ROLE OF ......................... INDIAN DEMOCRACY 63
ROLE OF DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR IN BRINGING THE UNTOUCHABLES ON THE POLITICAL HORIZON OF INDIA AND LAYING A FOUNDATION OF INDIAN DEMOCRACY
“In the Government of India Act of 1919, there was a provision which had imposed an obligation on his Majesty’s Government to appoint at the end of ten years a Royal Commission to investigate into the working of the Constitution and report upon such changes as may be found necessary. Accordingly, in 1928 a Royal Commission was appointed under the Chairmanship of Sir John Simon. Indians expected that the Commission would be mixed in its personnel. But Lord Birkenhead who was then the Secretary of State for India was opposed to the inclusion of Indians and insisted on making it a purely Parliamentary Commission. At this, the Congress and the Liberals took great offence and treated it as an insult. They boycotted the Commission and carried on a great agitation against it. To assuage this feeling of opposition it was announced by His Majesty’s Government that after the work of the Commission was completed representative Indians would be assembled for a discussion before the new constitution for India is settled. In accordance with this announcement representative Indians were called to London at a Round Table Conference with the Representatives of Parliament and of His Majesty’s Government.” [1]
“In order to ease the troubled situation in India, the British Government decided to re-examine and revise the Act of 1919. So it announced the appointment of the Indian Statutory Commission better known as the Simon Commission after Sir John Simon, its Chairman. The Commission consisted of two Peers and four Commoners to work under Sir John Simon, who was a great Parliamentarian, and it was declared that the proposals framed in the light of this Commission’s recommendations would be submitted to a Joint Select Committee at Westminster before which Indian witnesses would be examined.
1 : Writings and Speechs Vol. 9, P. 40