Constitutional Development 1861-1935: Councils Acts to the Government of India Act

At a Glance

• 1861 Non-official members in legislative councils; portfolio system
• 1892 Representation and the right to ask questions
• 1909 Morley-Minto; separate electorates for Muslims
• 1919 and 1935 Dyarchy in provinces; autonomy and federation
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Administrative and Judicial Developments Under British Rule

Where Does It Fit?

This is the eleventh and last topic of the category on administrative and judicial developments under British rule, added to cover the chapter’s account of constitutional development. The previous topic covered the Acts from 1773 to 1858. This topic covers the Acts from 1861 to 1935. The next category begins with British administrative policies and their impact. Previous topic: Pitt’s India Act: Board of Control 1793 to…">Constitutional Development 1773-1858: Regulating Act to the Act of 1858.

What Did the Indian Councils Act of 1861 Do?

The 1861 Act marked an advance in that the principle of non-official representatives in legislative bodies was accepted. Laws were to be made after deliberation, and being legislation they could be changed only by the same deliberative process, so law-making was no longer the exclusive business of the executive. The portfolio system introduced by Lord Canning laid the foundations of cabinet government in India, with each branch having an official head and spokesman responsible for it. By vesting legislative powers in the governments of Bombay and Madras and providing for similar councils in other provinces, the Act laid the foundations of legislative devolution. But the councils had no real powers: they could not discuss important matters or any financial matters without prior approval, had no control over the budget, could not discuss executive action, the Viceroy’s approval was needed, and the Secretary of State could disallow a law. The Indians associated were from elite sections only. The council’s structure is in Major Administrative Changes After 1857: Central and Provincial Government.

What Did the Indian Councils Act of 1892 Do?

The Congress, founded in 1885, saw council reform as the root of all other reforms. In response to its demand for expansion, the Act of 1892 increased the number of non-official members in the central and provincial legislative councils.

• The Legislative Council of the Governor-General was enlarged.
• Universities, district boards, municipalities, zamindars, trade bodies and chambers of commerce were empowered to recommend members to the provincial councils, introducing the principle of representation.
• The word election was firmly avoided, but an element of indirect election was accepted in choosing some non-official members.
• Members could comment on financial statements, to be made on the floor of the legislatures.
• They could put questions within limits to the executive on matters of public interest after six days’ notice.

The 1892 Act is also in Indian Councils Act of 1892, discussed with the early nationalists.

What Did the Indian Councils Act of 1909 Do?

Popularly known as the Morley-Minto Reforms, the Act made the first attempt to bring a representative and popular element into governance. The Imperial Legislative Council was enlarged and the powers of the central and provincial councils increased. An Indian member was taken for the first time into the Executive Council of the Governor-General: Satyendra Prasad Sinha, as law member. The members of provincial executive councils were increased. Yet real power remained with the government, and the councils were left with no function but criticism.

The introduction of separate electorates for Muslims created new problems. Besides separate electorates, Muslims were given representation in excess of their population, and the income qualification for Muslim voters was set lower than for Hindus. The system of election was very indirect, so the representation of the people at large remained remote and unreal. The Act is covered in Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909, and the Formation of the Muslim League.

What Did the Government of India Act of 1919 Do?

The Act of 1919 was based on the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. In August 1917 the British government declared for the first time that its objective was the gradual introduction of responsible government in India as an integral part of the Empire. The Act made it clear that development of self-governing institutions would be gradual and that the British Parliament, and not the self-determination of the Indian people, would decide the time and manner of each step.

Indian leaders got some administrative experience, but the demand for responsible government was not met, and the structure stayed unitary and centralised; dyarchy in the provinces failed. The Central Legislature, for the first time with the power to vote supplies, could not replace the government and was limited by the Governor-General’s powers to veto bills, reserve them for the monarch and secure laws he thought essential. Subhash Kashyap observes that the legislature was a non-sovereign law-making body, powerless before the executive. The Act is in Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and the Government of India Act, 1919.

How Did the Simon Commission and the Act of 1935 Follow?

The 1919 Act provided for a Royal Commission after ten years, and in November 1927, two years early, the Indian Statutory Commission was announced. It reported in 1930, recommending abolition of dyarchy, extension of responsible government in the provinces, a federation of British India and the princely states, and continued communal electorates. Three Round Table Conferences were held, a White Paper was published in March 1933, a Joint Committee under Lord Linlithgow reported in 1934 that a federation would be formed if at least 50 per cent of the princely states were ready to join, and the bill became the Government of India Act of 1935. The Commission is in Recommendations of the Simon Commission.

The All-India Federation never came into being because of opposition from different parties; provincial autonomy began on 1 April 1937, the Centre continued under the 1919 Act with minor amendments, and the operative part of the 1935 Act remained in force until 15 August 1947. The Act was an endeavour to give India a written constitution, though Indians were not involved in it, and a step towards complete responsible government. But it gave a rigid constitution, with the right of amendment reserved for the British Parliament, and the extension of communal electorates promoted separatist tendencies culminating in the partition of India. It was condemned by nearly all sections and unanimously rejected by the Congress. The Act and the nationalist response are in Nationalist Response to the Government of India Act, 1935. The later proposals, from the August Offer of 1940 to the Indian Independence Act of 1947, are in the earlier topics on the Second World War and independence. As an analytical point, each Act was a response to pressure, from the Congress in 1892, from the war and the nationalist movement in 1919 and from the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Round Table Conferences in 1935, and each gave less than was asked, which is why the sequence shows a steady widening of Indian participation without a transfer of power.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Provisions of each Act A major Prelims topic
• Pattern of limited reform A standard Mains framework
• Link to partition Communal electorates are seen as contributing to separatism

What Came Next?

The next category begins with British administrative policies, divide and rule, zamindars, social services and labour laws. Next topic: Administrative Policies: Divide and Rule, Zamindars, Social Services and Labour Laws.

Key People and Terms

• Portfolio system Canning’s system of departmental charge
• Indian Councils Act Acts of 1861, 1892 and 1909 on the legislative councils
• Dyarchy Dual rule in the provinces under the 1919 Act
• High Commissioner Office created in London by the 1919 Act
• Instrument of accession Document by which a ruler would join the proposed federation
• Federal Court Court set up in 1937

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the stages of constitutional development. These points add depth.

• Councils Slow expansion
• Electorates Communal principle
• Limits Executive power retained