Simon Commission:

In Government of India act, 1919 there was a provision, that to examine the constitutional
reforms and to know the reaction of Montage-Chelmsford reforms after ten years a government
will appoint a commission who will make recommendations for adequate amendment. According
to government Montage-Chelmsford reforms were in favor of Indian natives but on the opposite
side the Indian natives were not satisfied of these reformers it was against their expectation So,
however some things was better than nothing but it was reality that government was failed to get
the favor of Indian people. In, 1927 Lord Irwin was Viceroy of India. Who appoint a commission
under instruction of British government which was consist of seven members under Sir John
Simon. Sir John Simon was its chairman. The instruction were given to the chairman that they
had to investigate the Indian constitution problems then they had to present a detailed report in
which they mentioned the adequate reforms .All the members of commission were British, even
they did not included a single Indian member. Indian leaders make them to realize that to
examine the problems and felling of Indian nation they should appoint Indian member in
commission so, they can solve the problems of Indian people because without this they cannot
take any decision for the future of Indian.

Simon commission reached at Bombay on 3rd February, 1928.Before the arrival of this
commission all the leaders decided that in any case they all will boycott the commission. One
day before the arrival of commission viceroy lord Irwin requested them to cooperate with
commission but the non-governmental people took it easy. On February, 1928 when the budget
session was going to start in assembly they decided to present the resolution for boycott of
Simon commission. Raja Ghazanfar Ali, Nawab Ismaeel Khan Lala Lajpat Rai had already
spread a wave against the commission. Firstly, Nawab Ismaeel was not agreeing to boycott the
commission because he thought that if we boycott against it than it will promote the congress.
On16th February, 1928LalaLajpatRai who was the member of the assembly presented the
movement of boycott of commission. The movement was accepted with 62 votes out of 68
except this it was also decided that the members were not going to be sent who were appointed
by the central assembly. If the governments itself appoint them they themselves refused to sit
with them. Council of commission selected three members but there were restrictions that they
will only help them when the commission will needed them.

Unfortunately, at that time Muslim league was decided into two groups Shafi league and Jinnah
league. The confusion amongst them was temporary but during this period Muslim clearly gets
to know the intentions of Hindus. Because of this contradiction ideology Sir Shafi supported
commission. The reason which he explained to support the commission was that by opposing the
commission Hindus will get more chances on government level. According to his idea the
congress was Hindu party and every step of Hindus on politics will be against Muslims, If
Hindus were opposing the commission it does not mean that they want to cooperate with
Muslims. It was just because that they want to press government to fulfill their demands.

When Sir John Simon reached Delhi from Bombay he announced that he will considered the
opinion of selective members and will make a committee consist on a few members. The
committee will always be with them. But the people of India were not satisfied with this
announcement. The Commission started his Indian tour. There were strikes in all over India
against commission. But in Lahore there were extreme conditions. On30th October, 1928 the
commission reached Lahore through train. People were gathered at the station; at noon big crowd
was raising slogans “Simon Go Back”. Lala Lajpat Rai, Molana Abdul Qadir Qureshi, and
Molana Zafar Ali were leading the procession. When they reached near Landa Bazaar there were
fence of wires. The procession stopped there and raising slogans against commission. Then
suddenly the clash started between police and protesters. The police officer Mr. Scott started
beaten the people who were in front line. During this Lala Lajpat was hit near his heart at that
time he never feel pain but after few days he died of this. The Commission never stopped his
work although people were opposing it. And at last on April, 1929 after the tour of India they
went back and finally presented their report.

There were following recommendations on Commissions report:

1. The Diarchy system in the provinces should be abolished and all the portfolios should be
handed over to the provincial ministers.
2. The power of the central government and the provincial governors should be reduced.
3. Federal system of government should be introduced in India.
4. The right to vote should be extended to more people.
5. An expert committee should be constituted regarding the separation of Sindh from
Bombay. The separation of Sindh was not granted in principal. First there would have to
be a close and detailed enquiry into the financial consequences which would follow such
a step.
6. The demand of the frontier for equal status was also neglected.“The inherent right of a
man to smoke a cigarette”, said the report “must necessarily be curtailed if he lived in a
powered magazine.”

The report was not acceptable for Muslims, Hindus and also for the elected members of the
Indian legislative assembly.

Nehru Report 

            When the Simon Commission failed miserably, there was no substitute for the British
government but to invite the Indians to draft a constitution for themselves. They understood that
the two main parties, the Congress and the Muslim League, had serious difference of opinions.
Lord Birkenhead. Secretary of State for Indian Affairs threw the ball in the Indian politicians’
court and invited them to plan of the future action to which both Hindus and Muslims would
agree. The Indian leaders took the opportunity and the all parries Conference was summoned at
Delhi in January 1928. Over a hundred representatives of almost all the parties of India
participated in the conference. However, the leaders could not arrive at any consensus. The
biggest obstruction was the issue of the rights of the minorities. Another meeting of the All
Parties Conference took place in the month of March. The leaders once again could not resolve
their differences and did not reach a conclusion. The sub-committees too proved a failure
because of the difference in opinions of die Congress and the Muslim League.

The meeting of the All Parties Conference was conducted for the third time in Mumbai on 19
May 1928 There was no prospect of an agreed constitution. It was decided that a small
committee should be appointed to look into the details of the constitution. Jawaharlal Nehru was
appointed the head of this committee. The committee included nine other members including two
Muslim League representatives, Syed Ali Imam and Shoaib Qureshi. The committee worked for
3 months at Allahabad and the memorandum that it presented was known as the Nehru Report.

The report suggested that a Declaration of Rights should be included in the constitution making
sure complete liberty of conscience and religion.

The following were the recommendations put forward by the Nehru Report:

1. India should be accorded the status of a dominion.

2. There should be federal system of government: residuary powers lying with the centre.
3. India should have a parliamentary system of government headed by a Prime Minister
arid six other ministers designated by the Governor-General
4. The legislature should be bicameral.
5. There should be no separate electorates for any community.
6. The proposal of reservation for the minorities was as bad as that of separate electorates.
7. Reservation of seats for Muslims could be possible in provinces where Muslim
population was at least 10 per cent of the total, but this was to be in strict proportion to
the size of the community.
8. Muslims should be given one-fourth representation in the Central Legislature.
9. Sindh should be separated from Mumbai only it the committee approved that it was
financially self-reliant.
10. The North-West Frontier Province should be given a complete provincial status.
11. Hindi should be made the official language of India.
12. Provision of Fundamental Rights to the people of India in the Constitution.

Events that Unfolded after Nehru Report:

Despite opposition from the Muslim League, the Congress government with a disobedience
movement if the Nehru Report was not implemented into the Government of India December
1929. This attitude of the Congress proved to be pivotal in the partition of India, it also proved to
be a turning point in the life of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. After reading the Nehru Report, Jinnah
announced a ‘parting of the ways’.

Muslim League’s Reaction to Nehru Report

            The recommendations of the Nehru Report were not accepted by the Muslim League.
Jinnah claimed it to be going against the interests pi the Muslim community on account of
rejection of separate electorates. He had expected the report to take into account the Delhi
Proposals fully. The Muslim League had been asking for one-third representation at the centre
while the Nehru Committee gave them only one-fourth representation. Though both the demands
of the Muslim League were considered in the Nehru Report, they were incomplete. It was said
that Sindh should be separated from Mumbai but the condition of self-economy was also put
forward. It demanded constitutional reforms in the North-West Frontier Province but Baluchistan
was overlooked in the report.