Why this matters now
The Simon Commission is a fixed point in the freedom-struggle timeline: it links the 1919 Act to the Nehru Report (1928) and the Purna Swaraj resolution (1929). Its all-white composition became a powerful symbol of British disregard for Indian opinion.
Background
The Government of India Act 1919 had provided for a review of its working after ten years. The British government, fearing a rising nationalist tide, advanced the review and appointed the commission in 1927, headed by Sir John Simon with seven British members of Parliament. It arrived in India in February 1928.
“Simon Go Back”
That the commission charged with deciding India’s constitutional future contained not a single Indian was seen as a deliberate insult. The Congress (Madras session, 1927) and most other parties resolved to boycott it at every stage. It was met everywhere with black flags, hartals and the cry “Simon Go Back.”
At a protest in Lahore (October 1928), Lala Lajpat Rai was injured in a police lathi-charge and died weeks later — a death that further inflamed nationalist sentiment and is linked to the later actions of the revolutionaries.
The Nehru Report (1928)
The British challenge — that Indians could not agree on a constitution — prompted an All Parties Conference to draft one. The resulting Nehru Report (1928), led by Motilal Nehru, was the first major Indian-drafted constitutional framework: it proposed dominion status, fundamental rights, and rejected separate electorates. Disagreements over it (and the demand for full independence) fed into the Purna Swaraj resolution of 1929.
UPSC angle
Anchor the chain: 1919 Act → Simon Commission (1927-28, all-white, “Simon Go Back”, Lajpat Rai) → Nehru Report (1928, dominion status) → Purna Swaraj (1929).
Frequently asked questions
Why was the Simon Commission boycotted?
Because it was appointed to decide India’s constitutional future yet had no Indian member — seen as an insult — so it was boycotted everywhere with the slogan “Simon Go Back.”
Who headed the Simon Commission?
Sir John Simon, with seven British members of Parliament.
How is Lala Lajpat Rai linked to the Simon Commission?
He was injured in a police lathi-charge during an anti-Simon protest in Lahore in October 1928 and died soon after.
What was the Nehru Report?
A constitutional framework drafted by an All Parties Conference under Motilal Nehru in 1928, proposing dominion status, fundamental rights and the rejection of separate electorates.