[UPSC Notes] The Government of India Act 1935 – Indian Polity Notes For UPSC IAS Preparation

Introduction

The Government of India Act, 1935 laid down a federal form of Government for India.

This act ended the system of dyarchy introduced by the GOI Act 1919 and provided for the establishment of a Federation of India to be made up of provinces of British India and some or all of the Princely states.

The UPSC Indian Polity and Governance Syllabus includes The Government of India Act 1935 which is described in this article.

Indian Polity Notes For UPSC IAS Preparation

Historical Background

• The Government of India Act 1919 was not satisfactory at all and was too short in its provisions for the self-government form to be imposed in the country. 
• Indian politicians were frustrated at that time because they thought that the area they had officially control over was still in the hands of the British officials with full control over it.
• So the task to review this matter and to make changes in it had been given to the Simon Commission.
• When the Simon Commission Report came out it was seen that the report was not satisfactory which would lead to the consultation with the then Indian Community Representatives at the Round Table conference, held in London
• The Round Table Conferences were a failure because they were unable to fulfill their goal. However, in 1933, a white paper was released based on the recommendations of the Round Table Conferences, and work on India’s constitution began.
• A committee was set up under the chairmanship of Lord Linlithgow, the viceroy of India, to consider the recommendations of the white paper.
• The report of the committee was published in 1934 that was contained in a bill of law.
  • The report along with the bill was passed in the British Parliament.
  • After the Royal assent, the Act was enforced in the country as the Government of India Act 1935.
• The Government of India Act, 1935, laid down a federal form of Government for India.
• The Government of India Act, 1935 derived material from four key sources viz. Report of the Simon Commission, discussions at the Third Round Table Conference, the White Paper of 1933 and the reports of the Joint select committees.

Indian Polity Notes For UPSC IAS Preparation

Objective

• This act ended the system of dyarchy introduced by the GOI Act 1919 and provided for the establishment of a Federation of India to be made up of provinces of British India and some or all of the Princely states.
• However, the federation was never formed because it lacked the required number of princely states.
  • The Government of India Act of 1935 called for the formation of an Indian Federation made up of the Governor’s Provinces and Chief Commissioner’s Provinces in British India, as well as any Indian States that voluntarily joined it.

Indian Polity Notes For UPSC IAS Preparation

Key Provisions

1. All India Federation

• The Act established an All-India Federation, which included both British Indian Provinces and the Indian States. The Instrument of Accession specified the conditions under which a state might join the federation.
• It was at the discretion of the state whether it wanted to join the federation that was given by the Government of India Act, 1935.
• According to this act, India would become a federation if 50% of Indian states decided to join it.
  • However, the provisions with regards to the federation were not implemented as the required number of princely states did not join it.

2. Provincial Autonomy

• One redeeming feature of the new Act was that it marked the beginning of the Provincial Autonomy.
• The provinces were allowed to act as autonomous units of administration in their defined spheres. Furthermore, the Act established responsible governments in provinces, which compelled the governor to act on the advice of ministers who were accountable to the provincial legislature.
• This came into effect in 1937 and was discontinued in 1939. This, however, does not mean that the Act of 1935 established a full-fledged responsible Government in the Provinces.
• Ministers did not have complete control over how their departments were handled.
  • The Governors retained a range of overriding powers, though they were rarely used.

3. Division of Subjects

• The approach to form the federation and implement provincial autonomy paved the way for the division of subjects between the Centre and the Provinces.
• The division of subjects that were given by the Government of India Act, 1919 was revised and added some more subjects in it by this Act of 1935 and included three lists. These were:
  1. Federal list – 59 items
  2. Provincial list – 54 items
  3. Concurrent list – 36 items
• The subjects which were of all-India interest and demanded uniform treatment were put in the Federal list.
  • Only the Federal Legislature could make laws on the Federal subjects.
• Subjects mainly of local interest were placed on the Provincial list and were wholly within the jurisdiction of the Provincial Legislatures for the purpose of the legislation.
• The third list is known as the Concurrent list, and which contained 36 items, included subjects that were primarily Provincial interest but at the same time required uniformity of treatment all over the country.
• As a result, the Act empowered both the federal and provincial legislatures to enact legislation on certain topics. In the event of a disagreement, federal law would take precedence
• In order to resolve this point of conflict, the Constitution authorized the Governor General to allocate in his discretion the right to legislate on any subject, not included in the lists, either the Centre or the province

4. Dyarchy at the Centre

The Act of 1935 abolished dyarchy at the Provincial level and introduced it at the Centre.

There were two categories of federal subjects:

• Reserved Subjects
  • The subjects that are mentioned in this category of federal subjects were to be administered by the Governor-General on the advice of the Executive Councillors and the Executive Council could not exceed its limit of three members. Religious affairs, defense, administration of tribal areas and external affairs were included in the reserved subjects.
• Transferred Subjects
  • This subject was to be administered on the advice of ministers and the number of ministers could not exceed 10.
  • Subjects other than reserved were dealt with under the Transferred Subjects.
  • The Governor-General remained overall in charge of both the Reserved and Transferred subjects.

5. Bicameral legislature

• Under the Government of India Act, 1935, the Central Legislature was bicameral, consisting of the Federal Assembly and Council of States.
• The Council of States was to be an upper house and a permanent body with one-third of its members retiring every 3rd year.
  • It was to be composed of 260 members of which 156 were to be representatives of British India while 104 of the Indian states.
• The Federal Assembly was the lower house with a tenure of five years.
  • It was to be made of 375 members, out of which 250 were to be representatives of British India and not more than 125 members from the princely states.
• While nominated members were to fill the seats designated for princely states, the provinces were allotted various numbers of seats. 
  • Indirect election to the Federal Assembly was planned. The assembly’s mandate was five years, but it could be dissolved early if necessary.
• Bicameralism was also implemented in six of the eleven provinces. As a result, the legislatures of Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam, and the United Seven Provinces became bicameral, with a legislative council (upper chamber) and a legislative assembly (lower house).
  • They were, however, subjected to several restrictions.

Indian Polity Notes For UPSC IAS Preparation

6. Retention of Communal Electorate

• It further extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for depressed classes (scheduled castes), women and labour (workers). The Muslims got 33 1/3 percent of the seats in the Federal Legislature although their number was much less than one-third of the total population of British India. 
  • Even the workers and women got separate representation although they had not asked for it.

7. Federal Court

• The Government of India Act, 1935 provided for the establishment of a Federal Court which would interpret the Act and adjudicate disputes relating to federal matters.
• The Act established a Federal Court with one Chief Justice and no more than eighty-six judges.
  • To resolve conflicts between the Centre and member Units, the Federal Court was given exclusive original jurisdiction.
• Appeals from High Courts to the Federal Court and from the Federal Court to the Privy Council were made possible.
  • The Federal Court might also issue Special Leave to Appeal, although such appeals required a certificate from the High Court.

8. Reorganization of provinces

• This Act also did some kind of restructuring or reorganization of the provinces.
  • A province was separated from Bombay and named as Sindh.
• Another thing that was done was the split of Bihar and Orissa to become separate individual provinces of Bihar and Orissa. 
  • So this Act formed the two new provinces and these are Sindh and Orissa.

9. Separation of Burma

• The Simon Commission proposed to the Government of India to separate Burma from India and this proposal was accepted by this Act.
• In 1935, the Burma Act was passed and its separation from India was done after two years of this Act i.e., in 1937. 
• The Burma Act proposed for a new Burma office that had the power to establish Burma as a separate colony.

10. Supremacy of the Parliament

• The 1935 Act was very rigid. It could not be changed or amended by any Indian legislature, whether federal or temporary.
• It was granted to the British Government alone the authority to make modifications.
• By submitting a resolution to the constitution, the Indian legislature may at most pray for a constitutional amendment.
• It was an imposition on India by the British parliament.

11. Abolition of the Indian Council of the Secretary of State

• The Government of India Act 1935 abolished the Council of the Secretary of State for India, which was created in 1858.
• The Secretary of State was to have advisers in its place. With the introduction of provincial autonomy the control of the Secretary of State over Transferred Subjects was greatly diminished.
  • His control, however, remained intact over the powers of Governor General and Governors

12. Federal railway authority

• This Act placed control of the railway in the hands of a new body known as the Federal Railway Authority.
• The members of this body numbered seven, and they were not subject to the jurisdiction of councillors or ministers.
• The Governor-General received direct reports from the authority.
  • The primary goal of establishing this authority was to reassure British stakeholders that their investment in the railway was secure.

13. Other Provisions

• It provided for the establishment of a Reserve Bank of India to control the currency and credit of the country.
• It also provided for the establishment of not only a Federal Public Service Commission but also a Provincial Public Service Commission and Joint Public Service Commission for two or more provinces.

Indian Polity Notes For UPSC IAS Preparation

Significance

• Government of India Act 1935 curtailed the power concentrated in the hands of the Central Government and distributed it among the decentralized form of government.
• Separate electorates for women, despite the fact that they had not requested it, were beneficial to women’s advancement in the decision-making process. Workers had their own representation as well, which aided in the progress of the working class.
• This Act was the first attempt to give the provinces an autonomous status by freeing them from external interference.
• Another reason was that this Act provides voting rights to more people than were given under the Government of India Act, 1919.
• This Act also suggested the establishment of a federal government that would allow princes to participate in India’s political activities. Furthermore, the drafters of the Indian Constitution took into account those characteristics of the Government of India Act that were well-suited to a free India.
• The Constitution of India also borrowed the feature that every state should have a Governor who would be elected by the Central Government.
• The Public Service Commission that we see in Article 315 of the Indian Constitution had also been taken from the Government of India Act, 1935.

Indian Polity Notes For UPSC IAS Preparation

Criticism

• The new Act armed the Governors and Governor-General with tremendous discretionary powers and thus reduced Provincial Autonomy to a farce.
• The proposed formation of the Federation was also fundamentally defective.
  • Entry into the Federation was compulsory for the Provinces but voluntary for the Princely States. Besides, the States were to be represented in the Federal Legislature not by the elected representatives of the States but by the nominees of the native rulers.
• The act failed to provide a proper federal structure, the majority of the power was with the governor general.
• It not only retained the system of Communal Electorate but also extended its application in the case of Harijans, labour and women.
• In the name of preserving minorities against Hindu tyranny, the Governor-General and the Governor were given broad powers by the Act of 1935.
• Until 1947, the British Parliament and the Secretary of State for India were the de facto rulers of the country. As a result, it’s not unexpected that the Act of 1935 was met with disdain and resentment.
• The legislation failed to provide individuals with constitutional flexibility in terms of amending their rights because the British government had the ability to adjust or alter any right, while Indians were unable to do anything in accordance with their demands.

Indian Polity Notes For UPSC IAS Preparation

Conclusion

The Government of India Act (1935) was the first attempt to give the provinces an autonomous status. Separate electorates for women were beneficial to women’s advancement in the decision-making process.

This Act also suggested the establishment of a federal government that would allow princes to participate in India’s political activities.

The new Act armed the Governors and Governor-General with tremendous discretionary powers. The act failed to provide a proper federal structure, the majority of the power was with the governor general.

Indian Polity Notes For UPSC IAS Preparation

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the significance of the Government of India Act (1935)?

Government of India Act 1935 curtailed the power concentrated in the hands of the Central Government and distributed it among the decentralized form of government.

• Separate electorates for women, despite the fact that they had not requested it, were beneficial to women’s advancement in the decision-making process.
  • Workers had their own representation as well, which aided in the progress of the working class.
• This Act was the first attempt to give the provinces an autonomous status by freeing them from external interference.
• Another reason was that this Act provides voting rights to more people than were given under the Government of India Act, 1919.
• This Act also suggested the establishment of a federal government that would allow princes to participate in India’s political activities. Furthermore, the drafters of the Indian Constitution took into account those characteristics of the Government of India Act that were well-suited to a free India.
• The Constitution of India also borrowed the feature that every state should have a Governor who would be elected by the Central Government.
• The Public Service Commission that we see in Article 315 of the Indian Constitution had also been taken from the Government of India Act, 1935.

What was the most important feature of the Government of India Act of 1935 introduced by the British?

The Act’s most notable element was its provision for provincial autonomy. When Dyarchy was abolished in provinces, the entire provincial government was delegated to responsible ministers, who were overseen and dismissed by provincial legislatures.

Indian Polity Notes For UPSC IAS Preparation

UPSC Mains Practice Question

The Government of India Act, 1935 holds a significant role in India’s constitutional history. Elucidate.