On 30 November, Simon was to reach Lucknow. Jawaharlal eagerly awaited the arrival of the commission in the United Provinces. Jawaharlal arrived in Lucknow on 25th and the tempo immediately rose. News of the death of Lajpat Rai on 18th November had already inflamed tempers throughout India, and Jawaharlal called on the youth of Lucknow to answer this challenge. When the boycott committee sought permission for a procession on 28th, it was granted on condition that the route should be changed. The organizers of the procession replied that it was too late to alter the route, and when the procession started to move it was lathi-charged by mounted police. The police believed that the defiance of boycott was on Jawaharlal’s order, so they refused to permit any more processions on 29th. They stopped a small group of twelve led by Jawaharlal and Govind Ballabh Pant, which was on its way to a public meeting. Jawaharlal replied that in view of the behaviour of the police the previous day he was not prepared to have any further dealings with them, and the police thereupon broke up the group with ‘lathis.’ Jawaharlal himself received severe blows and narrowly escaped permanent injuries. Despite this, the group refused to disperse. Meantime a large crowd had gathered and the second group of Govind Ballabh Pant reached there, so the officials were compelled to permit Jawaharlal and his companions to proceed along their chosen route to the meeting.
The next morning the commission arrived in Lucknow. The Congress, which had sought permission to hold a black flag demonstration was allotted a site at distance from the station, so that Simon and his colleagues would hardly notice it. A large procession led by Jawaharlal—Motilal who had came from Allahabad on getting information about lathi charge on Jawahar on 29th, reached the station and tried to take a nearer position than the one allotted to them. There was open space and police carried out cavalry charge using both lathis and spears on the crowd. Though hundreds were beaten and many trampled down, the large crowd not retaliating. Jawaharlal, after receiving half a dozen lathi blows on his back, shoulders and legs, was surrounded by students who shielded him from further attack. The news of lathi charges on Jawaharlal roused widespread anger in India. The policemen who were beating Jawaharlal did not knew that the person they are beating will one day will be known in world history as a messenger of peace.
