Question

What was the objective of the Simon Commission that was constituted by the British?
A. Probe into Jallianawala Bagh massacre
B. Probe in Chauri-Chaura incident
C. Analyse the functioning of the constitution in India
D. Both A & B

Answer 1

Hint: The Indian Statutory Commission famously known as Simon Commission was set up in 1927 under the leadership of Sir John Simon. The committee had no Indian member which led to massive opposition and critique. Complete answer:
The British government set up a commission to enquire into the government of India act of 1919. The aim of the commission was to enquire into the working of the act and to suggest further reforms in the system of administration. The commission was therefore named after Sir John Simon who headed it. The commission proposed the following reforms which included,
-Responsibilities of the ministers were expanded and provincial dyarchy should be abolished.
-The power of the Governor was enlarged by putting the protection of minorities and special power for the safeguarding of the province under him.
-Councils of the state were now to be chosen on the basis of indirect election.
All these reforms sparked agitation amongst Indians. As the commission had only Englishmen and not a single Indian. The commission also refused to accept the demand of swaraj. This led to hartals all over India and protests broke out.
There was a different commission set up to probe into the massive killings in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Hunter commission, set up in 1882 by William Wilson Hunter. However, there has been no mention of any commission to probe into the Chauri-Chaura incident.

Hence the correct answer is option-C.

Note: The famous ‘Go back Simon’ was a slogan used by Indian to green Sir John Simon when he came to visit India. In the aftermath of the Chauri-Chaura incident British government in 1923, constructed a memorial to the dead policemen. Shahid smarak in 1973 was constructed in memory of the executed persons.