19. SIMON COMMISSION (1927) — Background to 1935 Act

19. SIMON COMMISSION (1927) — Background to 1935 Act

• Appointed in 1927 (arrived in India 1928) under Sir John Simon, as per the provision of the GoI Act 1919 (decennial review).
• All members were British — no Indian member — hence widely boycotted by Indians ("Simon Go Back" and "Simon Commission, Go Back" slogans); Lala Lajpat Rai died from injuries sustained during a lathi-charge protesting the Commission (Lahore, 1928).
• Recommended abolition of dyarchy and extension of responsible government in provinces; formed a basis for the 1935 Act.
• In response to the boycott and to demonstrate Indian capacity for self-drafting, an all-parties conference produced the Nehru Report (1928), chaired by Motilal Nehru, which demanded Dominion Status, joint (not separate) electorates, and a bill of fundamental rights — rejected by the British Government and also by the Muslim League (Jinnah's "Fourteen Points," 1929, reasserted separate electorates and provincial autonomy demands in response).
• The Simon Commission's Report (1930) recommended, among other things, abolition of dyarchy and its replacement with full provincial autonomy, and a federal structure linking British India and the princely states — ideas that were carried forward into the Round Table Conferences and ultimately the 1935 Act.