Government of India Act 1919 – APPSC Paper I notes

Core facts

Montagu Declaration, 20 August 1917: the British Government declared its aim of the gradual introduction of responsible government in India. It was made by Edwin Montagu, Secretary of State.
The 1919 Act is called the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. Lord Chelmsford was the Viceroy.
It came into force in 1921.
Dyarchy (dual rule) in the provinces: provincial subjects were split into reserved and transferred subjects.
Bicameralism at the Centre: the Indian Legislative Council was replaced by a Council of State (upper house) and a Legislative Assembly (lower house). Most members of both were directly elected.
Three of the six members of the Viceroy's Executive Council, other than the Commander-in-Chief, were to be Indians.
Separate electorates were extended to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
A Public Service Commission was provided for. The Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1926.
A statutory commission was to review the Act after ten years. This became the Simon Commission (1927).

Explained

Dyarchy in the provinces

	Reserved subjects	Transferred subjects
Run by	Governor with his Executive Council	Governor with ministers
Answerable to	Not to the legislative council	The legislative council
Examples	Law and order, police, land revenue, irrigation	Education, health, local self-government, agriculture

Other provisions

Central and provincial subjects were separated under the Devolution Rules. The Centre and the provinces could make laws on their own lists, but the structure stayed unitary and centralised.
Provincial budgets were separated from the Central budget. Provinces could prepare their own budgets.
Franchise was given to a limited number of people, on the basis of property, tax or education. There was no adult franchise.
A High Commissioner for India was created in London. Some functions of the Secretary of State moved to him.
Indian members of the Viceroy's Executive Council: three of six, excluding the Commander-in-Chief.
The Chamber of Princes (Narendra Mandal) was set up in 1921, in pursuance of the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, as a forum for the rulers of the princely states.
The Lee Commission (1923–24) recommended setting up the Public Service Commission; the Central Public Service Commission was formed in 1926.

After the 1919 Act: the road to 1935

Simon Commission, appointed in November 1927, two years ahead of schedule.
- Seven members, all British, chaired by Sir John Simon. All Indian parties boycotted it.
- Its report (1930) recommended: abolition of dyarchy; extension of responsible government in the provinces; a federation of British India and the princely states; and continuing communal electorates.
Three Round Table Conferences (1930–1932) in London discussed its proposals. A White Paper followed, and then the 1935 Act.
Communal Award, August 1932: announced by British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. It extended separate electorates to the depressed classes (Scheduled Castes) as well.
Gandhi fasted in Yerawada Jail (Poona) against separate electorates for the depressed classes.
Poona Pact, September 1932: an agreement between Congress leaders and Dr B.R. Ambedkar. It kept the joint (Hindu) electorate and gave reserved seats to the depressed classes. The British Government accepted it.

Common traps

✗ "The 1919 Act introduced dyarchy at the Centre." ✓ It introduced dyarchy in the provinces. Dyarchy at the Centre was in the 1935 Act and never came into force.
✗ "The August 1917 declaration was made by Lord Chelmsford." ✓ It was made by Edwin Montagu, the Secretary of State.
✗ "The Simon Commission had two Indian members." ✓ It had seven members, all British.
✗ "The 1919 Act gave the vote to all adults over 21." ✓ Franchise was limited by property, tax or education.
✗ "The Poona Pact gave separate electorates to the depressed classes." ✓ It did the reverse: joint electorate with reserved seats.
✗ "The Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1919." ✓ The Act provided for it; it was set up in 1926.

Quick revision

Montagu Declaration: 20 August 1917, responsible government as the goal.
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms: Act of 1919, in force 1921.
Dyarchy in provinces: reserved (Governor + Executive Council) vs transferred (Governor + ministers).
Bicameral Centre: Council of State + Legislative Assembly; majority directly elected.
3 of 6 Executive Council members Indian (other than the C-in-C).
Separate electorates extended to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans.
Provincial budgets separated; High Commissioner in London; CPSC 1926.
Simon Commission 1927: 7 British members; report 1930.
Communal Award 1932 (MacDonald) vs Poona Pact 1932 (joint electorate, reserved seats).

Go deeper: Deeper, Mains writing (beyond what APPSC Paper I usually asks)

Deeper Advanced

Why dyarchy failed

The division of subjects was artificial. A minister in charge of agriculture had no control over irrigation, which was reserved.
Ministers had no control over finance, which was a reserved subject under an executive councillor.
The Governor could overrule ministers, and the civil services were controlled by the Secretary of State, not by ministers.
Ministers were answerable to the legislature, but the Governor could still interfere. The result was responsibility without power.

Statement-level points

The 1919 Act was the first to use the idea of responsible government, but only in the provinces and only for transferred subjects.
Bicameralism at the Centre came in 1919. Bicameralism in six provinces came in 1935.
Separate electorate for Muslims came in 1909; its extension to Sikhs and others in 1919; to the depressed classes, women and labour in 1935 (after the Communal Award, as modified by the Poona Pact).
The Federal Court was not a feature of the 1919 Act. It came from the 1935 Act and was set up in 1937.
Women's franchise: the Act left it to the provincial legislatures, and several provinces gave women a restricted vote in the 1920s.
The Act did not give adult franchise. Universal adult franchise came only with the Constitution of 1950 (Article 326).

The Indian reply to Simon

The Nehru Report (1928), prepared by a committee of an all-parties conference chaired by Motilal Nehru, was an early Indian attempt to draft a constitution. It proposed dominion status and a list of fundamental rights.

Mains writing Mains writing

Frame: the 1919 Act was the first British admission that India's goal was responsible government. Its method, dyarchy, divided power so that Indians held responsibility without real control.
Analysis points:
1. Responsible government in part. Ministers answerable to elected legislatures were the first Indian experience of cabinet-style government.
2. Fiscal federalism begins. Separate provincial budgets and divided lists began the Centre-province division later formalised in 1935 and the Seventh Schedule.
3. Institutions that survived. Bicameral central legislature, a Public Service Commission (ancestor of the UPSC, Article 315), and a High Commissioner in London.
4. Communal politics deepened. Separate electorates for more groups, and later the Communal Award, made representation a community bargain.
5. Failure as a lesson. The weaknesses of dyarchy pushed the 1935 Act towards provincial autonomy.
Way forward / linkage: the Poona Pact's idea of reserved seats within a joint electorate is the model of Articles 330 and 332 (reserved seats for SCs and STs).
Example: the Constitution chose joint electorates with reserved seats, rejecting separate electorates, following the Poona Pact model.

Medha AI writes its own notes and checks them against the sources listed. Medha AI is an independent preparation service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to APPSC, TSPSC, MPSC, UPSC or any other commission or government body.

5.1.1.3 Government of India Act 1919

Download this PDF