13. SIMON COMMISSION (1928) AND ITS BOYCOTT

13. SIMON COMMISSION (1928) AND ITS BOYCOTT

• Indian Statutory Commission, popularly known as the Simon Commission (after chairman Sir John Simon), appointed November 1927 by the British government to review the working of the Government of India Act, 1919 (Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms) and suggest further constitutional reforms.
• All seven members were British; no Indian was included — this was the main cause of nationwide outrage; INC (at Madras session, 1927) resolved to boycott it "at every stage and in every form."
• Commission arrived in India, 3 February 1928 (Bombay); greeted everywhere with black-flag demonstrations and slogans "Simon Go Back."
• At Lahore (30 October 1928), during a protest march, Lala Lajpat Rai was severely injured in a lathi charge ordered by Superintendent of Police James A. Scott; Lajpat Rai died on 17 November 1928 from his injuries — this triggered the revolutionary reprisal (Saunders' assassination, discussed in Section 6.4).
• The Simon Commission's report (1930) largely ignored Indian aspirations; overtaken by events (Nehru Report, Round Table Conferences).

Key Facts / Quick Revision Points — Simon Commission

• Simon Commission, 1927/1928 — all-British composition; "Simon Go Back."
• Lala Lajpat Rai died Nov 1928 from lathi-charge injuries at Lahore protest.
• Led directly to the assassination of Saunders by HSRA revolutionaries.