With the abrupt end of the Non-cooperation movement and the following lull in the nationalist activities, the controversy of the Simon Commission again sparked the nationalistic fervour around 1928. The Commission was an all-white body of 7 Members of the British Parliament headed by Sir John Simon with the aim of proposing Constitutional reforms in the administration of the Government of India. It was also known as Indian Statutory Commission. Further, there was no Indian representative in the Commission, which led to feelings of humiliation among the national leaders. As a result, the Indian nationalist leaders boycotted and protested the arrival of the Commission.
Background:
The story begins in 1919 with the passing of the Government of India Act 1919. The Act was passed with the recommendations from Edwin Montagu and Lord Chelmsford, also known as Montagu- Chelmsford reforms. The Act declared that a commission would be formed to look into its application within ten years of its inception. The same Act also led to the advent of the Diarchy in India.
Lord Birkenhead of the British Government set up the Commission in November 1927 to analyze and suggest reforms in the operation of the said Act. He believed that Indians were not capable of formulating constitutional reforms that take into account the aspirations of the diverse section of the Indian society.
Interestingly, Clement Attlee was also a member of the Commission, who, in later years, became the Prime Minister of the UK and vehemently supported the Independence of India. His prime ministership at the time of independence played a vital role in making India genuinely free.
The Commission took off from the coast of Britain in January 1928. It reached India in February of the same year.
Suggestions by The Commission:
The Commission gave its final report to the British Government in 1930. Following were the suggestions made by it:
- The Commission recommended the abolition of the Diarchy in India. Diarchy was eventually abolished by the Government of India Act, 1935. The act proposed a representative form of Government with considerable autonomy given to provinces.
- However, the Commission suggested retaining the Governor’s power in provinces. Thus, in effect, there was little autonomy extended to the people’s representatives.
- The Commission extended the timeline of the Government governing the provinces.
- It also favored continuing separate electorates as long as Hindu-Muslim communal tensions were not pacified.
- The Commission found out untouchable could not access education and were also denied basic amenities.
- Simon commission also recommended conducting the Round Table Conferences to discuss their proposals with the Indian counterparts. Eventually, three conferences were held between 1930-1933. However, the conferences miserably failed. In 1933, their suggestions were presented in a white paper and were also discussed in the British Parliament.
Why Did Indians Oppose it?
Indian leaders sought to reform the Diarchy in India. However, no Indian representative was included in the Commission, which led to widespread resentment from all over the country.
Indian National Congress boycotted the Commission. The decision was taken in the Madras session headed by M.A. Ansari in 1927. Other Parties, such as the Jinnah-led Muslim League and the Liberal faction in Hindu Mahasabha, also boycotted the Commission. However, the Justice Party in South India and Punjab Unionists spoke in favor of the Government. Moreover, leaders like Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy supported the Commission.
All in all, the majority of the Indian leaders and masses were against the Simon commission, which is evident from the fact that a mass boycott was held in several parts of the country when the members landed in India. The protesters raised the slogan “Simon Go Back,” and black flags were raised in protest when the Commission arrived in February 1928.
Moreover, Jawaharlal Nehru passed a scathing resolution demanding the complete independence of India. At the same time, Dr. Ambedkar pushed for greater representation and constitutional protection for untouchables. Meanwhile, Mahatma Gandhi was not active at all in any protest; however, he opposed the Commission.
Widespread protests were witnessed wherever the Commission went. As a result of the protest, in Lucknow, Jawaharlal Nehru and Govind Ballabh Pant were beaten up by the authorities in charge. Moreover, it led to violence in several pockets of the country, even causing the death of Lala Lajpat Rai in Lahore due to severe injuries on 17 November 1928.
Impact of The Commission:
- The Simon commission once again brought up the flare of nationalistic fervor among the countrymen by uniting their agenda. It eventually led to the launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
- Because of the rigid and cold attitude of the British government, Indians now started to focus on only one goal, that is, the complete independence of the country. It is evident from the fact that Congress passed the first of its kind resolution that demanded the complete independence or the Purna Swaraj. Moreover, the Indian Independence League was formed to achieve complete freedom from the Britishers.
- With the commission’s recommendations, the Government of India Act, 1935, was enacted that mandated the representative form of government and created the framework of the constitutional norms. Several provisions of the GoI act of 1935 have been incorporated into the Indian constitution itself by the Constituent Assembly.
- Eventually, in the provincial elections of 1937, Congress won and came to power in almost all the provinces.
- Simon Commission also led to the rise of another phase of Revolutionary nationalism with the increase in the activities of Organisations such as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army/Association and Chittagong Armoury raid and leaders like Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Surya Sen, Ashfaqullah Khan, and Ramprasad Bismil.
Simon Commission’s recommendations and the events that followed are among the most important elements of Modern Indian history as they gave impetus to India’s independence struggle. It led to the rise of new leaders with a coherent aim of complete independence. Moreover, the masses were again galvanized, which eventually came in the form of movements that followed the Simon Commission’s recommendations.