Simon Commission and the Nehru Report, 1927-28

A seven-member commission arrived in India to decide India’s constitutional future. Not one member was Indian. This article covers the Simon Commission, the protests it triggered, and India’s own constitutional answer, the Nehru Report.

Go Back, Simon

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3 FEB 1928

Simon Commission Arrives

All-British body; nationwide hartal and boycott

10 AUG 1928

Nehru Report Finalised

Demands dominion status within the Empire

30 OCT 1928

Lajpat Rai Injured

Struck in a Lahore police lathi charge

17 NOV 1928

Lajpat Rai Dies

His death intensifies anti-colonial resolve

The chain reaction: Lajpat Rai’s death directly inspired the revolutionaries who later assassinated a British police officer in revenge.

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Timeline

• 3 February 1928: The Simon Commission arrives in Bombay. India observes a nationwide hartal, greeting it with “Go Back, Simon” protests.
• 10 August 1928: The Nehru Committee finalises its report, demanding dominion status for India within the British Empire.
• 28-31 August 1928: The report is presented for review at the All Parties Conference in Lucknow.
• 30 October 1928: Lala Lajpat Rai is struck during a police lathi charge, while leading a silent protest against the Commission in Lahore.
• 17 November 1928: Lajpat Rai dies of his injuries, intensifying nationalist resolve against British rule.

An All-White Commission Need to Know

• The Simon Commission, led by Sir John Simon, had seven members, all British.
• No Indian was included, triggering its rejection across the political spectrum.
• Both the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League called for a complete boycott of the Commission.
• At Lucknow on 30 November 1928, Jawaharlal Nehru and Gobind Ballabh Pant were also beaten during anti-Commission protests.
• The blow Pant received in that protest left him disabled for life.

India’s Own Answer: The Nehru Report Need to Know

• The Nehru Report (1928), chaired by Motilal Nehru, was India’s first major Indian-drafted constitutional proposal.
• It demanded dominion status and a federal government structure for India.
• Lala Lajpat Rai died on 17 November 1928, from injuries sustained in a lathi charge during a Lahore protest against the Commission.
• The Nehru Report was rejected by the Muslim League, since it did not address demands for separate electorates.
• Radical nationalists also rejected it, since they wanted full independence, not dominion status.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. On 3 February 1928, how did India respond to the Simon Commission’s arrival in Bombay?

With an official welcoming ceremony

With a nationwide hartal and “Go Back, Simon” protests

With no visible public reaction

With a formal parliamentary debate only

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The Wider Story Great to Know

• Lajpat Rai’s death directly motivated Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev. They assassinated British police officer J.P. Saunders on 17 December 1928 in revenge.
• The Simon Commission’s all-white composition directly contradicted its own stated purpose: assessing India’s readiness for self-government.
• The Nehru Report shows Indian leaders could produce a serious constitutional alternative themselves, a direct rebuttal to the colonial assumption that India needed British experts to design its own government.
• The chain from protest, to police violence, to a leader’s death, to a revenge assassination shows how colonial repression could radicalise the independence movement.
• The Muslim League’s and radical nationalists’ rejections of the Nehru Report, for opposite reasons, foreshadow the deeper splits that would keep shaping India’s path to independence.