Introduction
Emerging from the recommendations of the Simon Commission and deliberations of the Round Table Conferences, the Government of India Act 1935 was the longest and most comprehensive legislative act enacted by the British Parliament for India. It served as a critical transitional framework and formed the administrative bedrock for the post-independence Constitution of India.
Main Features of the Act
The Act introduced extensive constitutional reforms aimed at decentralization and administrative efficiency across British India.
- Provincial Autonomy: The system of dyarchy in the provinces was abolished, replacing it with responsible parliamentary governments answerable to provincial legislatures. Bicameralism was introduced in six out of eleven provinces (Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam, and the United Provinces). However, provincial governors retained overriding discretionary powers and vetoes.
- Three-Fold Legislative Division: Legislative authority was formally demarcated into three distinct lists: the Federal List (59 subjects), the Provincial List (54 subjects), and the Concurrent List (36 subjects). Crucially, residuary powers were not granted to the legislatures but were vested exclusively in the Viceroy.
- Establishment of New Institutions: The Act provided for the establishment of the Federal Court of India (constituted in 1937), the Reserve Bank of India to manage currency and credit, and Federal as well as Provincial Public Service Commissions.
- Franchise and Separate Electorates: The franchise was expanded to approximately 10 percent of the total population based on property and tax criteria. Communal representation was further entrenched by extending separate electorates to the depressed classes, women, and labor.
Provisions That Were Not Implemented and Reasons
Despite its comprehensive nature, key structural provisions of the 1935 Act remained dead letters due to irreconcilable political and strategic obstacles.
- All-India Federation: The Act proposed a federation joining British Indian provinces and Princely States. This failed because accession by the Princely States was optional and required rulers representing at least half of the total princely population to join. The princes refused, fearing encroachment on their internal sovereignty. Simultaneously, the Indian National Congress rejected the federation due to its undemocratic nature, while the Muslim League opposed it fearing majoritarian dominance.
- Dyarchy at the Centre: The Act intended to bifurcate central administration into reserved subjects (defense, foreign affairs, ecclesiastical affairs) managed by the Governor-General and transferred subjects administered by ministers. However, this implementation was entirely contingent upon the formation of the All-India Federation and thus never materialized.
- Reorganized Central Legislature: The Act proposed indirect elections for the Federal Assembly (Lower House) and direct elections for the Council of State (Upper House). These structural transformations were postponed and permanently shelved following the outbreak of World War II in 1939.
Conclusion
Although Jawaharlal Nehru characterized the Act as a 'machine with strong brakes but no engine' because of imperial vetoes and safeguards, it profoundly shaped India's post-independence governance. Substantial structural elements, including the Seventh Schedule's legislative lists and emergency provisions, were integrated directly into the Constitution of India.