Government of India Act of 1919
On August 20, 1917, the British Government declared, for the first time, that its objective was the
gradual introduction of responsible government in India7.
The Government of India Act of 1919 was thus enacted, which came into force in 1921. This Act is
also known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (Montagu was the Secretary of State for India and Lord
Chelmsford was the Viceroy of India).
Features of the Act
1. It relaxed the central control over the provinces by demarcating and separating the central and
provincial subjects. The central and provincial legislatures were authorised to make laws on
their respective list of subjects. However, the structure of government continued to be
centralised and unitary.
2. It further divided the provincial subjects into two parts—transferred and reserved. The
transferred subjects were to be administered by the governor with the aid of ministers
responsible to the legislative Council. The reserved subjects, on the other hand, were to be
administered by the governor and his executive council without being responsible to the
legislative Council. This dual scheme of governance was known as ‘dyarchy’—a term
derived from the Greek word di-arche which means double rule. However, this experiment
was largely unsuccessful.
3. It introduced, for the first time, bicameralism and direct elections in the country. Thus, the
Indian Legislative Council was replaced by a bicameral legislature consisting of an Upper
House (Council of State) and a Lower House (Legislative Assembly). The majority of
members of both the Houses were chosen by direct election.
4. It required that the three of the six members of the Viceroy’s executive Council (other than the
commander-in-chief) were to be Indian.
5. It extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for
Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
6. It granted franchise to a limited number of people on the basis of property, tax or education.
7. It created a new office of the High Commissioner for India in London and transferred to him
some of the functions hitherto performed by the Secretary of State for India.
8. It provided for the establishment of a public service commission. Hence, a Central Public
Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants8.
9. It separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central budget and authorised the
provincial legislatures to enact their budgets.
10. It provided for the appointment of a statutory commission to inquire into and report on its
working after ten years of its coming into force.
On August 20, 1917, the British Government declared, for the first time, that its objective was the
gradual introduction of responsible government in India7.
The Government of India Act of 1919 was thus enacted, which came into force in 1921. This Act is
also known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (Montagu was the Secretary of State for India and Lord
Chelmsford was the Viceroy of India).
Features of the Act
1. It relaxed the central control over the provinces by demarcating and separating the central and
provincial subjects. The central and provincial legislatures were authorised to make laws on
their respective list of subjects. However, the structure of government continued to be
centralised and unitary.
2. It further divided the provincial subjects into two parts—transferred and reserved. The
transferred subjects were to be administered by the governor with the aid of ministers
responsible to the legislative Council. The reserved subjects, on the other hand, were to be
administered by the governor and his executive council without being responsible to the
legislative Council. This dual scheme of governance was known as ‘dyarchy’—a term
derived from the Greek word di-arche which means double rule. However, this experiment
was largely unsuccessful.
3. It introduced, for the first time, bicameralism and direct elections in the country. Thus, the
Indian Legislative Council was replaced by a bicameral legislature consisting of an Upper
House (Council of State) and a Lower House (Legislative Assembly). The majority of
members of both the Houses were chosen by direct election.
4. It required that the three of the six members of the Viceroy’s executive Council (other than the
commander-in-chief) were to be Indian.
5. It extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for
Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
6. It granted franchise to a limited number of people on the basis of property, tax or education.
7. It created a new office of the High Commissioner for India in London and transferred to him
some of the functions hitherto performed by the Secretary of State for India.
8. It provided for the establishment of a public service commission. Hence, a Central Public
Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants8.
9. It separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central budget and authorised the
provincial legislatures to enact their budgets.
10. It provided for the appointment of a statutory commission to inquire into and report on its
working after ten years of its coming into force.
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