The Simon Commission (1927)

The British Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, announced in the House of Commons in November 1927 that a commission would be sent to India to look into the political situation of India and suggest reforms. This commission would ‘inquire into the working of the Indian constitution and consider the desirability of establishing, extending, modifying or restricting the degree of responsible government’. The Simon commission was to be headed by Sir John Simon and would have six other members which included Clement Atlee who was to preside over Indian independence as Prime Minister in 1947.
Simon Commission had no Indian members

When the composition of the commission was announced, it was found that it included only British members and no Indian. This was greeted with strong protest from all parts of India and all assurances that the government would consider the Indian viewpoint in all matters was rejected. Complete equality with the British members of the commission was demanded and no one was satisfied with the status of just being petitioners.

Jinnah and many Hindu and Muslim leaders signed a manifesto which declared that unless Indian members were included in the commission, it was not possible for them to conscientiously share in its work or take any part in it. Jinnah felt that by not allowing Indians to participate in the commission, the British have tried to show that Indians are not capable of making any decisions regarding the constitution of India.

Jinnah protested against this commission along with the Congress and other leaders of the subcontinent. He tried to unite the Muslims to see how this commission would not be beneficial for them, but at this point the Muslim League split into two; Jinnah who opposed the Simon Commission headed one faction known as the ‘Jinnah Group’ while Sir Mohammed Shafi who was in favor of cooperating with the Simon Commission headed the other known as the ‘Shafi Group’.

Jinnah strongly criticized the commission calling it a ‘butchery of our souls’. As president of the Muslim League he said:

‘a constitutional war has been declared on Great Britain. Negotiations for a settlement are not to come from our side…We are denied equal partnership. We will resist the new doctrine to the best of our powers…I welcome Pandit Malaviya, and I welcome the hand of fellowship extended to us by Hindu leaders from the platform of the Congress and the Hindu Mahasabha….this offer is more valuable than any concession which the British Government can make.’

The Quaid moved a resolution that was accepted by the Jinnah group. The resolution was as follows:

“This public meeting of the citizens of Bombay empathetically declare that the statutory commission which has been announced is unacceptable to the people of India as it most flagrantly denies the right of the people of India to participate on equal terms in framing the future constitution of the country. This meeting further resolves that under the circumstances Indians throughout the country should have nothing to do with the commission at any state or in any form.”

Jinnah was distressed at this point. He had worked so hard for Hindu-Muslim unity and than had to face the problem of the Muslims being divided amongst themselves.

After reading the statements of Sir John Simon and the Viceroy, Jinnah issued a statement in which he said that no equality of status was given to the Indian Committee. Indians were not allowed to vote at the proceedings of the Commission. This made the Jinnah that the Indians were left to play a subordinate role.

Lala Lajput Rai passed a resolution in the Legislative Assembly on the 16th of February 1928, which was strongly supported by Jinnah. This resolution declared that the Indians had no confidence in the Simon Commission. The Simon Commission arrived in Bombay on the 3rd of February and was greeted by black flags and loud slogans saying ‘Simon go back’. Wherever the Commission went it was meeted out hostile treatment. The Simon Commission left India on the 31st of March.

The Delhi-Muslim Proposals (1927)

Tension between the Hindus and the Muslims was on the rise from 1922 onwards. The Quaid, seeing that the Hindus had no inclination to cooperate with the Muslims, invited the Muslims leaders of India to meet at Delhi under his presidency. This meeting was held on the 20th of March 1927 and the result was the Delhi-Muslim proposals, which were unanimously accepted by all the Muslim leaders. The proposals were as follows:

1- Sind should be separated from Bombay and made an independent province.
2- Reforms should be introduced in Baluchistan and NWFP on the same footings as in any other province. In that case, Muslims are prepared to accept a joint electorate in all provinces so constituted, and are further willing to make to Hindu minorities in Sind, Balochistan and the NWFP, the same concessions that Hindu majorities in the other provinces are prepared to make to Muslim minorities.

In the Punjab and Bengal the proportion of representation should be in accordance with the population. In the Central Leglislature, Muslim representation shall not be less than a third, and that also, by a mixed electorate.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah; M.H Sayid; p368-9.

The relinquishment of the right to separate electorate was an unprecedented concession by the Muslims and it was a major achievement of Jinnah to have convinced his colleagues to concede this to other communities.

The Hindu community reacted to these proposals by accepting the joint electorates and rejecting the other two. It was the first time that the Muslims had agreed to joint electorates and would not do so ever again. After this the demands of the Muslims increased day-by-day and their stance to safeguard their intrests hardened furthur finally resulting in the demand for partition.

JINNAH - Creator of Pakistan by Hector Bolitho

Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan

My Brother by Fatima Jinnah

My Brother by Fatima Jinnah

Jinnah’s Differences with the Congress

M.A Jinnah differed with Gandhi on the means of achieving self-rule. The League session reassembled at Lahore under Jinnah’s presidency and was attended by a number of Congressmen and leaders of the Khilafat movement. The Quaid, despite his differences with Mahatma Gandhi and the Khilafatists, still enjoyed the trust and admiration of the Muslims of Bombay which can be seen from the fact that he won the Bombay Muslim seat for the Legislative Assembly that he had resigned in protest against the Rowlatt Act.

The Congress had boycotted the first elections under the Act of 1919, which were held in 1920 and so had Jinnah. A group of twenty-four people along with Jinnah formed a group by the name of Independents. In February 1924, The Quaid introduced an important resolution in the National Assembly that went to the heart of India’s struggle for economic independence. According to this resolution, tenders would be invited in India in rupees, which would be an advantage to the businessmen and manufacturers of the country. In 1925, Jinnah was appointed as a member of a committee, which was to survey the possibilities of more Indianization of the army and opening of a military training institute on the lines of Sandhurst. The Quaid was given this privilege in view of his deep interest in the issue of the Indians holding better ranks in the army.