Simon Commission [1927-1930]:
Why was Simon Commission boycotted?
Indians were outraged at their exclusion from the Commission.The Congress Party decided to boycott the Commission at their session at Madras in 1927.The Muslim League led by M A Jinnah also boycotted it. A certain section of members led by Muhammad Shafi supported the government.The Justice Party in the South decided to side with the government on this issue.When the Commission landed in February 1928, there were mass protests, hartals and black flag demonstrations all over the country.People were chanting the slogan, ‘Simon Go Back.’The police resorted to lathi charges to suppress the movement. Even senior leaders like Pandit Nehru were not spared.In Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai, who was leading the demonstration against the Simon Commission, was brutally lathi-charged. He died later that year due to injuries sustained then.Dr B R Ambedkar had submitted a report on behalf of the Bahishkrita Hitakarini Sabha on the education of the depressed classes in the Bombay Presidency.Impact of the Simon Commission
The Commission’s report was published in 1930. Before the publication, the government assured that henceforth, Indian opinion would be considered and that the natural outcome of constitutional reforms would be dominion status for India.It recommended the abolition of diarchy and the setting-up of representative governments in the provinces.It also recommended the retention of separate communal electorates until the communal tensions had died down.The Simon Commission led to the Government of India Act 1935 which acted as the basis for many parts of the current Indian Constitution.The first provincial elections were held in 1937 and it saw Congress governments being set up in almost all the provinces.The arrival of the Commission gave an impetus to the Indian independence movement by galvanizing leaders and masses.
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