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Government of India Act 1935

2011- 10- 25 12:10:12 GKToday

T he Government of India Act 1935 int roduced t he provincial aut onomy

and provided f or an all India f ederat ion.
T his act int roduced dyarchy at t he cent ral level.
T his act had 321 sect ions and 10 schedules.
It made a provision f or est ablishment of a Federal court .
T he f ranchisee was ext ended.
It divided t he subject s in 3 list s.
T he Indian council was abolished and an advisory body was int roduced.
Burma was separated f rom India, and Aden was surrendered t o
Brit ish Colonial of f ice.
Lord Dundas & Viscount Ennismore
In 1935, t he Government of India Act 1935 provided a new Burma
Of f ice, in preparat ion f or t he est ablishment of Burma as a
separat e colony, but t he same Secret ary of St at e headed bot h
Depart ment s and was st yled t he Secret ary of St at e f or India
and Burma. T he f irst secret ary of st at e f or India and Burma was
Lord Dundas. T he India Of f ice of t he Secret ary of St at e f or India
and Burma came t o an end in 1947, when we got independence
and now t he Secret ary of st at e of India and Burma was lef t t o
be Secret ary of Burma. Viscount Ennismore was t he f irst and
last Secret ary of Burma, as Burma got independence in 1948.
T he polit ical conscious of t he people of India was not considered. T here
was no provision of any f undament al right . It perpet uat ed t he
sovereignt y of t he Brit ish parliament over India.
All India Federation:
T he government of India act 1935 provided f or an all India f ederat ion. In
t his all India f ederat ion t he Brit ish India provinces, t he chief
commissioners of t he provinces and t hose Indian st at es which might
accede t o be unit ed were included. T he f ederat ion consist ed of 11
provinces, 6 chief commissioners' provinces and ot her st at es.
T he accession t o t he f ederat ion was volunt ary.
Some notable Points:
T his act ended t he syst em of dyarchy int roduced by t he Government of
India Act 1919 and provided f or t he est ablishment of a " Federation of
India", t o be made up of bot h Brit ish India and some or all of t he

"princely st at es"
T his act int roduced f or t he f irst t ime t he direct elect ions and increased
t he f ranchise f rom seven million t o t hirt y-f ive million people.
T he part ial reorganizat ion of t he provinces included separat ion of Sind
f rom Bombay, Split t ing Bihar and Orissa int o separat e provinces,
Complet e separat ion of Burma f rom India, Det achment of Aden f rom
India and est ablishing as a separat e colony.
However, t he degree of aut onomy int roduced at t he provincial level was
subject t o import ant limit at ions: t he provincial Governors ret ained
import ant reserve powers, and t he Brit ish aut horit ies also ret ained a
right t o suspend responsible government .
T he act proposed t hat f ederat ion of India could come int o exist ence
only if as many princely st at es (which had been given opt ion t o join or
not t o join) were ent it led t o one half of t he st at es seat s in t he upper
house of t he f ederal legislat ure.
T he part s of t he Act int ended t o est ablish t he Federat ion of India never
came int o operat ion, due t o opposit ion f rom rulers of t he princely
st at es. T he remaining part s of t he Act came int o f orce in 1937, when t he
f irst elect ions under t he Act were also held.
T he proposed f ederal polit y was t o have a bicameral legislat ure at t he
cent er.
Upper House:
T he upper house was called Council of States and it consist ed of 260
members. Out of t hese 260 members 156 were t o represent t he
provinces and 104 t o t he nat ive st at es. Out of t he 156 which were t o
represent t he provinces, 150 were t o be elect ed on communal basis.
Seat s reserved f or Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, were t o be f illed by direct
elect ions and Seat s reserved f or Indian Christ ians, Anglo Indians and
Europeans was t o be f illed by indirect met hod of a elect oral college
consist ing of t heir represent at ive members.
Lower House:
T he lower house was t o be called t he f ederal assembly. It consist ed of
375 members out of whom 250 were t o represent t he provinces and 125
t o represent t he princely st at es. T he t erm of t he assembly was f ive
years but it could be dissolved earlier also.
Federal Court:
A f ederal court was est ablished which began it s f unct ioning f rom
Oct ober 1, 1937. T he chief Just ice of t he f ederal court was Sir Maurice
Gwyer.

It consist ed of One Chief Just ice and not more t han 6 Judges.
Federal Railway Authority:
T he Government of India Act 1935 vest ed t he cont rol of t he railways in
f ederal railway aut horit y , a new 7 member body. T his aut horit y was kept
f ree f rom t he cont rol of minist ers and councilors. T he idea was t o
assure t he Brit ish St akeholders of t he railways t hat t heir invest ment
was saf e. J
T he Simon commission had promised 'Dominion St at us' f or India in 1929 ,
but t he Government of India Act did not conf er it . T his act by providing
separat e elect orat es f or Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Europeans, Anglo
Indians, Indian Christ ians et c. proved t o be an inst rument of
disint egrat ing t he unit y f abric of t he count ry. It was over obst ruct ing and
Nehru called it "all breaks, no engine".
So , in summary this act provided the f ollowing:
Est ablishment of an All India Federat ion of t he Provinces in Brit ish India
and Princely st at es.
Bicameral Federat ion Legislat ure
Represent at ives of t he Princely st at es t o be elect ed by t heir rulers.
Abolit ion of Dyarchy
14% of t he populat ion was now having right t o vot e.
Appoint ment of Governor General and Governors by Brit ish.
Special Powers t o Governors.
Principle of Separat e Elect orat es.
Provincial aut onomy.
Federal Court .
Creat ion of Sind and Orissa.
T he f ederal part of t his act was never int roduced. However, t he
provincial part came int o being on 1st April 1937.
Background: Separation of Burma
Please not e t hat t he Government of India Act 1935 cont emplat ed
t he Federat ion of t he Brit ish Indian Provinces and Indian St at es.
But f or Burma, t here was a separat e set of Event s. Burma was
proposed t o be separat ed in pursuance of t he recommendat ion of
t he Indian St at ut ory (Simon Commission) whose proposal was
accept ed in principle by t he Government . Consequent ly a Burma
Round Table Conf erence was held in London in 1932. In 1935,
Burma Act was passed and separat ion of Burma act ually t ook
place in 1937.