RAS question
The slogan 'Simon Go Back' was raised because:
Correct answer: (A) The Commission had no Indian members.
The slogan "Simon Go Back" was raised because the Simon Commission had no Indian members and all seven of its members were British.
Explanation
The boycott of the Simon Commission turned on representation, not on a technical clause in its report. The Commission had no Indian members; all seven members were British. For Indian political opinion, that made the body unacceptable because a constitutional review concerning India was being carried out without Indians on the Commission itself. That is why the slogan "Simon Go Back" became the protest line: it rejected the legitimacy of an all-British commission deciding questions linked to India's political future. The key exam point is therefore precise: the protest was triggered by the absence of Indian representation in the Commission, which was seen as an insult to Indians.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) This shifts the issue to the Commission's attitude towards self-rule, whereas the boycott was specifically over the absence of Indian members.
- (C) The Commission was meant for constitutional review, not for recommending partition.
- (D) Taxation was not the issue here; the Commission was not a tax-increasing body.
Concept
This tests the constitutional-nationalist phase of modern Indian history, especially how representation became a central political demand. RAS often asks such slogans because they connect a protest phrase to its immediate institutional cause.