi charge injuries directed by Superintendent of Police James A. Scott.
• Lala Lajpat Rai succumbed to his injuries on November 17, 1928. His death led Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev to assassinate Assistant Superintendent of Police J.P. Saunders in December 1928.

The Challenge and Nehru Report

The boycott movement pushed British authorities to challenge Indian leaders to draft a workable constitution.

Birkenhead’s Challenge

• Lord Birkenhead, the Secretary of State for India, justified the all-British composition by claiming that Indian political factions could not agree on a unified constitutional framework.
• Birkenhead challenged Indian leaders to produce a draft constitution acceptable to all political parties and communities.

Nehru Report and Jinnah’s 14 Points

• Indian leaders accepted the challenge and convened the All Parties Conference, appointing an eight-member committee headed by Motilal Nehru to draft the constitution.
• The committee submitted the Nehru Report in August 1928, recommending Dominion Status, universal adult suffrage, joint electorates with reservation of seats for minorities, fundamental rights, and linguistic provinces.
• The report rejected separate communal electorates, leading Jinnah to withdraw his support and present his “Fourteen Points” in March 1929 to safeguard Muslim political interests.

Recommendations of the Simon Commission

The Simon Commission visited India twice—from February to March 1928 and from October 1928 to April 1929. It submitted its final two-volume report in May 1930.

Key Constitutional Proposals

• Abolition of Dyarchy: Recommended ending dyarchy in the provinces and establishing complete Provincial Autonomy. Provincial ministers were to handle all regional administrative portfolios.
• Unitary Center: Rejected the immediate establishment of responsible government at the center. Recommended that the Governor-General retain absolute executive powers and appoint his council members.
• All-India Federation: Proposed creating an All-India Federation comprising British Indian provinces and Princely States, setting the idea of federal integration in motion.
• Communal Representation: Recommended continuing separate electorates until communal tensions subsided, reversing the joint electorate proposals of the Nehru Report.
• Franchise Expansion: Suggested expanding the electoral franchise to cover 10 percent to 15 percent of the total population, up from 3 percent under the 1919 Act.
• Administrative Adjustments: Recommended separating Burma from British India and creating Sindh as an independent province separate from the Bombay Presidency.

Party Responses to the Commission

Impact on Future Constitutional Acts

The findings of the Simon Commission shaped subsequent constitutional discussions. The British government conceded that a report rejected by major Indian political parties could not form the sole basis for constitutional change. To address these limitations, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald convened three Round Table Conferences in London between 1930 and 1932. Representatives from British political parties, Indian political groups, and Princely States attended these meetings. The deliberations of the Round Table Conferences and the Simon Commission Report led directly to the publication of the White Paper on Constitutional Reforms in March 1933. This document served as the blueprint for the Government of India Act 1935, which adopted the recommendations on Provincial Autonomy, federal structures, and the administrative separation of Burma.

Key Historical Facts

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar appeared before the Simon Commission on behalf of the Depressed Classes Institute (Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha) in October 1928. He demanded direct political representation, education grants, and separate electorates for depressed classes. The Indian Central Committee was appointed by the Viceroy in 1928 to work alongside the Simon Commission. It comprised statutory members like Sankaran Nair, Arthur Froom, and Nawab Ali Khan to give the investigation an Indian advisory component. The Simon Commission report omitted any reference to “Dominion Status” as the goal of Indian constitutional progress. This omission sparked anger across India and pushed the Indian National Congress to pass the Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence) resolution at its Lahore session in December 1929, chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru. The Commission recommended that the Council of State retain its central legislative role while replacing the Legislative Assembly with a Federal Assembly elected indirectly by provincial legislatures. It also suggested creating a High Court setup independent of provincial executive interference.