Question

Elaborate the government of india act 1919 history narionalism in india 0

Answer 1

Government of India Act 1919 was passed by British Parliament to further expand the participation of Indians in the Government of India. Since the act embodied reforms as recommended by a report of Edwin Montagu {Secretary of State for India} and Lord Chelmsford {Viceroy and Governor General}, it is also called as Montague-Chelmsford Reforms or simply Mont-Ford Reforms. The most notable feature of the act was “end of benevolent despotism” and introduction of responsible government in India. This act covered 10 years from 1919 to 1929.

Edwin Samuel Montagu had remained the Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922. He was a critic of the entire system by which India was administered. On 20 August 1917, he made a historic declaration in the House of Commons in British Parliament which is called “Montague declaration”. The theme of this declaration was increasing association of Indians in every branch of administration and gradual development of self governing institutions and responsible government in India.

In November 1917, Montague had visited India to ascertain views from all sections of polity including talks with Gandhi and Jinnah. A detailed report on Constitutional Reforms in India {Mont-Ford Report} was published on 8th July, 1918. This report became the basis of Government of India Act 1919. Key features of this report were as follows:

Increasing association of Indians in every branch of administration.
Gradual development of self governing institutions with a view to the progressive realisation of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British empire.
Progress towards responsible government in successive stages.

The Government of India Act 1919 had a separate Preamble. Key points of the preamble were as follows:

India to remain as an integral part of British Empire.
Gradual decentralization of authority with loosening the supreme hold of the central government. Thus, the preamble of this act suggested for a decentralized unitary form of government.
The time and manner towards goal of responsible government will be decided by the British Parliament.
Partial responsibility in provinces, but no change in character of the central government.
Introduction of Dyarchy: Reserved and Transferred Subjects
In Government of India Act 1919 the spheres of the central and provincial governments were demarcated by a division of subjects into “central” and “provincial”. Generally speaking, the central subjects included all subjects directly administered by the Government of India or in which extra-provincial interests were dominant. The provincial subjects included subjects in which the interests of the provinces essentially predominated.

The Dyarchy was for the Provincial Governments. The provincial subjects were divided into two categories viz. reserved and transferred. The reserved subjects were kept with the Governor and transferred subjects were kept with Governor acting with the Indian Ministers.

Element of Responsibility in Dyarchy
Dyarchy was a gradual transition from irresponsible to responsible government. The provinces were thought to be suitable for experimenting with such scheme. Thus, the provincial subjects were divided into reserved and transferred subjects. The elements of responsibility was as follows:

The members in control of the reserved subjects were made responsible to British parliament through secretary of state.
The ministers who controlled the transferred subjects were made responsible through the legislative councils to an Indian electorate.
While subjects such as Land revenue administration, famine relief, irrigation, administration of justice, law and order, newspapers, borrowing, forests etc. were kept in reserved list; the subjects such as education, public health & sanitation, public works, agriculture, fisheries, religious endowments, local self governments, medical services etc. were kept in transferred list.

In other words, the subjects which were considered of key importance for the welfare of the masses and for maintaining peace and order in the state were classified as reserved, while subjects in which there was more local interest were treated as transferred.