Constitutional Development (1773-1947)

• The history of constitutional development in India begins with the passing of the Regulating Act in
1773. Subsequently, the Pitt's India Act of 1784 and the successive Charter Acts from 1793 to 1853 formed
a significant part of the constitutional changes under the rule of the East India Company (EIC).
• The Revolt of 1857 brought about important changes in the British administration in India. After the
revolt, the British Parliament passed a new Act in 1858, which ended the EIC's rule and brought the
administration of India under the direct control of the British Crown. Thereafter, as a result of the Indian
national movement, significant developments took place in the constitutional history of India.

Regulating Act 1773

• In 1773, the British Parliament decided to control the Company's Administration and passed the
Regulating Act. It was the British Parliament's first act to regulate the Company's affairs in India.

Court of Director
• The Act made changes in the constitution of the Court of Directors. The Court of Proprietors would now
elect twenty-four members every four years, with six directors retiring annually instead of all directors
being elected yearly.
• The actions of the Directors were subjected to the supervision of the British Government. The Directors
of the Company were required to submit all communications about the civil and military affairs of
Bengal (administration of Bengal) and the revenues of India to the British Government.

Executive Government
• Governor-General of Bengal: The status of Governor of Bengal was raised to the Governor-General
of Bengal, and Governors of other provinces in India were subordinate to him.
ð Warren Hastings was the last Governor of Bengal (1772-73) and the first Governor-General of
Bengal from 1773 to 1785.
• Governor General in Council: The Governor-General was to be assisted by a council of four members.
Decisions were to be made by majority vote, and the Governor-General had a casting vote.
v The Governor General in Council was given the power:
1. To administer the Bengal Presidency (civil and military administration)
2. To superintend and control the presidencies of Madras and Bombay in matters of war and
peace.
ð The Governor-General did not possess the power of veto.
• Subordination of Madras and Bombay: The Governors of Madras and Bombay were required to
regularly send information to the Governor-General regarding the Company's government revenues
and interests.
ð Before the Regulating Act of 1773, the three EIC presidencies were independent, and no one was
subordinate to another.
• Final Authority: The Governor General was directly controlled by the Court of Directors and kept it fully
informed of the Company's affairs.

Judiciary
• The Act established a Supreme Court of Justice at Calcutta with the Chief Justice (Sir Elijah Impey) and
three judges to give justice to Europeans, their employees and the citizens of Calcutta.

Effects of the Regulating Act

ü The Regulating Act laid the foundation of a Central administration and instituted a system of
Parliamentary control. It created a centralised administration in India, making the Bombay and Madras
Governors subordinate to the Governor-General of Bengal.
ü It recognised the political and administrative functions of the company in addition to its commercial
function (trade).

Defects of the Regulating Act

Ø The Governor-General was placed at the mercy of his Council. Three Councillors could combine and
outvote the Governor-General on any matter, often creating deadlocks in the administration. The
Governor-General had no power to override the council.
Ø The Governor-General’s control over the other two Presidencies proved inadequate in practice.

Pitt’s India Act 1784

• Pitt’s Act gave the British Government supreme control over the Company’s affairs and administration in
India.
• The Act established a Board of Control consisting of six commissioners, including two Cabinet minis-
ters. The Board of Control was established:
v To guide and control the work of the Court of Directors and the Government of India.
v To control all matters of civil and military affairs and revenue of the British territories in India.
• In important and urgent matters, the Board of Control had the power to send direct orders to India
through a secret committee of Directors.
• Pitt’s Act reduced the number of members of the Governor-General's Council to three. One of them was
to be the Commander-in-Chief. This enabled the Governor-General to get a majority even if he could
get the support of only one member.
• The Governor-General and Council were made subordinate to the British Government. They were
forbidden to declare war and enter into any treaty without the sanction of the directors or the secret
committee.
• The Company's possessions in India came under the supremacy of the British Parliament and were
called British possessions.
ð The Government of India was to be carried on till 1857 according to the framework given in the Pitt's
Act. However, later enactments gradually diminished the powers and privileges of the Company.

Amending Act of 1786

• In 1786, the Governor-General or Governor was given the authority to overrule his Council in matters
of importance affecting peace (tranquillity), safety, or the interests of the Empire in India.
• The offices of the Governor General and the Commander-in-Chief were to be united in the same per-
son.

Charter Act of 1813

• The Charter Act of 1813 renewed the Company's Charter for 20 years, but it asserted the sovereignty of
the British Crown over the Indian territories held by the Company. The company was allowed to have
territorial possessions for another 20 years.
• It directed to maintain separate accounts of the Company's territorial and commercial revenues.
• The local government in India was granted the authority to levy taxes on individuals.
• Abolition of Trade Monopoly: The Charter Act of 1813 ended the company’s trade monopoly in India,
and trade with India was thrown open to all British subjects. Trade in tea and opium and trade with
China were still exclusive to the Company.
• Education: The Act of 1813 required the Governor-General in Council to allocate at least one lakh rupees
annually for education. It also permitted the Christian missionaries to conduct religious and educa-
tional activities in India.

Charter Act of 1833

• The Governor-General of Bengal became the Governor-General of India.
ð Lord William Bentinck was the last Governor-General of Bengal and the first Governor-General of
India.

Governor-General in Council
• The Governor General's Executive Council was expanded to include the Law Member, bringing the total
number of members to four. (Pitt’s Act of 1784 reduced it to three)
ð Lord Macaulay was the first Law Member of the Governor-General's Council. He influenced the
government's educational policy for many years.
• The Governor-General in Council was given the power to legislate for all British territories in India.
Hence, the Governors of Bombay and Madras were deprived of their legislative power.
• The Council was given the power to control, superintend, and direct the Company's civil and military
affairs.
• The Bombay, Bengal, Madras and other regions were subjected to complete control of the Governor
General in Council.

Law Commission
• The Governor-General was empowered to appoint the Law Commission to study, collect and codify
various rules and regulations prevalent in India.
ð The first Law Commission was appointed in India in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 and was
presided over by Lord Macaulay.

Civil Service
• The Act declared that no Indians should be disqualified for any place in the company's service.
However, nothing was done, and Indians remained excluded from higher posts in civil and military service.

Trade
• The Charter Act of 1833 ended the Company's monopoly of tea trade and trade with China.
• The Company was to have only political functions (deprived of commercial function). Thus, the Act
ended the Company as a commercial body.

Slavery
• The Charter Act of 1833 instructed the government to abolish slavery.
ð The Indian government abolished slavery in 1843.

Other Provisions
• The number of members of the Presidency Councils was reduced to two.
• The Indian possessions of the Company were to be held in trust for the British Crown.
• India was to pay the Company's debts. The company’s shareholders were guaranteed a dividend of
10.5% per annum.

Charter Act of 1853

Indian/Central Legislative Council
• The Charter Act of 1853 separated the council's executive and legislative functions. In its legislative
capacity, the Council was to consist of 12 members. These included:
v The Governor-General of India
v Commander-in-Chief
 v Four members of the Governor-General’s Council
v Six legislative members, including four representatives from the local government of Bombay,
Bengal, Madras and North Western provinces (local representation)
• The consent of the Governor-General was made necessary for all legislative proposals.
• For the first time, legislation was treated as a special function of the government, requiring special
machinery and procedures.
ð No Indian was associated with the Legislative Councils.

Civil Service
• The Act provided for appointing members of the covenanted civil service of India based on a suitable
competitive examination. Thus, Indians were allowed to enter the civil service.
• The committee (the Committee on the Indian Civil Service) headed by Lord Macaulay was appointed
to advise on the measures to be adopted to give effect to the Act of 1853.

Law Member
• The Law Member was made a full member of the Executive Council of the Governor General.

Number of Directors
• The number of Directors was reduced from 24 to 18. Six of them were to be nominated by the Crown.

Queen's Proclamation (1858)

• On August 2, 1858, the British Parliament passed the bill for the Better Government of India,
introduced by Lord Stanley, the President of the Board of Control, and it became the Government of
India Act, 1858.
• The Act transferred the power to govern India from the East India Company to the British Crown and
declared Queen Victoria as the sovereign of British India.
ð In actual practice, the power of the crown was exercisable by the Secretary of State for India, a
Minister of Cabinet rank, who was to be assisted by an undersecretary and a council of fifteen
members.
• The various changes introduced by the Act of 1858 were formally announced by a proclamation of
Queen Victoria on November 1, 1858. Lord Canning, at Allahabad, announced Queen Victoria’s
proclamation to "the Princes, Chiefs and Peoples of India."
• The Queen's proclamation, known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people, disclaimed territorial
extensions, promised religious toleration, guaranteed the rights of Indian princes, and pledged
equal treatment to Indians and Europeans. The proclamation declared that:
v Those who laid down arms by 2 January 1859 would be pardoned except those directly involved
in the murder of British subjects
 v Official service would be open to all
v Due regard would be given to the ancient usages and customs of India
ð The Revolt of 1857 ended an era of annexations and expansion and guaranteed the support for
“native princes”. It declared that princes could adopt any heirs they desired as long as they pledged
their undying allegiance to the British crown.
ð The year 1857 marks a significant shift in Indian history, with British paramountcy in the first half
and the growth of Indian nationalism in the second half of the 19th century.

Government of India Act 1858

• As the Charter Act of 1853 did not give the EIC the right to govern India for another 20 years, it
gave the British Government an opportunity to step in and take the place of the EIC in India.

Changes brought by the Act of 1858

• Transfer of Power: The Government of India passed from the hands of the English EIC to the crown,
and the company's armed forces were also transferred to the crown.
v The Crown was empowered to appoint a Governor-General and the governors of the presidencies.
• Secretary of State: The Board of Control and Court of Directors were abolished and replaced by the
Secretary of State of India and his India Council. The dual control of the President of the Board of
Control and the Directors of the Company was abolished, and all the authority was centred on the
Secretary of State.
• The Secretary of State was a member of the British Cabinet and, as such, responsible to British
Parliament. Thus, the ultimate power over India remained with Parliament.
• The Secretary of State was to be assisted by a Council of fifteen members, of whom at least nine
would have served in India for not less than ten years and left India not more than ten years before their
appointment to the Council.
ð Lord Stanley was India's first Secretary of State for India.

Secretary of State: De facto Ruler

• The Secretary of State had the authority to override the decisions made by the India Council. However,
the Council's approval was essential in financial matters.
• The Secretary of State was given the power to send and receive secret messages and dispatches from
the Governor General without communicating them to the India Council.
• After 1870, the Secretary of State controlled the minute details of administration and effectively
became the de facto government of India. This was possible because of the following developments:
v The Suez Canal was opened in 1869.
v A direct cable line was laid between England and India in 1870.
v The voyages between the two countries were shortened by the introduction of steam vessels.
Central Administration
• Viceroy: The central administration in India remained in the Governor-General’s hands, who was also
given the title of Viceroy or Crown's representative. The viceroy was also responsible for diplomatic
relations with the princely states.
ð Lord Canning, the Governor-General, became the first Viceroy. He had the unique opportunity to
become both the Governor-General and the first Viceroy.
• Executive Council: An executive council of five members was formed to help the Governor-General.
The executive council members were to act as the heads of the departments and advisors to the
Governor General.
v The Council discussed all important matters and decided them by a majority vote, but the
Governor-General had the power to override any important decision of the Council.

The Indian Councils Act of 1861

Central Administration
• The Indian Councils Act of 1861 increased the number of members in the Governor-General's Executive
Council from 4 to 5.
• For legislative purposes, the Governor-General was authorised to add six to twelve members to his
Executive Council for two years. This expanded Council was called the Imperial Legislative Council.
• In the expansion of the council:
v At least half had to be non-officials, both European and Indian, not in the service of the Crown.
v The viceroy should nominate some Indians as non-official members.
ð In 1862, Lord Canning nominated three Indians to the council, namely, Maharaja Sir Narendra Singh
of Patiala, Raja Sir Deo Narayan Singh of Benaras and Sir Dinkar Rao of Gwalior.

Expansion of the Governor-General’s legislative power

• The approval of the Governor-General was required for the bill passed by the legislature to become an
act.
• Governor-General’s Ordinances had the validity of an Act.

Executive Council

• After the Regulating Act of 1773, the Governor-General was assisted by a council of four members.
• Pitt’s Act reduced the number of members of the Governor-General's Council to three.
• The Charter Act of 1833 added one Law Member and expanded the number of members to Four.
• After the Government of India Act of 1858, the executive council had five members because, for
the time being, the Commander-in-Chief was a member of the Governor General's Council.
 • Indian Councils Act of 1861 increased the number of members in the Governor-General's Executive
Council from four to five.

Provincial Administration
• The provincial governments had significant autonomy until 1833, when their power to enact laws was
revoked. The Act of 1861 returned the legislative power of the Madras and Bombay presidencies, but
they had to obtain permission from the Governor-General to pass an act.
• It laid down that legislative councils like that of the centre should be established first in Bombay,
Madras and Bengal and then in other provinces. Thus, it marked the turning of the tide of
centralisation.
• The Governor General was given the power to create new provinces for legislative purposes and could
appoint Lieutenant Governors.
ð New legislative councils for Bengal, the Northwestern Provinces, and Punjab were established in
1862, 1886, and 1897, respectively.
• In 1859, Lord Canning introduced the portfolio system in Calcutta's government. The Indian Councils
Act of 1861 recognised this system and transformed the viceroy’s Executive Council into a miniature
cabinet run on the portfolio system. Under this system, each of the five members was placed in charge
of a distinct department - home, revenue, military, finance, and law.

Indian Councils Act of 1892

• The Indian Councils Act of 1892 was an amending Act. Consequently, the basic constitutional provi-
sions remained the same as those under the Act of 1861. However, mainly two types of changes were
introduced by the Act of 1892:
1. Changes in the composition of legislative councils
2. Enlargement of functions
ð The Indian Councils Act of 1892 was the first major achievement of the INC in the constitutional
sphere.

Composition of Legislative Councils

Central Legislative Council

• The Indian Councils Act of 1892 increased the number of additional members of the Central Executive
Council to 10 to 16, of whom not less than half were to be non-officials, as under the Act of 1861.
• Under the regulations finally adopted, the Central Legislative Council was to consist of:
v Nine ex-officio members (the Governor-General, six members of the Executive Council, the Com-
mander-in-Chief and the head of the province in which the Council met, i.e. Lieutenant Governor of
Bengal or Punjab)
 v Six official Additional Members
v Ten non-official members of the Legislative Councils of Bengal, Bombay, Madras and the North-
western province.
• The official members, together with the ex-officio members, constituted an official majority.
• The Act provided for the nomination of some non-official members by the viceroy on the recommen-
dation of the provincial legislative councils and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce.

Provincial Legislative Councils

• Similar changes were introduced in the composition of provincial legislative councils. The official major-
ity was maintained in all provinces.
• The Act provided for the nomination of some non-official members by the Governors on the recom-
mendation of the universities, district board, municipalities, zamindars and chambers of commerce
to the provincial legislative councils.

Elected or Nominated?

• In practice, different bodies elected their representatives and forwarded their names. The Govern-
ment always accepted these names. Thus, the members were elected representatives.
• The idea behind the nomination of some non-official members by the Governor-General or the Gov-
ernor was to underline that the members occupied seats on the Legislative Council not as represent-
atives of specific bodies but as nominees of the Governor-General or the Governor.

Enlargement of Functions of Councils

• The councils were allowed:
v To ask questions to the executive (supplementary questions were not allowed).
v To indulge in a free and fair criticism of the government's policy.
v To discuss the annual financial statement (budget), though they could not vote on them.
ð Under the Act of 1892, Members were, for the first time, granted the privilege of asking questions. The
Maharaja of Bhinga asked the first question on February 16th, 1893.

Limitations
Ø The official majority was maintained in the legislative councils.
Ø Direct election was not introduced to represent non-official members.
Ø Supplementary questions could not be asked.
Ø The budget could not be voted on.

Indian Councils Act of 1909 (Morley–Minto Reforms)

• The Indian Councils Act 1909 was the last of the Councils Acts made by the British Parliament for India.
Like the earlier Indian Council Act of 1892, the Act of 1909 was also an amending Act. Like its
 predecessor, it also introduced changes in the size and functions of the Councils of the Governor-
General and Governors to make Laws and Regulations.

Expansion of Councils
• This Act increased the strength of the Central (Imperial) and Provincial Legislative Councils.
• Excluding the ex-officio members:
v Central Legislative Council: The number of additional members (official and non-official) was in-
creased to sixty (from 16). The official members were to be in a majority.
v Provincial Legislative Councils: The number of additional members (official and non-official) was
to be between thirty and fifty (not uniform). Provincial Councils have a majority of non-official
members.
ü The number of additional members was 50 in large states like Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Madras,
Bombay, and the United Provinces.
ü The number of additional members was 30 in smaller states like Punjab, Assam and Burma.

Central or Imperial Legislative Council

• In the Central or Imperial Legislative Council, there were 37 officials (9 ex-officio + 28 additional official
members) and 32 non-official members (additional members). The members can be classified into four
types:
1. Ex-officio members (9 members)
2. Official members (28 additional official members)
3. Nominated non-official members (5 members)
4. Elected non-official members (Indirectly elected 27 members)
• The official members, together with the ex-officio members, constituted an official majority.
• It introduced the non-official majority in provinces but retained the official majority in the Central
Legislative Council.
• The Act of 1909 became a landmark because of the manner in which non-official seats were distributed
and filled. Of these 32 non-official seats, 5 were filled by nomination from the government. The remaining
27 seats were distributed as follows:
v By non-official members of the Provincial Legislative Councils: 13
v By landholders of six provinces: 6
v By Muslims of five provinces: 5
v Alternately by Muslim landholders of the U.P. or of Bengal: 1
v Chambers of Commerce of Calcutta and Bombay: 2

Indirect Elections
• For the first time, this act introduced indirect elections in the Central Legislative Council and Provincial
Legislative Councils. The elected non-official members were elected by indirect elections:
v By the provincial councils in the case of the Imperial Council
v By municipal committees and district boards in the case of provincial councils.
• Example: For the 13 seats from the Provincial Legislative Councils:
v The tax-paying citizens of a town or village elected representatives for municipal committees or
local boards, which in turn elected representatives for provincial Legislative Councils. These non-
official members of the Provincial Councils, in turn, elected representatives to the Central Legislative
Council.
• Similar provisions were made for forming Provincial Legislative Councils.

Separate Electorate
• The Act introduced for the first time the principle of communal representation in India and provided
a separate electorate for Muslims; that is, Muslims were to be elected by the electorates consisting of
Muslims only.
• The Reforms introduced the system of separate electorates. This was done in the name of protecting the
Muslim minority. But in reality, this was a part of the policy of dividing Hindus and Muslims and thus
maintaining British supremacy in India. The system of separate electorates:
v Checked the progress of India’s unification.
v Encouraged separatist tendencies.
v Became a potent factor in the growth of communalism in the country.
v Prevented people from concentrating on economic and political problems common to all Indians,
Hindus or Muslims.

Principle of Weightage
• Muslims were also given weightage, i.e., more seats were given to them than the number warranted by
their proportion of the local population.

Enlargement of Functions of Councils

• The Act empowered the Council:
v To ask supplementary questions (though restricted): The member who asked the original question
was given the right to ask supplementary questions.
ü The right to ask questions to seek information from the government was provided in 1892, but
the right to ask supplementary questions was not conceded until 1909.
v To vote on some part of the budget (the votable part): The Budget was considered in two stages.
The presentation of a preliminary budget called the financial statement, was followed by a general
discussion. Some expenditures, such as the Army's, were, however, treated as non-votable.
 v To move the resolution on matters of public interest: The members of the Legislative Councils
were given the right to move resolutions on matters of general public interest subject to certain
limitations. These resolutions were to be in the form of recommendations to the Government, which
the latter might or might not adopt.
ü The first resolution under the rules was moved on 25 February 1910 by Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
recommending the prohibition of indentured labour for Natal in South Africa.
ü On the Rowlatt Bill, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya spoke for two and a half hours. Similarly,
on the Indemnity Bill, he spoke for four hours continuously, for a total of six and a half hours.

Indians in the Executive Council

• The Act empowered the Viceroy and Governors to nominate one Indian member to their executive
council. Satyendra Prasad Sinha was the first person to be appointed to the Governor General's Exec-
utive Council in 1909. He was appointed as a member of the Legal Affairs.
• Under this provision, comparatively unimportant portfolios like those of law or education were given to
Indians. Yet this step was important because it amounted to an implicit acceptance of two facts:
1. Indians were fit to be appointed to the highest position.
2. Indians were better interpreters of the wishes of their countrymen than British officials.

Government of India Act of 1919

• Government of India Act of 1919 marked the beginning of responsible government in India. This Act
had a separate preamble, which declared that its objective was the gradual introduction of a respon-
sible government in India.
• The Act introduced bicameralism in the centre and direct elections for the first time in the country.

Bicameral Legislature at the Centre

• The Act provided for a bicameral legislature at the centre.
1. Legislative Assembly (lower house): Consisted of 145 members serving three-year terms.
v The seats were distributed amongst the provinces not based on their population but on their
importance in the eyes of the government.
2. Council of State (upper house): Consisted of 60 members serving five-year terms
• The majority of members of both the Houses were chosen by direct election.

Unicameral Legislature in the Province

• The Act was originally applied to eight provinces: Madras, Bombay, Bengal, United Provinces, Punjab,
Bihar, Orissa, Central Provinces, and Assam. In 1923, its provisions were extended to Burma and,
sometime later, to North Western Frontier Province.
• In each of these provinces, a unicameral legislature called the Legislative Council, was created. It
consisted of the Governor's Executive Council, elected and nominated members.
• The size of these legislative councils varied from province to province. However, the elected members
were in the majority (at least 70 per cent of the members of a Council)
• The elected members were to be elected by direct election, i.e. the primary voters elected the member.

No Universal Adult Franchise

• Under the Act, voting rights (Franchise) were restricted to only a limited number of people. The
franchise was not universal and not extended to women.
ð The Act gave provincial councils the freedom to choose to give Indian women the vote.
• The right to vote was granted only to those who met certain criteria such as property ownership, tax
payment or education.
v Those with property, taxable income, or paid land revenue of Rs. 3000 were entitled to vote.
v The members of the university senate were given the right to vote.
ð In 1918, women in Britain were given the right to vote. The Representation of the People Act (1918)
allowed women over the age of 30 who met a property qualification to vote.

Extension of Communal Electorates

• Other than Muslims, the minorities, including Sikhs, Anglo-Indians, Indian Christians and Europeans,
were given the right of a separate electorate.

Division of the Central and provincial subjects

• The central and provincial legislatures were given the authority to make laws on their respective
subjects.
1. Central List: Foreign and political relations, public debt, tariffs and customs, patents, currency,
communications, etc.
2. Provincial List: Local self-government, health, sanitation, education, public works. agriculture, forests,
law and order, etc.
v Transferred Subjects: Local self-government, health, education and some departments relating to
agriculture.
v Reserved Subjects: Police, justice, control over printing presses, irrigation, land revenue, factories
etc.
• The residual powers were vested in the Governor-General in Council.
• Under the 1919 Act, the provinces were only agents of the Centre. Whatever powers the provinces had
were given to them by the Centre. Hence the 1919 Act emphasised decentralisation rather than
federation.
Dyarchy at the Provincial Level
• The Act introduced the dyarchy (Diarchy) at the provincial level, i.e. dual government in the provinces.
Under this, the provincial administration was divided between reserved and transferred subjects.
v Reserved List: The councillors nominated by the Governor controlled reserved subjects and were
not responsible to the provincial legislature. It included subjects such as Police, justice, control over
printing presses, irrigation, land revenue, factories, etc.
v Transferred List: Transferred subjects were controlled by the ministers responsible to the provincial
legislature. It included agriculture, supervision of local government, health, and education.
• Under the Act, the partially responsible government was introduced in the provinces. The minister was
responsible to the legislature, whereas the governor was exempt from such responsibility.

Extension of Power of Governor-General

• The power of the Governor-General was extended.
v Every bill passed by the Central Legislature required the Governor-General's consent. However, the
Governor-General could enact a bill without the legislature's assent.
v Any bill relating to matters enumerated in the provincial list required the previous sanction of the
Governor-General before it could be introduced in the Central Legislature.
v In addition to the power to veto any bill, the Governor-General was also given the power of
certification, i.e., he could secure the enactment of a bill that was refused by the legislature. The
Governor-General could exercise this power by certifying that the bill was essential for the safety,
tranquillity, or interests of British India or any part thereof.
v The Governor General could overrule the decisions of his Executive Council.
v The Governor General had full control over foreign and political departments (departments
dealing with princely States in India).

Governor-General's Executive Council

• To involve more Indians in the government, it was provided that three out of the six members of the
Governor-General's Executive Council would be Indians.
• However, these Indian members were assigned less important portfolios, like Law, Education, Labour,
Health, or Industry. They reported to the Governor-General, who, in turn, reported to the Secretary of
State, not the Legislature.

Council of the Secretary of State

• The Council of the Secretary of State was to have eight to twelve members, with three Indian
Members.
v The Secretary of the state was to follow the advice rendered by the Council.
 v The Secretary of State was not allowed to interfere in the administrative matters of the provinces
concerning transferred subjects.
• The salaries of the Secretary of State for India and his assistants were to be paid out of the British
revenues. So far, they have been paid out of Indian revenues.

Finance
• The Act provided the complete separation of the sources of revenue between the central and
provincial governments.
• It separated provincial budgets from the central budget for the first time and authorised the provincial
legislatures to enact their budgets.

Other Provisions
• Relaxation of Control: The British parliament's control over the Indian government was relaxed, and
that of the Central government over the provincial government was reduced.
• Enlargement of Functions of Councils: The right to ask supplementary questions was extended to
all members.
• Office of the High Commissioner: The Act established a new office of the High Commissioner for
India in London and granted him some of the functions that were previously performed by the
Secretary of State for India.
• Statutory Commission: The Act provided for the appointment of a statutory commission at the end
of ten years after the act was passed to inquire into and report on the working system of the government.
The Simon Commission of 1927 was an outcome of this provision.

Limitations
Ø No Responsible Government in the Centre: The chief executive authority remained vested in the
Governor-General, who remained responsible to the British Parliament through the Secretary of State
and not to the Indian Legislature. Thus, the Governor General had too many powers and was not
responsible to the Legislature.
Ø The Central Government was more representative and responsive but not responsible.
Ø The central legislature had no control over the Governor-General and his Executive Council.
Ø The experiment of diarchy failed. The excessive control of the finance department (reserved subject)
over the administration of transferred subjects affected their smooth functioning. Transferred subjects
starved financially as they needed more money for development.
Ø The reserved subjects were to be administered by the Governor and his Executive Council. They were
appointed by the British Government and were jointly responsible to the Governor-General and the
Secretary of State for India.
Ø The Governor exercised effective powers over the whole administration through the Instrument of
Instruction and Executive Business Rules.
Ø The powers of the legislature were limited or restricted.
Ø The Governor could overrule the Ministers on any grounds which he considered special.
Ø The central government had unrestricted control over the provincial governments.

Government of India Act of 1935

Supremacy of the British Parliament
• The Government of India Act of 1935 was passed without a Preamble. This allowed the Preamble of
the 1919 Act to continue unhindered. This meant that responsible government was to be achieved
through successive stages, with the British Parliament acting as the sole authority on the nature and
timing of each stage. All rights of amending, altering or repealing the Constitution of India remained
vested with the British Parliament.

At Federal level
All-India Federation

• The Act proposed an all-India federation of British provinces and princely states. The Princely States
had the option to join the Federation, and the nature of the relationship would differ from state to
state according to the Instrument of Accession. However, once extended, the Instrument of Accession
would be irrevocable.
• The federation’s formation was conditional on the fulfilment of two conditions.
1. The princely states that would join the federation should fill at least 52 (half) of the 104 seats of
the Council of State.
2. The aggregate population of states in the above category should be 50 per cent (half) of the total
population of all Indian states.
• Since these conditions were not fulfilled, the proposed federation never came up. Hence, the Central
Government carried on up to 1946 as per the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1919.
ð The Act proposed a Federal government for India and, for the first time, tried to bring British
provinces and Indian States under one common constitution.

Dyarchy

• The principle of Dyarchy was introduced at the Centre.

• Subjects to be administered were divided into reserved and transferred subjects.
v Reserved Subjects such as foreign affairs, defence, and tribal areas were to be exclusively
administered by the Governor-general on the advice of executive councillors. Executive councillors
were not to be responsible to the central Legislature.
 v Transferred subjects were administered by the ministers responsible to the central Legislature.
• The Governor-General had complete control over reserved subjects and effective control over
transferred subjects.

Bicameral Legislature

• The Act provided a bicameral legislature at the Centre:

1. The lower house (the Federal Assembly): It consists of 375 members: 250 (67%) were elected by
the legislative assemblies of the British Indian provinces; 125 (33%) were nominated by the rulers
of the princely states.
v Election to the Federal Assembly was indirect.
v The duration of the assembly was to be five years.
v Members of the federal assembly could move a vote of no confidence against ministers.
2. The upper house (the Council of State): It consists of 260 members: 156 (60%) were elected from
British India, and 104 (40%) were nominated by the rulers of the princely states.
v Election to the Council of States was direct.
v The Council of State was to be a permanent body with one-third of members retiring every
third year.

Undue Weightage to the Princely States

• The Princely States had the option:

v To join the Federation.
v To decide their relations with the Federal government through the Instrument of Accession.
• In the bicameral federal legislature, the States were given disproportionate weightage. The
representation of the Princely States was proportionately larger than their geographic or
demographic strength. With roughly one-fourth of the population of British India, the princely states
had 33% representation in the Federal Assembly and 40% in the Council of State.
• Representatives of the States were not to be elected by the people but appointed directly by the rulers
(not elect representatives like British provinces).
ð The princes were to be used to check and counter the nationalist elements.

Division of Legislative Power

• It divided the power between the centre and units in three lists:
1. Federal list (59 subjects): For Centre
2. Provincial list (54 subjects): For Provinces
3. Concurrent list (36 subjects): For both Centres and Provinces
• Residuary powers were given to the Governor-General.

Federal Court
• The Act provided a Federal Court to interpret the provisions and to decide over inter-province
disputes.
ð The Federal Court was set up in 1937.

Limitations

Ø The proposed All India Federation did not materialise as the princely states did not join it.
Ø In a federation, the Constitution is supreme. However, in the Act, the supremacy of the British
Parliament was retained. All rights to amend, alter, or repeal the provisions were kept with the British
Parliament.
Ø The federal part of the 1935 Act never came into operation, and the constitution of the Central
Government in India remained largely the same as that under the Act of 1919.
Ø The Secretary of State for India and the Governor-General were the ultimate authority, and they were
above the Act.
Ø Defence and foreign affairs remained outside the control of the legislature. Meanwhile, the Governor-
General retained special control over other subjects.
Ø No fully responsible government at the Centre. The Governor-General was to be appointed by the
British government and was responsible to it.
Ø There was no mention of Dominion status and the inclusion of provisions to attain it.
• The Government of India Act of 1935 proposed a Federal form of government for India and carried
the essential features of the Federation:
v A written constitution.
v Division of subjects between federal and provincial governments.
v A Federal Court to interpret the provisions of the Constitution.
• This Act greatly influenced our constitution-making in independent India. Indian Constitution
borrowed the following features from the Government of India Act of 1935:
v Federal Scheme
v Provincial autonomy
v Post of Governor
v Emergency provisions
v Administrative details
v Public Service Commissions
v Establishment of Supreme Court (earlier Federal Court)

At Provincial Level
Provincial Autonomy

• The Act abolished the dyarchy at provinces and introduced provincial autonomy.
• For the first time, the act recognised the provinces as having separate legal identities. They were freed
from ‘the superintendence, direction’ of the secretary of state and Governor-General. Provinces
henceforth derived their legal authority directly from the British Crown.
• Provinces were given independent financial powers and resources. Provincial governments could
borrow money on their security.

Responsible Government

• The Act provided for introducing responsible government in all eleven provinces - Bombay, Madras,
Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Central Provinces, United Provinces, NWFP, Punjab, and Sindh. The whole of
the Provincial Executive was now made responsible to or removable by the provincial Legislature.
• The distinction between transferred and reserved subjects was removed, and all Provincial subjects
were placed under the charge of the popular ministries. However, the Governors were given special
powers.
v Governors could veto legislative action and legislate on their own.
v Governors retained full control over the civil service and the police.
• The governors in provinces were invested with special executive powers. They could exercise discretion
in matters like law and order, the interests of minorities and the people of backward areas, and the
protection of the British commercial interests and those of the rulers of states.

Bicameral Legislatures

• The Act provided bicameral legislatures in six provinces, namely Bombay, Bengal, Madras, the United
Provinces, Bihar, and Assam.

Limitations

• The governor's power restricted the power of ministers and legislature in the provinces.
• Governors were to be appointed by the British government and were responsible to it.

Federation and the Act of 1935

• Under the 1935 Act, the Provinces were for the first time recognised in law as separate entities, exer-
cising executive and legislative powers in their own field, in their own right, free in normal circumstances
from Central control in that field. After the Act of 1935, the provinces were no longer considered sub-
ordinate authorities.
ð The 1935 Act sought to break up the unitary system under which British India had hitherto been
administered.

Separate Electorate
• The system of religion-based and class-based electorates was further extended.
• The separate electorate was further extended to women, depressed classes (scheduled castes), and
labour (workers).

Restricted Franchise
• Franchise was extended, and women got voting rights on the same basis as men. However, the Act
did not give all adults the right to vote (universal adult franchise). Only 14 per cent of the total pop-
ulation in British India was given the right to vote.

Abolition of Council of India

• The Act abolished the Council of India, established by the Government of India Act 1858. It provided
a team of advisors for the Secretary of State.

Other Provisions
• A partial reorganisation of the provinces:
v Sind was separated from Bombay.
v The Bihar and Orissa province was partitioned into separate provinces of Bihar and Orissa.
v Separation of Burma from British India
• Establishment of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
• Establishment of the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC), a Provincial Public Service Commission
(PPSC) in each province, and the Joint Public Service Commission (JPSC) for two or more provinces.

Indian Independence Act of 1947

• The Indian Independence Act of 1947 was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom based
on the Mountbatten Plan and received Royal Assent on 18th July 1947.
• The act ended British rule and created two new independent dominions: India and Pakistan. It also
gave them the right to secede from the British Commonwealth.
• The Act declared India as an independent dominion state from August 15, 1947.
ð The Act declared Pakistan as an independent and sovereign state from August 14, 1947.

Salient features
• The Act abolished:
v The Office of the Secretary of State for India and transferred its functions to the Secretary of State
for Commonwealth affairs.
v The title of ‘Emperor of India' for the British Crown.
v All existing treaties with the princely states, i.e. paramountcy over the princely states, lapsed.
• It lapsed the treaty relations with tribal areas.
• It discontinued appointment to civil services and reservation of posts by the Secretary of State for
India.
• It authorised the Constituent Assemblies of both dominions:
v To frame and adopt a new constitution for their territories.
v To repeal any Act passed by the British Parliament, including the Independence Act itself.
v To act as the Parliament to make laws for their respective territories till the new constitutions were
drafted and enacted.
• Till the framing of new constitutions, the Act provided for the governance of the new dominions and
provinces by the Government of India Act 1935. However, the dominions had the authority to make
changes to the Act.
• It ended the British Crown's power to veto or reserve bills.
• The Act abolished the Office of Viceroy. It provided that on the advice of the dominion cabinet, the
British King would appoint a governor-general for each dominion as the constitutional head of the
states until the formation of new constitutions.
• The Governor-General and Governors of various provinces:
v Became the constitutional executive heads.
v Should act on the advice of the respective council of ministers.
v Would not have veto power.
• No law passed by the British Parliament after August 15, 1947, would extend to either of the dominions
unless passed in the respective Assemblies.
ð Lord Mountbatten continued as Governor-General, and Jawaharlal Nehru was appointed India's first
Prime Minister.
ð Muhammad Ali Jinnah became Pakistan's Governor-General, and Liaquat Ali Khan became Prime
Minister.

Dominion to Sovereign Country

• India became independent on August 15, 1947, but it remained a dominion till 1950.
• A Dominion was a self-governing community within the British Empire, equal in status but had an
“allegiance to the Crown”. This meant that:
Ø King George VI remained the Emperor of India, with Lord Mountbatten as the first Governor-
General.
Ø Nehru became the Prime Minister but acted under the authority of the British Governor-General.
Ø Indian nationalist leaders took oaths in the name of the British King-Emperor.
Ø A British field marshal led the Indian army, and British-appointed judges remained in the courts.
• On 26th January 1950, when the Indian Constitution came into effect, India ended its ties to the
monarchy and became a sovereign democratic republic.