Simon Commission - General Knowledge Of Modern India

Simon Commission - General Knowledge Of Modern India

The peace that had prevailed in India since 1922 was broken in 1927. This year the British Government constituted the Simon Commission under the leadership of Sir John Simon to examine the working of the Indian Government Act-1919 in India and to suggest improvements in the administration. This commission came to be known as Simon Commission after its chairman Sir John Simon. Its appointment was a setback for the Indian people because all its members were British and not a single Indian member was included in it.

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The government did not show any inclination towards the demand for Swaraj.  The composition of the commission proved the doubts of the Indians to be true. The appointment of the commission led to a wave of protests across India.

In 1927, the annual session of the Congress was held in Madras, in which it was decided to boycott the commission. The Muslim League also boycotted it. The commission reached India on 3 February 1928 and on this day a strike was organized all over India in protest. Later that day, meetings were held all over India to condemn the commission's formation and declared that the people of India had nothing to do with this commission.

These protesters were fired upon in Madras and lathi-charged at many other places.  Wherever the commission went it faced protests and strikes. The central legislature decided with a majority that it had nothing to do with this commission. The whole of India was echoing with the slogan 'Go back to Simon'.

The police resorted to repressive measures and thousands of people were beaten up. During these protests, the great leader Lala Lajpat Rai, popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab, was brutally thrashed by the police.  He died due to the injuries sustained by the police beating. Nehru and Govind Ballabh Pant also had to stick to the police in Lucknow. Govind Ballabh Pant was crippled for the rest of his life by being hit by these sticks.

During the protest against the Simon Commission, the Indians once again demonstrated that they are united and determined to freedom. He has now prepared himself for a big struggle. In the session of the Congress held in Madras under the chairmanship of M.A. Ansari, a resolution was passed and the attainment of complete independence was declared as the goal of the people of India. This proposal was presented by Nehru and supported by S. Satyamurthy. In the meantime, an organization named Indian Independence League was established to strongly present the demand for complete independence. The League was led by important leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose and his elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose, Srinivasa Iyengar, Satyamurthy.

In December 1928, a Congress conference was held in Calcutta under the chairmanship of Motilal Nehru. In this conference, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose and many other leaders pressured the Congress to demand complete independence. But the Congress demanded Dominion status. Passed a resolution related to this which was less than complete independence. But it was declared that if the Dominion status was not granted to India within a year, the Congress would demand complete independence and also launch a mass movement for its attainment. During the whole year of 1929, the Indian Independence League kept preparing people through rallies to demand complete independence. By the time the next annual session of the Congress was held, there had been a change in the thinking of the people.