The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-07-01
THE REPORT OF THE SIMON
COMMISSION
A Cynical Imperialist Document.
By V. CHATTOPADHYAYA.

By V. CHATTOPADHYAYA.
WHENEVER British imperialism finds itself
" in difficulties in any of the areas exploited
and plundered by it, or whenever it is forced
to expand the social basis of imperialist rule
in order to obtain wider native cooperation
in it's wars of aggression, it resorts to the APP
pointment of "Royal Commissions" which go
out to Investigate" the situation Impartial
Iy" and then make recommendations" of re-
forms to his majesty's government. During
the last three years we have witnessed the
sending out of many important commissions
whose findings have meant more oppression
and more intensive exploitation to the natives
of the colonies We need only mention the
Hilton Young Commission of East Africa and
the recent Palestine Commission among the
most important besides the various commits
sions sent to India.
In India British mperalist rule rests mainly
on the support of the feudal princes, the great
landowners, the industrial and commercial
bourgeoisie, and the upper strata of the pro-
fessonal and educated sections lawyers, jour-
nalists university teachers, etc. who represent
the interests of the bourgeoisie and the land
lords and who supply the leaders in their poll
teal agitation. Four separate commissions
were appointed to deal with each category,
but their work was to be closely coordinated
in order to secure the best results for the
STABILITY OF 1mperlallSC uoIHlIldIloH' 1ie ouIlcl
Committee examined the grievances" of the
Indian princes (of whom there are said to be
no less than 68O) and the object of the COM
mittee was to separate the administered
by the princes, constituting one-thlrd OF india,
from any political or administrative connection
with the new reformed India that was to be
created. The Indian princes are now to be
placed directly under the crown. The interests
of the landowners were protected by the "Agrl-
cultural Commission" whose terms OF reference
omitted any mention of land tenure and whose
object was to examine how agriculture was to
be improved, and the peasant given more facl-
lities in order to raise his purchasing power
and make him better customer for British
manufactured goods and better tax payer
for British imperast wars The interests OF
the industrialists are being protected by the
so-called Whitley Commission on Labor, whose
report is expected shortly and whose lnvest-
CATION on the conditions of labor are dehber-
ately aimed at destroying the revolutionary
trade union movement and the independence
of the Indian working class. And for the poll
tcal representatives of the bourgeolsle whose
agitation was growing dangerous in so far as
they had succeeded in drawing in the masses,
the Simon Commission was appointed in No.
VEN +, 1927.
The outstanding fact about the Commission
was that it's seven members, all Englishmen,
represented all the three British capitalist-m-
perialist parties, the Tories, the Liberals ana
the social-fascists, and the report they have
now published after two and a half years OF
work" is ostentatiously declared to be unanl-
nous on all fundamental matters" and Will
be found to be without dissenting minute. In
other words, the two Labor" members OF the
imperialist commission are in absolute agree
ment with this most cynical expression OF
imperialist arrogance and hypocrisy, with the
PROPOSALS for continuing the stranglehod OF
British capital on the Indian masses, While
their chief, Ramsay Macdonald, is giving the
Indian masses practical demonstrations every
| dav of bombing planes, terks and machine
guns as instruments for the progressive real
ization of reasonable government in India"
The Simon Commissions report distinctly
points out in its introduction that the gov
erning conditions" for all schemes for India
were laid down in the announcement made
on August 20, 1917, by Montagu, then secre-
tary of state for India. That pronouncement
was made under the direct pressure OF the
| war and 'no challenge issued by any
| party in the state" And what were the gov
ernng conditions" laid down by Montagu with
the full support of the Labor Party? He de-
! clared:
| 'The policy of his majestys government,
| with which the government OF India are IN
! complete agreement, is that Oh increasing DIS
| sociafion of Indians in every branch OF the ad-
| r.'~tration with a view to the progressive
! realization of responsible government IN India
| az ~ INTEGRAL part of the British empire"
This policy laid down by liberal imperial
minister in 1917 is exactly the policy adopted
at the Labor Party conferences, and 1T IS OF
interest here to point out how even the Ian
guage of that imperiast pronouncement has
been reproduced in the resolution on India re-
Gently passed at the Berlin session of the
executive committee of the Second Interna-
tional on May r.
The policy assumes firstly that the British
empire is the last word in human development
and that it is eternal and indestructable sec
ondly, that In liza is doomed to remain an IN
| tegral part of that eternal empire; thirdly
| that by the increasing association of Indians
| in the administration l. e., in the machinery
| of exploitation and oppression, responsible
| government will be progressively realized IN
that integral part of that eternal empire
Ridiculous as these statements are, they form
| the basis of the Simon report. And the docu-
! ment that has now been published has not
| even the merit of saying anything new or
| original, or even of supplying any arguments
! that have not been the stock-in-trade of the
! imperiast bandits during the last fifty years
whenever the question of Indian freedom has
| been raised There is not single chapter
which has not been more or less copied from
| the publications of the government or been
| drawn up by the permanent officials OF the I'M
| perialist administration.