Indian Statutory Commission (the Simon Commission)

This series consist of memoranda submitted from official and non-official sources, and the evidence of witnesses who appeared before the Indian Statutory Commission either in London or during its second visit to India, along with related memoranda, notes and statements. It also contains the following:. Records relating to the Provincial Committees and the Indian Central Committee; Records relating to the Auxiliary Committee on Education; Corrected summaries of the evidence of witnesses who appeared before the Commission; Papers on the preparation of the Commission's report, including drafts of various sections of the report, and the printing and distribution of the report; Papers relating to the working of the Commission, such as the Royal Warrant, terms of reference, invitations to submit memoranda, travel arrangements and itineraries, witness programme, engagement of shorthand writers

The Indian Statutory Commission was appointed by King George V on 26 November 1927 to enquire into the working of the system of government, the growth of education, and the development of representative institutions in British India, and to recommend future policy regarding further constitutional reforms. The Commission also subsequently widened its terms of reference to take account of the relations between British India and the Indian States. It consisted of Sir John Simon (Chairman), Viscount Burnham, Baron Strathcona, Edward Cecil George Cadogan, Stephen Walsh, George Richard Lane Fox and Clement Richard Attlee. Vernon Hartshorn was appointed on 7 December 1927 following the resignation of Stephen Walsh. The Principal Secretaries to the Commission were J W Bhore and S F Stewart, and the principal Assistant Secretaries were R H A Carter and E W Perry. The members of the Commission all belonged to the British ruling classes, and the exclusion of Indian members prompted protests in India, with both Congress and the Muslim League boycotting the Commission. The Commission visited India twice, once in February/March 1928, and again from 11th October 1928 to 13th April 1929. The Commission did not take evidence on their first visit, instead inviting submissions of memoranda from official and non-official sources, including memoranda submitted by the Government of India and each Provincial Government. On its second visit to India, the Commission adopted the method of a 'Joint Free Conference' for examining witnesses. Each local Legislative Council appointed a Committee to represent its Province, with an Indian Central Committee appointed by the Viceroy representing and examining subjects of an All-India nature. When examining witnesses at each location, the Commission was joined by the Indian Central Committee and the appropriate Provincial Committee. The Commission took evidence at Poona, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Shillong, Calcutta, Rangoon, Mandalay, Madras and Nagpur. The Joint Conference (comprising just the Commission and the Indian Central Committee) held further sittings in London in June and July 1928, where it heard the views of some officials of the India Office, Members of the Secretary of State's Council, the High Commissioner for India, and a representative from the War Office. The Commission also appointed an Auxiliary Committee on Education, Chaired by Sir Philip Hartog, to enquire into the growth of education in British India. The Indian Statutory Commission signed Volume I of its Report on 12 May 1930 and Volume II on 27 May 1930.

The series has been arranged into the following seven sub-series: IOR/Q/13/1 Volumes of Memoranda and Evidence; IOR/Q/13/2 Additional Files of Memoranda and Evidence; IOR/Q/13/3 Corrected summaries of the views of witnesses who appeared before the Commission; IOR/Q/13/4 Papers relating to the Indian Central Committee and the Provincial Committees; IOR/Q/13/5 The Auxiliary Committee on the Growth of Education (Hartog Committee); IOR/Q/13/6 Papers relating to the Commission's Report; IOR/Q/13/7 Papers relating to the working of the Commission

Unrestricted

The Report of the Indian Statutory Commission, reports of the committees appointed by Provincial Legislative Councils, memoranda submitted by the India Office, Government of India, and Indian Provincial Governments, extracts from official oral evidence, and selections from memoranda and evidence by non-officials can be found at IOR/V/26/261/17-40. See also IOR/L/PARL/2/450-450I. More papers relating to the Indian Statutory Commission can be found in the Private Office Papers at IOR/L/PO/5/16, IOR/L/PO/6 and IOR/L/PO/10/28-30; in the Public and Judicial Miscellaneous Records at IOR/L/PJ/5/361-362; in the Public and Judicial Annual Files (IOR/L/PJ/6); in the Financial Department Collections at IOR/L/F/7/671; in the Military Department Collections at IOR/L/MIL/7/409; in the Indian Franchise Committee papers (IOR/Q/IFC) and the Indian Delimitation Committee papers (IOR/Q/IDC); in the Crown Representative's Political Department Records at IOR/R/1/1/4823(1)&(2), IOR/R/1/1/4829(1)&(2) and IOR/R/1/1/4836(1)&(2); in the Parliamentary Papers (IOR/V/4); and in the Official Publications at IOR/V/27/261/14-15. Papers relating to the Simon Commission can also be found in the India Office Private Papers, including the papers of Sir John Simon at Mss Eur F77 and the Viceroy's correspondence relating to the Simon Commission at Mss Eur C152/29-30.