Explained: What Was Government of India Act 1935 And Why It Existed

Today, it is the Constitution of India that governs every aspect of the state machinery and this Constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950. Before that, the country was governed as per the Government of India Act 1935, a British Act that provided the provisions and rules to govern India. Following Independence, the act continued to be the highest law of the land till the Constitution was framed and implemented on 26 January.

What is it?

Pertaining to the growing demand for self-governance and constitutional reforms, the British government passed the Government of India act in 1935. The government of India act passed earlier in 1919 was deemed unsatisfactory leaving the Indian leaders frustrated. The Government of India act 1935 ended this dyarchy and also laid down a federal form of government. 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.

Shutterstock

By the late 19th century, Indians started demanding a greater role in the government and considering India¡¯s significant participation in the world war the British government was prompted to do so by introducing the Government of India Act 1919. While the idea was to increase participation, the concept of dyarchy and not being able to rule the area that was officially under them left Indian leaders unhappy.

What the Simon Commission did

To address the issue, the task of reviewing and making changes was given to the Simon Commission, which later presented a report which was seen as unsatisfactory. The report was then taken to the Indian Community Representatives for consultation. The matter thereafter was discussed in the round table conferences of 1930, 1931 and 1932 respectively. By the third round table conference, the discussion and debate around the issue resulted in the government presenting the White Papers, which was primarily a proposal.

Afterwards, a Joint Committee was set up to review the proposal, the committee included 20 representatives of British India out of which 7 members were from the Indian State. The committee between April 1933 and November 1934 reviewed the proposal and finally, in December 1934 the proposal was approved by the Joint Committee. The White Paper Proposals became the basis of the bill. The bill was presented in Parliament and after a lot of debate and opposition, it was passed into law on 2 August 1935.

The Hindu photo archives

Federal form of government of India

The act had various provisions and features but one of its major features was establishing a federal form of Government in India which is still prevalent in the Indian Constitution by dividing the central and its units under 3 lists as- Federal List, Provincial List, and Concurrent list. The act for the first time in India introduced direct elections. It also established a bicameral federal legislature with the Federal Assembly as the lower house and the Council of States as the upper house.

Federal Assembly term of 5 years

The federal assembly had a term of five years and both the houses had representatives from the princely states who were nominated by the ruler and not elected. The approach to form the federation and implement provincial autonomy paved the way for the division of subjects between the Centre and the Provinces. Along with it, the act gave more autonomy to the provinces and the diarchy was abolished at the provincial levels too. The act is also responsible for the establishment of a federal court, railway authority, the reserve bank of India, which to date serve their function.

Hindustan Times

The government of India act 1935 had its pros and cons, and after 15 years of it being in practice, the act was repealed on 26 January 1950 as India claimed its very own Constitution.

For more on explainers, news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.