Government of India Act 1935 – APPSC Paper I notes

Core facts

Passed by the British Parliament in 1935. Lord Willingdon was Viceroy then.
A long Act: 321 sections and 10 schedules.
It planned an All-India Federation of the provinces and princely states. The federation never came into being, because the princely states did not join.
Powers were divided into three lists:
- Federal List: 59 items
- Provincial List: 54 items
- Concurrent List: 36 items
Residuary powers were given to the Governor-General.
Provincial autonomy replaced dyarchy in the provinces. It began in 1937.
Dyarchy at the Centre was provided but never came into operation.
Bicameralism in six of the eleven provinces: Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces.
Separate electorates were extended to the depressed classes, women and labour (the standard textbook line; for the depressed classes this took the Poona Pact form of reserved seats within the general electorate).
It abolished the Council of India set up in 1858.
It provided for a Federal Court, set up in 1937.
Federal, Provincial and Joint Public Service Commissions were provided for.

Explained

Provincial autonomy

The provinces were no longer agents of the Centre. They became autonomous units with their own field of power.
In provincial subjects the Governor was to act on the advice of ministers answerable to the provincial legislature.
Provincial autonomy came into effect in 1937. Elections were held early that year, and Congress formed ministries in most provinces.
The Congress ministries resigned in 1939 in protest at India being declared a party to the Second World War without consultation.

Dyarchy at the Centre (planned, never started)

Federal subjects were to be divided into reserved and transferred subjects.
Reserved subjects included defence, external affairs, ecclesiastical affairs and tribal areas. The Governor-General would run them with counsellors not answerable to the legislature.
Central dyarchy was part of the federal scheme. Since the federation never began, central dyarchy never began either. The Centre continued under the 1919 Act's structure until 1947.

Other provisions

Provision	Detail
New provinces	Orissa and Sind created (1936)
Burma	Separated from India (took effect 1937)
Federal Court	Set up 1937; disputes between units; appeals from it lay to the Privy Council
Public Service Commissions	Federal PSC, a PSC for each province, and Joint PSCs for two or more provinces
Franchise	Extended, but still limited by property and education
Railways	A Federal Railway Authority was provided for
Secretary of State	Council of India abolished; he got a team of advisers

Reactions

Jawaharlal Nehru called it "a machine with strong brakes but no engine". He also called it "a new charter of slavery".
M.A. Jinnah rejected it as thoroughly rotten and totally unacceptable.

Common traps

✗ "The All-India Federation came into being in 1937." ✓ It never came into being; only provincial autonomy began in 1937.
✗ "The 1935 Act had four lists, including a Residuary List." ✓ It had three lists; residuary powers went to the Governor-General.
✗ "The Federal List had 54 items." ✓ Federal 59, Provincial 54, Concurrent 36.
✗ "The 1935 Act introduced dyarchy in the provinces." ✓ It ended provincial dyarchy (from 1919) and provided dyarchy at the Centre, which never started.
✗ "Punjab was one of the bicameral provinces." ✓ The six were Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam, United Provinces.
✗ "Under the 1935 Act residuary powers went to the provinces, as in the Constitution." ✓ The Act gave them to the Governor-General; the Constitution gives them to Parliament.

Quick revision

321 sections, 10 schedules.
All-India Federation: planned, never formed.
Lists: Federal 59, Provincial 54, Concurrent 36; residuary with the Governor-General.
Provincial autonomy from 1937; ministries resigned 1939.
Dyarchy at the Centre: provided, never in force.
Bicameral in 6 provinces: Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam, UP.
Separate electorates extended to depressed classes, women, labour.
Council of India abolished; Federal Court 1937; Federal, Provincial and Joint PSCs.
Orissa and Sind created 1936; Burma separated.
Nehru: "a machine with strong brakes but no engine".

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

Deeper Advanced

Why the federation failed

Joining was voluntary for princely states, through an Instrument of Accession.
The federation was to start only when states with at least half the states' seats in the upper federal chamber, and at least half the states' population, had acceded.
Not enough rulers acceded. When the Second World War began in 1939, the federal plan was put aside.

The Governor-General and Governors

They had discretionary powers and special responsibilities, such as preventing grave threats to peace and protecting minorities and the civil services.
Section 93 let a Governor take over a province's administration when its government could not be carried on under the Act. It was used after the Congress ministries resigned in 1939. Article 356 (President's Rule) descends from it.

What the Constitution took from it

The federal scheme, with three lists (now the Seventh Schedule, Article 246).
The office of Governor.
The judiciary: the Federal Court was the forerunner of the Supreme Court.
Public Service Commissions (now Articles 315–323).
Emergency provisions (Articles 352–360).
Administrative details and much of the drafting style.

One key difference. The 1935 Act gave residuary powers to the Governor-General. The Constitution gives them to Parliament (Article 248 and List I, Entry 97), following Canada.

Statement-level points

Textbooks (e.g. Laxmikanth) list "provided for the establishment of the Reserve Bank of India" among this Act's features, and an exam statement saying so is usually marked correct. Strictly, the bank itself was created by the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and began work on 1 April 1935; the 1935 Act dealt with its place in the federal scheme.
The Federal Court was set up in 1937, not 1935. Its first Chief Justice was Sir Maurice Gwyer.
The Act was repealed by Article 395 of the Constitution, together with the Indian Independence Act, 1947.

Mains writing Mains writing

Frame: the 1935 Act was a blueprint of federal government built to keep British control. The Constitution kept its machinery but changed its spirit: sovereignty of the people, responsible government at every level, and justiciable rights.
Analysis points:
1. Continuity. Most of the Constitution's structure (lists, Governors, PSCs, emergency) comes from 1935. Critics called the Constitution a copy of the 1935 Act.
2. Change of spirit. The Act had safeguards for imperial power; the Constitution has a Council of Ministers answerable to an elected legislature and an elected President.
3. Federalism with a strong Centre. Unitary features of 1935, like Section 93 and emergency powers, survive in Articles 352–360 and 356.
4. Provincial autonomy as training. The 1937–39 ministries gave Indian leaders experience of governing, which shaped the Constituent Assembly.
5. Failure of voluntary federation. It taught that the states had to be integrated, not invited. This was done through accession and merger in 1947–49.
Way forward / linkage: the S.R. Bommai judgment (1994) limited Article 356, correcting the colonial legacy of Section 93.
Example: Ambedkar defended the borrowing from 1935 as taking proven administrative details, not its imperial purpose.

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.

5.1.1.4 Government of India Act 1935

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