The 

Government of India Act 1919 had introduced the system of diarchy to govern the provinces of British India. Indian opinion clamored for
revision of this form of government, and the Government of India Act 1919 stated that a commission would be appointed after ten years to
investigate the progress of the government scheme and suggest new steps for reform. The Secretary of State for India F.E Smith feared that
the ruling Conservative government was facing imminent electoral defeat at the hands of the Labour Party, and hence feared that the
commission would be filled by its members and sympathizers. Hence, the commission was appointed ahead of time, and seven MPs were
selected to constitute the promised commission to examine the state of Indian constitutional affairs. He also ensured that there were no
Indians in the commission, as he believed the Labour MPs and Indian members would join together. The Viceroy of India Lord Irwin too
supported the decision to exclude Indians as he too thought they would vote together with the Labour MPs but also because he thought the
Indian representatives would fight each other.[4]
Some people in India were outraged and insulted that the Simon Commission, which was to determine the future of India, did not include a
single Indian member. The Indian National Congress, at its December 1927 meeting in Madras (now Chennai), resolved to boycott the
Commission and challenged Lord Birkenhead, the Secretary of State for India, to draft a constitution that would be acceptable to the Indian
populace. A faction of the Muslim League, led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, also decided to boycott the Commission.
In face of the opposition from the Congress, F.E Smith wanted to publicize the meetings of the Commission with "representative Moslems" in
order to "terrify the immense Hindu population by apprehension that the Commission is being got hold of by the Moslems and may present a
report altogether destructive of the Hindu population."[4]
However opinion was divided, with support for co-operation coming from some members of the Muslim League and also both Hindu
Mahasabha and members of the Central Sikh League.[5] An All-India Committee for Cooperation with the Simon Commission was established
by the Council of India and by selection of the Viceroy, Lord Irwin. The members of the committee were: C. Sankaran Nair (Chairman), Arthur
Froom, Nawab Ali Khan, Shivdev Singh Uberoi, Zulfiqar Ali Khan, Hari Singh Gour, Abdullah Al-Mamun Suhrawardy, Kikabhai Premchand
and Prof. M. C. Rajah.
In Burma (Myanmar), which was included in the terms of reference of the Simon Commission, there was strong suspicion either that Burma's
unpopular union with India would continue, or that the constitution recommended for Burma by the Commission would be less generous than
that chosen for India; these suspicions resulted in tension and violence in Burma leading to the rebellion of Saya San.[6]