History · Spectrum Books A Brief History of Modern India
Chapter 18 : Simon Commission and the Nehru Report
Table of contents18 sections
- 1.Simon Commission and the Nehru Report
- 2.Background: Various Committees
- 3.Appointment of the Indian Statutory Commission
- 4.Indian Response
- 5.Impact of Appointment of Simon Commission
- 6.The Simon Commission Recommendations
- 7.Nehru Report 1928
- 8.Main Recommendations
- 9.The Muslim and Hindu Communal Responses
- 10.Delhi Proposals of the Muslim League (December 1927)
- 11.Hindu Mahasabha Demands
- 12.Compromises in the Nehru Report
- 13.Amendments Proposed by Jinnah (December 1928)
- 14.Jinnah's Fourteen Points (March 1929)
- 15.Nehru Report Found Unsatisfactory
- 16.Key Terms
- 17.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 18.Quick-Recall Box
Chapter preview
Background: Various Committees
The Government of India Act, 1919, which created a system of dyarchy, contained a provision that a commission would be appointed 10 years from its date to study the progress of the governance scheme and suggest new steps.
Although constitutional reforms were due only in 1929, the Conservative government in Britain (under Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin) feared electoral defeat by the Labour Party. They did not want to leave the question of the future of Britain's most priced colony in "irresponsible Labour hands." Furthermore, by the mid-1920s, the failure of the 1919 Act to create a stable imperial power had led to several parliamentary reports and enquiries.
| Committee / Commission | Year | Official Name | Purpose / Recommendations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Commission | 1923 | Royal Commission on the Superior Civil Services in India | Looked into organisation, service conditions, and recruitment methods for Europeans and Indians in superior civil services. → Suggested immediate establishment of the statutory public service commission (as proposed by the 1919 Act). |
| Muddiman Committee | 1924 | Report of the Reforms Enquiry Committee | Looked into the working of the Constitution set up in 1921 under the 1919 Act. → Majority: suggested minor structural changes. → Minority (non-official Indians): strongly criticised dyarchy, demanded its immediate abolition and a democratic Constitution. |
| Linlithgow Commission | 1926 | Royal Commission of Agriculture | Examined India's agricultural and rural economy. Submitted report in 1928. → Recommended comprehensive improvements for agrarian economy. → Suggested improving Indian cattle quality by importing foreign bulls to breed with Indian cows. |
Appointment of the Indian Statutory Commission
The Conservative Secretary of State for India, Lord Birkenhead, who had constantly talked of the inability of Indians to formulate a concrete scheme of constitutional reforms which had the support of wide sections of Indian political opinion, was responsible for the appointment of the Simon Commission.
- Date of Appointment: November 8, 1927 (two years before the review was due under the 1919 Act).
- Official Name: Indian Statutory Commission.
- Composition: An all-white, seven-member body.
- 4 Conservatives, 2 Labourites, 1 Liberal.
- Joint Chairmen: Sir John Simon and Clement…
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