Government of India Act 1919

Polity & Governance glossary

Also called: Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms · Topic: Making of the Constitution: Constituent Assembly, Sources and Salient Features · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "Executive"; Class 11, Ch 8 "Local Governments"

Meaning

The Government of India Act 1919, also called the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, was a British law. It brought dyarchy (dual government) into the provinces. "Transferred" subjects went to ministers answerable to the legislature, and "reserved" subjects stayed with the Governor. It also created a two-house central legislature. It mattered because it gave Indians early experience of responsible government, though only partly.

Example

Under the Act, a provincial minister could run education, but law and order and finance stayed with the Governor. The central legislature was elected on a narrow property-based franchise, so only people who owned enough property could vote. The Act extended communal representation to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans. It required a review after ten years, which led to the Simon Commission (1927).

Don't confuse with

  • Government of India Act 1935: the 1935 Act replaced provincial dyarchy with provincial autonomy and created three Lists of subjects. It is the biggest single source of the Constitution's structure.

Related concepts

Read more