The Simon Commission was a group of 7 MPs from Britain who was sent to India in 1928 to study constitutional reforms and make recommendations to the government. The Commission was originally named the Indian Statutory Commission. It came to be known as the Simon Commission after its chairman Sir John Simon.

Background:

• Diarchy was introduced in India by the Government of India Act 1919. The Act also promised that a commission would be appointed after 10 years to review the working and progress made on the measures taken through the Act.
• The Indian public and leaders wanted a reform of the diarchy form of government.
• The Conservative Party-led government in the UK feared a defeat at the hands of the Labour Party in the elections due, and so hastened the appointment of a commission in 1928 even though it was due only in 1929 as per the 1919 Act.

Recommendations of Simon Commission

• It recommended the abolition of diarchy and the setting-up of representative governments in the provinces.
• It also recommended the retention of separate communal electorates until the communal tensions had died down.
• The governor should have discretionary power related to internal security and administrative powers to protect the different communities. 
• The number of members of provincial legislative council should be increased.
• Governor general should have complete power to appoint the members of the cabinet.

How it was an insult to self-respect of Indians:

-The Commission was composed entirely of British members with not a single Indian member being included in it. This was seen as an insult to Indians who were right in saying that their destiny could not be determined by a bunch of British people alone.

-No universal franchise was proposed

-The position of governor-general remained unaffected.

-No provision to abolish separate electorate but rather extended to other communities as well..

Response of Indians:

• The Congress Party decided to boycott the Commission at their session at Madras in 1927.
• The Muslim League led by M A Jinnah also boycotted it.
• When the Commission landed in February 1928, there were mass protests, hartals and black flag demonstrations all over the country.People were chanting the slogan, ‘Simon Go Back.’
• In Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai, who was leading the demonstration against the Simon Commission, was brutally lathi-charged. He died later that year due to injuries sustained then.
• Youth leagues and conferences got a real fillip,Nehru and Bose emerged as leaders of this new wave of youth and students.