Laxmikanth Test: Historical Development Of Constitution Of India - 1

The Government of India Act 1935 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It originally received Royal assent in August 1935. It was the longest Act of (British) Parliament ever enacted until Greater London Authority Act 1999 surpassed it. Because of its length, the Act was retroactively split by the Government of India Act, 1935 into two separate Acts:
 

• The Government of India Act, 1935 , having 321 sections and 10 schedules.

• The Government of Burma Act, 1935 having 159 sections and 6 schedules.

The Act led to:

• Establishment of RBI.

• FPSC, PPSC, JPSC.

• Federal Court in 1937.

• Bicameralism in 6 provinces (Bombay, Madras, Bengal, Bihar, Assam and United Provinces) out of 11 provinces.

When India Act and Pakistan Attained Independence at midnight of 14-15 august 1947, mountbatten remained in new Delhi for 10 months, serving as India First governor general until June 1948.

The real bench marking of the government policy on decentralization can however be attributed to lord Ripon who in his famous resolution on local self government on may 18 1882, recognized the twin considerations of local government:

a) Administrative efficiency 
b) Political education.

The ripon resolution, which focused on towns, provided for local bodies consisting of a large majority of elected non official members and presided over by a non official chairperson.

The Poona Pact refers to an agreement between Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi signed on 24 September 1932 at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune. It was signed by Pt Madan Mohan Malviya and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and some Dalit leaders to break the fast unto death undertaken by gandhi in yerwada jail to annul macdonald award giving separate electorate to Dalits for electing members of state legislative assemblies in British India.

Correct Answer :- c

Explanation : The proposals were seen as too radical by the British and as too conservative by the INC who wanted complete independence.

The Mission was rejected by the INC, the Muslim League and other Indian groups.

The Hindu Mahasabha and the Liberals were against the right of states to secede.

The Depressed Classes objected because they were apprehensive about their status in a country where they will be in a minority.

It is also believed that the mission failed because of a clear lack of support for it by the Viceroy Linlithgow, British PM Winston Churchill and the Secretary of State for India, Leo Amery.

Government of India Act of 1919 was passed on the basis of recommendations of Montford Reforms. It introduced provincial government dyarchy. Subjects were divided into two lists:

• Reserved subjects and
• Transferred subjects.

The Indian Council was to be madeof not less than 8 and not more than 12 members.

The representatives of each community were to be elected by members of that community in the provincial legislative assembly and voting was to be by the method of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. The representatives of princely states were to be nominated by the heads of the princely states. It is thus clear that the Constituent Assembly was to be a partly elected and partly nominated body. Moreover, the members were to be indirectly elected by the members of the provincial assemblies, who themselves were elected on a limited franchise.

 “Regulating Act of 1773”: Governance of the East India Company was put under British Parliamentary Control. Setting a Supreme Court in Calcutta. The Governor of Bengal was nominated as Governor General for Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.

A ‘Regular code’ of all regulations that could be enacted for the internal Government of British territory in Bengal was framed. The regulation was applied to the rights, persons and property of the Indian people and bound the courts to regulate their decisions by the code itself.

In 1765, the East India Company, which till now had purely trading functions obtained the ‘Diwani’ (i.e., rights over revenue and civil justice) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

Key Features of the Regulating Act of 1773

1. It designated the Governor-General of Bengal and created an Executive Council of four members to assist him. Lord Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General of Bengal.

2. Governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the Governor-general of Bengal.

3. It provided for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) with one Chiel Justice and three other Judges.

4. It prohibited the servants of the Company from engaging in any private trade or accepting presents or bribes from the natives.

The Act was 2nd milestone towards a completely responsible government in India. It was a lengthy and detailed. It has 321 Sections and 10 Schedules. 

The features of the Act were

• It provided for the establishment of an All-India Federation consisting of provinces and princely states as units.

• The Act divided the powers between the Centre and Units by three lists—Federal List (for Centre, with 59 items), Provincial List (for provinces, with 54 items) and the Concurrent List (for both, with 36 items).

• Residuary powers were given to the Viceroy.

• But the federation never came into being as the princely states didn’t join it.

• It introduced ‘provincial autonomy’ instead of dyarchy in the provinces.

• The provinces were now autonomous units of administration in their own fixed spheres.

• It introduced responsible governments in provinces, i.e. the governor was required to act with the advice of ministers responsible to the provincial legislature.

• This came into effect in 1937 and was discontinued in 1939.

• It provided for dyarchy at the Centre.

• Thus, the federal subjects were divided into reserved subjects and transferred subjects. But, this provision did not come into operation at all.

• It introduced bicameralism in six out of eleven provinces - Bengal,Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces.

• There was a legislative council (upper house) and a legislative assembly (lower house). However, many restrictions were placed on them.

• It also provided separate electorates for depressed classes (scheduled castes), women and labor (workers).

• It abolished the Council of India, established by the Government of India Act of 1858. The secretary of state for India was provided with a team of advisors.

• It extended franchise. About 10 per cent of the total population got the voting right.

• It provided for the establishment of a Reserve Bank of India to control the currency and credit of the country.

• It provided for the establishment of a Federal Public Service Commission, Provincial Public Service Commission and Joint Public Service Commission for two or more provinces.

• It provided for the establishment of a Federal Court, which was set up in 1937.

• In November 1927, itself (i.e., 2 years before the schedule), the British Government announced the appointment of a 7-member statutory commission under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon.

• It was to report on the condition of India under its new Constitution.

• All the members of the commission were British. This led to its boycott by all the parties.

• The commission submitted its report in 1930.

1909 Act is also known as Morley-Minto Reforms (Lord Morley was the then Secretary of State for India and Lord Minto was the then Viceroy of India). It was to appease the moderates.

• It increased the size of Central and provincial legislative councils. 
• The number of members in the Central Legislative Council was raised from 16 to 60. 
• The number of members in the provincial legislative councils was not uniform.
• It retained official majority in the Central Legislative Council (majority of British officials)
• However, it allowed the provincial legislative councils to have non-official majority.
• It enlarged the deliberative functions (right to discuss and ask questions) of the legislative councils at both the levels.
• For example, members could move resolutions on the budget, ask supplementary questions, etc.
• For the first time, it provided for the association of Indians with the executive Councils of the Viceroy and Governors. 
• Satyendra Prasad Sinha became the first Indian to join the Viceroy’s Executive Council. He was appointed as the law member.
• It introduced ‘separate electorate’, a system of communal representation for Muslims.
• Under this, the Muslim members were to be elected only by Muslim voters. 
• Thus, the Act ‘legalized communalism’ and Lord Minto came to be known as the Father of Communal Electorate.
• It also provided for the separate representation of presidency corporations, chambers of commerce, universities and zamindars.

• On August 20, 1917, for the first time, the British Government declared, that its objective was the gradual introduction of responsible government in India.

• The Government of India Act of 1919 was thus enacted, which came into force in 1921. 

• It is also known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms as Montagu was Secretary of State for India and Lord Chelmsford was Viceroy of India.

Features of the Act are -
 

• It separated the central and provincial subjects thus relaxing central’s hold over provinces.
• The central and provincial legislatures could make laws on subjects on their respective list of subjects.
• But, the structure of government continued to be centralized and unitary.
• Provincial subjects had two parts - transferred and reserved.
• The transferred subjects were to be administered by the governor with the aid of ministers responsible to the legislative Council.
• The reserved subjects were to bead ministered by the governor and his executive council without being responsible to the legislative Council.
• This was known as ‘dyarchy’ - term derived from the Greek word di-arche which means double rule. However, this experiment failed.
• It introduced bicameralism and direct elections in the country.
• Indian Legislative Council was replaced by a bicameral legislature having an Upper House (Council of State) and a Lower House (Legislative Assembly).
• The majority of members of both the Houses were chosen by direct election.
• It required that the 3 out of 6 members of the Viceroy’s executive Council (other than the commander-in-chief) were to be Indian.
• It provided separate electorates for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans as per the principle of communal representation.
• It granted franchise to a limited number of people based on property, tax or education.
• It created a new office of the High Commissioner for India in London and transferred to him some of the functions till now performed by the Secretary of State for India.
• It provided for the establishment of a Public Service Commission. Hence, as per the Lee Commission on Superior Civil Services in India (1923-24) a Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants.
• It separated provincial budgets from the Central budget and authorized the provincial legislatures to enact their budgets.
• It provided for the appointment of a statutory commission to inquire into and report on its working after ten years of its coming into force.