Government of India Act 1935

Topic: Making of the Constitution: Constituent Assembly, Sources and Salient Features · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 1 "Constitution: Why and How?"; Class 11, Ch 4 "Executive"

Meaning

The Government of India Act 1935 was a law passed by the British Parliament. It ended dyarchy (dual rule) in the provinces and gave them provincial autonomy, meaning provinces ran their own subjects through elected Indian ministers. It also proposed an all-India federation of British provinces and princely states, but that federation never came into being.

It matters because it is the biggest single source of the Constitution's structure. The three-list division of powers, the Governor's office, the courts, the public service commissions and the emergency provisions all go back to it. Also, the provincial assemblies elected under it in 1945–46 went on to elect the Constituent Assembly.

Explanation

Background

• The Act came out of the three Round Table Conferences held in London (1930–32) [3].
• It was the longest and most detailed Act Britain passed for India.
• It followed the GoI Act 1919, which had brought dyarchy to the provinces. Its 10-year review led to the Simon Commission (1927).

Main features

• All-India Federation (proposed, never formed)
• It was meant to unite the British provinces and the princely states.
• Princes had to agree to join, and too few did.

• So the federation never came into being.

• Three lists of subjects: law-making power was split into three lists [2]:

• Federal List: subjects for the Centre.
• Provincial List: subjects for the provinces.
• Concurrent List: subjects both can make laws on.

• Residuary powers (subjects on no list) went to the Governor-General, not to the Centre or the provinces.

• Provincial autonomy

• Dyarchy in the provinces ended, and popularly elected provincial legislatures came in [2][3].
• Elected ministers ran all provincial subjects.

• Limit: the Governor still had special responsibilities and discretionary powers (powers the Governor could use on their own judgment, without the ministers' advice).

• Dyarchy at the Centre (proposed, never brought in)

• Defence and foreign affairs would have stayed directly under the Governor-General [2].

• It depended on the federation. The federation never formed, so this never happened.

• Bicameralism: six of the eleven provinces got two-house legislatures [2].

Institutions it created

• Federal Court (1937): the forerunner of the Supreme Court [2].
• Reserve Bank of India (1935).
• Public service commissions at three levels:
• a Federal PSC
• Provincial PSCs
• Joint PSCs for two or more provinces.

Limits: a narrow vote and British control

• Franchise (the right to vote). About a tenth of the population could vote, roughly 30 million Indians [3].

• The 1919 and 1935 Acts together let only about 3–10% of Indians vote, based on property, income and education [4].

• Real power stayed British. The Governor-General held residuary powers, and Governors kept discretion. Self-rule was partial.

In the Constitution and practice

• Link to the Constituent Assembly
• Provincial assembly elections were held in 1945–46 under this Act.
• These assemblies indirectly elected the Constituent Assembly (its members were chosen by the elected assemblies, not by the people directly).

• So the Constituent Assembly was not chosen by adult franchise.

• What the Constitution took from it:

• the federal scheme and the three-list pattern, now in the Seventh Schedule (Union, State and Concurrent Lists)
• the Governor's office
• the structure of the judiciary (the Federal Court led to the Supreme Court)
• the public service commissions (now the UPSC and State PSCs)
• the emergency provisions

• a large share of administrative detail.

• What the Constitution changed:

• Residuary powers now lie with Parliament (Article 248), not with an appointed Governor-General.
• The narrow property-based vote was replaced by adult suffrage (Article 326). About 173 million voters registered for the 1951–52 general election [4].
• The borrowed structure was placed under responsible government (ministers answerable to the elected legislature) and Fundamental Rights.

Don't confuse with

• GoI Act 1919: it brought in dyarchy in the provinces. The 1935 Act ended it there and only proposed it at the Centre.
• Nehru Report (1928): an Indian draft that put residuary powers with the Centre. The 1935 Act gave them to the Governor-General, and Jinnah's Fourteen Points wanted them with the provinces.
• Federal Court (1937) vs Supreme Court: the Federal Court was created by the 1935 Act. The Supreme Court is its successor under the Constitution.
• Constituent Assembly vs elected on adult franchise: the Assembly was elected indirectly by provincial assemblies chosen under the 1935 Act's narrow vote. Adult franchise came only with Article 326.

Prelims Hooks

• Residuary powers under the 1935 Act went to the Governor-General. Trap: not the Federal legislature, not the provinces.
• The 1935 Act ended dyarchy in the provinces and proposed it at the Centre, but central dyarchy was never implemented.
• Institutions from the 1935 Act: Federal Court (1937), RBI (1935), and Federal, Provincial and Joint PSCs.
• 6 of 11 provinces got bicameral legislatures under the 1935 Act [2].
• The proposed All-India Federation never came into being, because too few princely states agreed to join.
• The Act came out of the three Round Table Conferences (1930–32) [3]. About 30 million Indians (roughly a tenth of the population) could vote [3].

Mains Points

• "Old wine in a new bottle"?
• Critics say the Constitution largely copies the 1935 Act: the federal lists, the Governor, emergency powers and administrative detail.
• In reply, the Constitution placed these tools under responsible government, adult franchise and Fundamental Rights.

• Borrowing a structure that already worked gave a new, divided country continuity. It did not mean accepting colonial values.

• Colonial control in a democratic Constitution.

• Features built for imperial control survived: a strong Centre, the Governor's discretion and emergency provisions.
• They show up in today's federal tensions, such as disputes over the Governor's role and President's rule (when the Union takes over running a state for a time).

• This helps explain why the Constitution is called "quasi-federal" (federal in form, but with a strong Centre).

• Legitimacy of the Constituent Assembly.

• It was indirectly elected by assemblies chosen on the 1935 Act's narrow, property-based vote.
• Critics used this to question how representative it was. Supporters point out that the Assembly itself gave India universal adult suffrage (Article 326).

Related concepts

• Government of India Act 1919
• Dyarchy
• Constitution of India Bill 1895
• Nehru Report
• Karachi Resolution
• Sapru Committee

Read more

• Constitutional antecedents: colonial Acts and nationalist blueprints