Nationalist Response to the Government of India Act, 1935

At a Glance

• Passed August 1935 by the British Parliament
• Federation Proposed but never formed; the conditions were not met
• Provinces Autonomy replaced dyarchy
• Congress response Rejected; demanded a Constituent Assembly on adult franchise
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Congress After Civil Disobedience and the Provincial Ministries

Where Does It Fit?

This is the second topic of the category on the Congress after civil disobedience and the provincial ministries. The previous topic covered the debate on strategy after 1934. This topic covers the Government of India Act, 1935 and the response to it. The next topic covers the Congress in the 1937 elections. Previous topic: Debates on Future Strategy After Civil Disobedience.

How Did the Act Come About?

The Third Round Table Conference was held in November 1932, again without the Congress, in the midst of the struggle, and its discussions led to the formulation of the Act of 1935. The Act was passed by the British Parliament in August 1935. The conferences are in Third Round Table Conference and the Resumption of Civil Disobedience.

What Was the Proposed All-India Federation?

The federation was to comprise all British Indian provinces, all chief commissioners’ provinces and the Indian states. It was conditional on two requirements: states with an allotment of 52 seats in the proposed Council of States should agree to join, and the aggregate population of such states should be 50 per cent of the total population of all Indian states. These conditions were not fulfilled, so the federation never came into being, and the central government carried on until 1946 under the provisions of the 1919 Act.

What Did the Act Provide at the Centre?

The Governor-General was the pivot of the entire constitution.

What Did the Act Provide in the Provinces?

Provincial autonomy replaced dyarchy. Provinces gained autonomy and a separate legal identity, were freed from the superintendence and direction of the Secretary of State and the Governor-General, derived their legal authority directly from the Crown, and were given independent financial powers, including the power to borrow on their own security. Dyarchy is in Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and the Government of India Act, 1919.

The Communal Award is in Communal Award, 1932.

How Was the Act Evaluated?

The numerous safeguards and special responsibilities of the Governor-General worked as brakes on the Act. The governor in the provinces still held extensive powers. The Act enfranchised 14 per cent of the British Indian population. The extension of communal electorates and the representation of different interests encouraged separatist tendencies, which are said to have culminated in the partition of India. The Act gave a rigid constitution with no scope for internal growth, since the right of amendment stayed with the British Parliament.

Three comments are recorded. Lord Linlithgow, Viceroy from 1936 to 1943, said that the Act was framed as the best way to maintain British influence in India. Nehru said that the country had been provided with a car with all brakes and no engine. The scholar B.R. Tomlinson said that constitutional advance in India was determined by the need to attract Indian collaborators to the Raj.

What Was the Long-Term British Strategy?

Suppression could be only a short-term tactic. In the long run, the aim was to weaken the national movement and integrate large parts of it into the colonial constitutional and administrative structure.

• Reforms would revive the standing of liberals and moderates who had lost public support during civil disobedience.
• Repression earlier and reform now would convince many Congressmen that an extra-legal struggle was ineffective.
• Once Congressmen tasted power, they would be reluctant to return to the politics of sacrifice.
• Reforms could create dissension within the Congress: the right wing would be placated by constitutional concessions and the radical left crushed through police measures.
• Provincial autonomy would create powerful provincial leaders who would become autonomous centres of power, so the Congress would be provincialised and the central leadership weakened.

How Did Nationalists Respond?

The Act was condemned by nearly all sections and unanimously rejected by the Congress. The Hindu Mahasabha and the National Liberal Federation, however, declared themselves in favour of working the Act at the Centre and in the provinces. The Congress instead demanded a Constituent Assembly elected on adult franchise to frame a constitution for independent India. As an analytical point, the Act met a demand for provincial autonomy while denying the demand for a responsible Centre, so the Congress could reject its form while still contesting its provincial elections, as shown in Congress in the 1937 Elections. The Nehru Report that had earlier asked for a responsible Centre is in Nehru Report, 1928.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Features The Act is a major Prelims topic with many numbers and provisions
• Link to the Constitution Many provisions were carried into later constitutional structures
• Evaluation Nehru’s and Linlithgow’s views are Mains quotations

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the Congress in the 1937 provincial elections and the debate on office acceptance. Next topic: Congress in the 1937 Elections.

Key People and Terms

• All-India Federation The proposed union of provinces and princely states
• Provincial autonomy Self-government in the provinces replacing dyarchy
• Concurrent list Subjects on which both Centre and provinces could legislate
• Governor’s Acts Laws enacted by the governor in his special powers
• Residuary powers Powers not listed, held by the Governor-General
• Constituent Assembly The elected body the Congress demanded

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the features and the criticism of the Act. These points add depth.

• Provinces Autonomy with governor’s powers
• Centre Federation that never formed; reserved subjects
• British aim Integrating the national movement