BY-BHUMIKA PRAJAPATI

The Government of India Act (1935) – 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

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.

Government of India Act 1935: Main Features

Government of India Act of 1935 marked the second milestone towards a completely responsible
government in India. It ended Diarchy and provided the establishment of All India Federation. This act
served some useful purposes by the experiment of provincial autonomy, thus we can say that the
Government of India Act 1935 marks a point of no return in the history of constitutional development
in India.

On August 1935, the Government of India passed longest act i.e. Government of India Act 1935 under
the British Act of Parliament. This act also included the Government of Burma Act 1935. According to
this act, India would become a federation if 50% of Indian states decided to join it. They would then
have a large number of representatives in the two houses of the central legislature. However, the
provisions with regards to the federation were not implemented. The act made no reference even to
granting dominion status, much less independence, to India.
With regard to the provinces, the act of 1935 was an improvement on the existing position. It
introduced what is known as provincial autonomy. The ministers of the provincial governments,
according to it, were to be responsible to the legislature. The powers of the legislature were increased.
However, in certain matters like the Police, the government had the authority. The right to vote also
remained limited. Only about 14% of the population got the right to vote. The appointment of the
governor-general and governors, of course, remained in the hands of the British government and they
were not responsible to the legislatures. The act never came near the objective that the nationalist
movement had been struggling for.

Features of the Act

1. It provided for the establishment of an All-India Federation consisting of provinces and princely
states as units. The Act divided the powers between the Centre and units in terms of three lists—
Federal List (for Centre, with 59 items), Provincial List (for provinces, with 54 items) and the
Concurrent List (for both, with 36 items). Residuary powers were given to the Viceroy. However,
the federation never came into being as the princely states did not join it.
2. It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced ‘provincial autonomy’ in its place. The
provinces were allowed to act as autonomous units of administration in their defined spheres.
Moreover, the Act introduced responsible governments in provinces, that is, the governor was
required to act with the advice of ministers responsible to the provincial legislature. This came
into effect in 1937 and was discontinued in 1939.
3. It provided for the adoption of dyarchy at the Centre. Consequently, the federal subjects were
divided into reserved subjects and transferred subjects. However, this provision of the Act did not
come into operation at all.
4. It introduced bicameralism in six out of eleven provinces. Thus, the legislatures of Bengal,
Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces were made bicameral consisting of a
legislative council (upper house) and a legislative assembly (lower house). However, many
restrictions were placed on them.
5. It further extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates
for depressed classes (scheduled castes), women and labour (workers).
6. 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.
7. It extended franchise. About 10 per cent of the total population got the voting right.
8. It provided for the establishment of a Reserve Bank of India to control the currency and credit of
the country.
9. It 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.
10. It provided for the establishment of a Federal Court, which was set up in 1937.

The main objectivity of the act of 1935 was that the government of India was under the British
Crown. So, the authorities and their functions derive from the Crown, in so far as the crown did not
itself retain executive functions. His conception, familiar in dominion constitutions, was absent in
earlier Acts passed for India.

Hence, the act of 1935 served some useful purposes by the experiment of provincial autonomy, thus
we can say that the Government of India Act 1935 marks a point of no return in the history of
constitutional development in India.
 He was an Indian Nationalist whose patriotism towards India has left a
mark in the hearts of many Indians. He is famously known as the founder
of 'Azad Hind Fauj' and his famous slogan is 'Tum Mujhe Khoon Do, Main
Tumhe Aazadi Dunga‘. He is known for his militant approach that he
used to gain independence and for his socialist policies.
Date of Birth: January 23, 1897
Place of Birth: Cuttack, Odisha
Parents: Janakinath Bose (father) and Prabhavati Devi (mother)
Spouse: Emily Schenkl
Children: Anita Bose Pfaff
Education: Ravenshaw Collegiate School, Cuttack; Presidency College,
Calcutta; University of Cambridge, England
Associations (Political Party): Indian National Congress; Forward Bloc;
Indian National Army
Movements: Indian Freedom Movement
Political Ideology: Nationalism; Communism; Fascism-inclined
Religious Beliefs: Hinduism

Subhas Chandra Bose and Indian National Congress

He joined Non-Cooperation Movement which started by Mahatama Gandhi who made INC as a
powerful non-violent organization. During the movement, he was advised by Mahatma Gandhi to work
with Chittaranjan Das who became his political guru. After that, he became a youth educator and
commandant of the Bengal Congress volunteers. He started the newspaper 'Swaraj'. In 1927, after
being released from prison, Bose became general secretary of the Congress party and worked with
Jawaharlal Nehru for independence.
In 1938 he was elected president of the Indian National Congress and formed a national planning
committee, which formulated a policy of broad industrialization. However, this did not harmonize with
Gandhian economic thought, which clung to the notion of cottage industries and benefiting from the
use of the country’s own resources. Bose’s vindication came in 1939 when he defeated a Gandhian
rival for reelection. Nonetheless, the “rebel president” felt bound to resign because of the lack of
Gandhi’s support.

Subhas Chandra Bose and the formation of Forward Bloc

All India Forward Bloc was a left-wing nationalist political party in India which emerged as a faction
within the India Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. He was well known for his leftist views
in Congress. The prime objective of the Froward Bloc was to bring all radical elements of the Congress
party. So that he could spread the meaning of complete independence of India with adherence of the
application of principles of equality and social justice.
Subhas Chandra Bose and Indian National Army (INA) or Azad
Hind Fauz

An important development in the struggle for freedom during the Second World War was the
formation and activities of the Azad Hind Fauj, also known as the Indian National Army, or INA. Rash
Behari Bose, an Indian revolutionary who had escaped from India and had been living in Japan for
many years, set up the Indian independence league with the support of Indians living in the countries
of south-east Asia.

When Japan defeated the British armies and occupied almost all the countries of south-East Asia, the
league formed the Indian National Army from among the Indian prisoners of war with the aim of
liberating India from the British rule. General Mohan Singh, who had been an officer in the British
Indian army, played an important role in organizing this army.
In the meantime, Subhas Chandra Bose had escaped from India in 1941 and gone to Germany to work
for India’s Independence. In 1943, he came to Singapore to lead the Indian Independence League and
rebuild the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) to make it an effective instrument for the freedom of
India. The Azad Hind Fauj comprised about 45,000 soldiers, among who were Indian prisoners of war as
well as Indians who were settled in various countries of south-east Asia.

On 21 October 1943, Subhas Bose, who was now popularly known as Netaji, proclaimed the formation
of the provisional government of independent India (Azad Hind) in Singapore. Netaji went to the
Andaman which had been occupied by the Japanese and hoisted there the flag of India. In early 1944,
three units of the Azad Hind Fauj (INA) took part in the attack on the north-eastern parts of India to
oust the British from India. According to Shah Nawaz Khan, one of the most prominent officers of the
Azad Hind Fauj, the soldiers who had entered India laid themselves flat on the ground and passionately
kissed the sacred soil of their motherland. However, the attempt to liberate India by the Azad Hind Fauj
failed.
The Indian nationalist movement did not view the Japanese government as a friend of India. Its
sympathies were with the people of those countries which had fallen victims to Japan’s aggression.
Netaji, however, believed that with the help of the Azad Hind Fauj, supported by Japan, and a revolt
inside India, the British rule over India could be ended. The Azad Hind Fauj, with the slogan of ‘Delhi
Chalo’ and the salutation Jai Hind was a source of inspiration to Indians, inside and outside the country.
Netaji rallied together the Indians of all religions and regions, living in south-east Asia, for the cause of
India’s freedom.

Indian women also played an important role in the activities for the freedom of India. A women’s
regiment of Azad Hind Fauj was formed, which was under the command of Captain Lakshmi
Swaminathan. It was called the Rani Jhansi regiment. The Azad Hind Fauj became the symbol of unity
and heroism to the people of India. Netaji, who had been one of the greatest leaders of India’s struggle
for freedom, was reported killed in an air crash a few days after Japan had surrendered.
The Second World War ended in 1945 with the defeat of fascist Germany and Italy. Millions of
people were killed in the war. When the war was nearing its end and Italy and Germany had already
been defeated, the U.S.A. dropped atom bombs on the two cities of Japan-Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Within a few moments, these cities were burnt to the ground and over 200,000 people were killed.
Japan surrendered soon after this. Though the use of the atom bombs brought the war to a close, it
led to new tensions in the world and to a new competition for making more and more deadly
weapons which might destroy all mankind.
The I.N.A. was organized by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at which of the following
places?
[A] Rangoon
[B] Singapore
[C] Taiwan
[D] Tokyo

Who was defeated by Subhash Chandra Bose during his re-election as President of
INC at the Tripuri Session in 1939?
[A] J.B.Kriplani
[B] Pattabhi Sitaramaiyya
[C] Rajendra Prasad
[D] Abul Kalam Azad

‘Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar’ is awarded by which Union

Ministry?
[A] Ministry of Home Affairs
[B] Ministry of Defence
[C] Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
[D] Ministry of Corporate affairs

The Government of India Act, 1935 was based on :

a. Lord Curzon Commission
b. Lord Clive’s report
c. Simon Commission
d. Dimitrov Thesis

Consider the following statements about the Government of India Act 1935.
1. The act established diarchy for the first time.
2. The act proposed for a federation system for the first time.
Which of the above statement are correct?
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. 1&2
d. None of the above
Answer-
1. Singapore
2. Pattabai sitaramaiya
3. Ministry of home affairs
4. Simon commission
5. Only b