The Government of India Act 1935

The Government of India Act 1935 was the beginning of the second milestone taken by the country towards the creation of a more responsible and developing government in India. This date of the establishment of the Act marked the ending of Diarchy and the All-India Federation was formed due to that. Not to mention that this Act also played a very important role in the experimentation with provincial autonomy. Thus, it can be said without a single speck of doubt that the Government of India Act 1935 actually made a very huge mark on the constitutional development of the country. 

(Image will be Uploaded soon)

Students can go through the government of India Act 1935 notes in order to understand the topic better. 

Introduction to The Government of India Act

In the month of August 1935, the Government of India Act was passed as the longest Act to exist at that time under the British Act of Parliament. The Government of India Act 1935 was based on the fact that India needed to have some reforms made into the legislation. This particular Act of 1935 also included the Government Of Burma Act of 1935. The government of India Act 1935 provided for the federation of India and states that India would be considered as a federation if about 50% of the states would make the decision to join it. Then there would be a large number of representatives in the central legislature houses. However, the main provisions of the Act were not really implemented. There were no references made to the dominion status of the country in the Act.

One of the main things to keep in mind about the Government of India Act 1935 was that this was basically an improvement when compared to the existing version. The introduction of provincial autonomy in India further proved the fact that this Act was an important one. The legislative powers provided to the members were increased due to the Act. However, the government still had control over certain departments such as the Police forces. There was also a limited amount of increase in the right to vote. About 14 percent of the entire population of India had the right to vote according to the Act. These were some of the defects of the Government of India Act 1935. It didn’t really manage to fulfill the objective for which the nationalist movement was created.

Background and Importance of Government of India Act 1935

According to the government of India Act 1935 notes, there are some important details about this particular Act that students need to know about. First of all, there was a huge demand for adding some constitutional reforms for the country. Most of these demands were made by the leaders of the different associations in India. After getting the support of India in World War I where India extended their services to the Britishers, they actually acknowledged the importance of having more Indians included in the administration. Hence, the creation of this Act occurred. The government of India Act 1935 was based on some of the important recommendations that were made in the Round Table Conferences, the Simon Commission Report, the reports submitted by the Joint Select Committees, as well as the White Paper which was then published by the government of Great Britain in the year 1933.

Features of Government of India Act 1935 

Here are some of the salient features of the Government of India Act 1935. 

The Act stated the importance of having an All-India Federation that would consist of the princely states as well as the provinces who would act as units. This Act also divided all the powers between the units and the Centre into the Provincial List, the Federal List, and the Concurrent List. The Viceroy had the residuary power. However, this federation never happened since the princely states didn’t join the Act.

The abolishment of diarchy occurred due to this Act and it paved the way for the introduction of provincial autonomy. The different provinces were given permission to act as autonomous administrative units in their definitive spheres. The government of India Act 1935 provided for the adoption of diarchy at the Centre.

The principles related to communal representation were also introduced in the Act. Hence the legislatures of Bombay, Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Madras, as well as the United Provinces would be made bicameral and would have their own legislative council.

These are just a few of the important salient features of Government of India Act 1935. There are many more about which the students can learn from the government of India Act 1935 notes. The government of India Act of 1935 did prove to be quite beneficial even though it didn’t establish a federation in the country. This Act proved to be the beginning of provincial autonomy in India and hence helped in the constitutional development of the country.