Government of India Act

1935
INTRODUCTION

The Government of India Act was passed by the British Government in

the year 1935. It was one of the lengthiest Acts at that time as it
contained 321 sections and 10 schedules. Once the act was passed the
government saw that it was too lengthy to be regulated with efficiency
and thus, the government decided to divide it into two parts for the act
to function in a proper manner:
The Government of India Act, 1935
The Government of Burma Act,1935
The act gave new dimensions to the affairs of the country by the
development of an All India Federation, Provisional autonomy and the
removal of the dyarchy. It was also the last constitution of British India,
before the country was divided, in 1947, into two parts-India and
Pakistan.
The act was implemented and formed from the sources like the Simon
Commission Report, the three roundtable conferences etc. which were
earlier declined by the government. The Act proposed various
amendments in context to the act earlier framed in the year 1919.
HOW DID THE ACT COME INTO FORCE?
• The Government Act of 1919, was not satisfactory at all and was too
short in its provisions for the self-government form to be imposed
in the country. The provisions of the act were not enough to fulfill
the National Aspirations that the people of the country aspected.
After which, a lot of discussions took place which also led to the
Rowlatt Act in the same year. 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 matter was important and was discussed in the round tables of
1930, 1931, and 1932 respectively.
• On the basis of the report generated by the the government, it
constituted a committee consisting of 20 representatives from the British
India (which consisted of 7 members from Indian states which included 5
Muslims) afterwards, which discussed in the session which started in 1933
and after a lot of debate upon the topic and white papers, gave its report
at the end of 1934 stating to pass the act.
• After which the matter went to the parliament and the parliament gave its
assent to pass the act and which was passed in the year 1935 and came to
be known as the Government of India Act, 1935. The provisions and the
material for the act were mainly derived from the Nehru Report, Lothian
report, Simon Commission Report, the White papers, the Joint Selection
Commission Report to form the act. One of the reasons for the enactment
of the act were the Indian Leaders who urged and fought to bring reforms
in the country through these acts.
Salient Features
Salient Features of the Government of India Act 1935 were as follows:
• Abolition of provincial dyarchy and introduction of dyarchy at centre.
• Abolition of Indian Council and introduction of an advisory body in its
place.
• Provision for an All India Federation with British India territories and
princely states.
• Elaborate safeguards and protective instruments for minorities.
• Supremacy of British Parliament.
• Increase in size of legislatures, extension of franchise, division of subjects
into three lists and retention of communal electorate.
• Separation of Burma from India
All India Federation
The proposed all India federation included 11 provinces of British India, 6
Chief Commissioners Provinces and those princely states who might
accede to the federation. For princely states, the accession to the
Federation was voluntary. The federation could not be established until:
• A number of states, the rulers whereof were entitled to choose not less
than half of the 104 seats of the council of state , and
• The aggregate population whereof amounted to be at least one half of
the total population of all the Indian states had acceded to the
federation.
• The term on which a state joined the Federation were to be laid down in
the Instrument of Accession. Joining the federation was compulsory for
the British Provinces and chief commissioners provinces.
Dyarchy at Centre
Under this act, the executive authority of the centre was vested in the
Governor General on behalf of the Crown.
The federal subjects were divided into two fold categories of Reserved and
Transferred subjects.
The Reserved list comprised of subjects such as administration of defence,
external affairs, ecclesiastical affairs and matters related to tribal areas.
These subjects were to administered by Governor General in his discretion
with the help of three councillors appointed by him. They were not
responsible to legislative.
The administration of the transferred subjects was to be done by
Governor General on advice of the Council of Ministers whose number
could not exceed 10. The council of ministers had to command the
confidence of legislature.
However, the Governor General could act on contrary to the advice of
the Council of Ministers if any of his ‘special responsibilities’ was
involved in such act. However, in that case {when an act involved
special responsibilities}, the Governor General would work under the
control and direction of the Secretary of State.
Further, the Governor General was also responsible for the
coordination of work between the two wings and for encouraging joint
deliberations between the counsellors and the ministers
Federal Legislature

The bicameral federal legislature would be consisted of two houses viz.

Council of states and Federal Assembly.

Council of States
The Council of States was to be upper house and a permanent body
with one third of its membership retiring every 3rd year. It was to be
composed of 260 members of which 156 were to be representatives of
British India while 101 of the Indian states.
Representatives of British India
The 150 out of 156 representatives of British India were to be elected on
communal basis while six were to be nominated by Governor General from
amongst women, minorities and depressed classes. Further, the seats
which were reserved for Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs had to be filled via
direct election while those reserved for Europeans, Anglo-Indians, Indian
Christians and Depressed Classes were to be filled by Indirect election.
Representatives of Princely states
The distribution of the seats among states was on their relative importance
and not population. The representatives of the princely states would be
nominated by rulers.
Federal Assembly

The Federal Assembly was the lower house with a tenure of five years.
It was to be made of 375 members who which 250 representatives of
British India and not more than 125 members from princely states.
While the seats reserved for princely states were to be filled by
nominated members, the provinces were given different numbers of
seats. Election to the Federal assembly was to be indirect. The term of
the assembly was five years but it could be dissolved earlier also.
Provincial Autonomy
The most remarkable feature of the Act was the provincial autonomy. With
the abolition of Dyarchy at provinces, the entire provincial administration
was instructed to the responsible ministers who were controlled and
removed by the provincial legislatures.
The provincial autonomy means two things.
First, the Provincial Governments were wholly, responsible to the provincial
legislatures and
Secondly, provinces, were free from outside control and interference in a
large number of matters. Thus, in the provincial sphere, the Act of 1935
made a fundamental departure from the act of 1919.
The act divided the powers between the Centre and provinces in terms
of three list-Federal List (for Centre, with 59 items), Provincial List (for
Provinces, with 54 items), and Concurrent list (for both, with 36 items).
Residuary powers were given to the Viceroy.

The degree of autonomy introduced at the provincial level was subject

to important limitations:
• the provincial Governors retained important reserve powers, and
• the British authorities also retained a right to suspend responsible
government.
Safeguards and Reservations

A controversial feature of the Government of India Act, 1935 was the

safeguards and reservations provided in the Act, would serve as checks
and limitations on such undesirable tendencies which might lead to the
failure of the responsible government in India. A plea was given that
those safeguards and reservations were necessary for the interests of
the country. They were imposed either on the exercise of powers by
the Government of India on of the states.
Establishment of Federal Court
The Government of India Act, 1935 provided for the establishment of
Federal Court to interpret the Act and adjudicate disputes relating to
the federal matters. It provided that the Federal Courts should consist
of one Chief justice and not more than six judges.
The Federal Court was given exclusive original jurisdiction to decide
disputes between the Centre and constituent Units. The provision was
made for filing of appeals from High Courts to the Federal Court and
from Federal Court to the Privy Council. The Federal Court also had
jurisdiction to grant Special Leave to Appeal and for such appeals a
certificate of the High Court was essential.
Abolition of Indian Council
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
in its place.
Extension of Franchise
The act extended the franchise. This act introduced for the first time the
direct elections. About 10% of the total population got the voting rights.
Federal Railway Authority
The GOI act 1935 vested the control of Railway in a new authority called Federal
Railway Authority, which had seven members and was free from control of
ministers and councillors. The members of this authority reported directly to
Governor General. The idea was to assure the British Stakeholders of the railways
that their investment was safe.
Reorganization of the provinces

The partial reorganization of the provinces included

separation of Sind from Bombay, Splitting Bihar and Orissa
into separate provinces, Complete separation of Burma
from India, detachment of Aden(located presently in south
of Yemen, was colony of British till 1963 ) from India and
establishing as a separate colony.
Separation of Burma
The Government of India Act 1935 contemplated the Federation of the
British Indian Provinces and Indian States. But for Burma, there was a
separate set of Events. Burma was proposed to be separated in pursuance of
the recommendation of the Indian Statutory (Simon Commission) whose
proposal was accepted in principle by the Government. Consequently a
Burma Round Table Conference was held in London in 1932. In 1935, Burma
Act was passed and separation of Burma actually took place in 1937. The
Government of India Act 1935 also provided a new Burma Office, in
preparation for the establishment of Burma as a separate colony, but the
same Secretary of State headed both Departments and was styled the
Secretary of State for India and Burma. The first secretary of state for India
and Burma was Lord Dundas.
Implications of the GOI Act 1935
The proposal for setting up of the Federation of India did not
materialize because the act proposed that federation could come into
existence only if as many princely states (which had been given option
to join or not to join) were entitled to one half of the states seats in the
upper house of the federal legislature. Due to this, Central Government
in India continued to be governed by the provision of the Act of 1919.
However, some parts of the GOI Act 1935 came into force for example :
the Federal Bank (The Reserve Bank of India) and the Federal Court
were established in 1935 and 1937 respectively. The other parts of the
Act, particularly provincial Autonomy, came into force on 1st April
1937. The first elections under the Act were also held in 1937.
WHY DID THE ACT FAIL?
The act had so much to promise to the people for their welfare but was not able to deliver
anything that could turn out in its implementation. The act was a complete failure and the
main reasons why the act failed have been discussed below:
⦁ The concept of an All India Federation failed completely because the Indian National
Congress never came for the accomplishment of the plan which was made because of the
representation power of the princely states was still in the hands of the British so the
concept could not be implemented.
⦁ The act failed to provide flexibility to the people at the constitutional level in regard to
their amendments of rights as the power to change or alter any right was present with the
British government while the Indians could not do anything according to their needs.
⦁ The act failed to provide a proper federal structure, majority of the power was with
the governor general who was not at all responsible for the central legislature which
meant that the legislature was not governed properly.
CONCLUSION
⦁ The Government of India Act, 1935 was a major step towards the
Independence of India and helped in the reorganization of the states
such as Sindh was separated from the province of Bombay, similarly
Bihar and Orissa were separated, Aden which was earlier a part of the
country was separated and was then made a new crown colony.
⦁ The Government of India Act was a total failure as it was not able to
give what it had proposed.
⦁ The concept of dyarchy that was brought proved to be wrong and
also the act was opposed by the Indian National Congress and the
Muslim League.
Due to the lack of provision of a central government, it was
not good for the Indians and there were many flaws in the act
that was in a way hampering the rights and morals of the
people.
Even Honorable Jawaharlal Nehru said that the act for Indians
seems like-” Driving a car with all breaks but with no engine”.