With reference to the Government of India Act, 1935, consider the following statements: 1) It provided for the establishment of an All India Federation based on the union of the British Indian Provinces and Princely States. 2) Defence and Foreign Affairs were kept under the control of the federal legislature. [2024]

With reference to the Government of India Act, 1935, consider the following statements:

It provided for the establishment of an All India Federation based on the union of the British Indian Provinces and Princely States.
Defence and Foreign Affairs were kept under the control of the federal legislature.

The Government of India Act of 1935 proposed an all-India federation of British provinces and princely states. The Princely States had the option to join the Federation, and the nature of the relationship would differ from state to state, as determined by the Instrument of Accession. However, once extended, the Instrument of Accession would be irrevocable.
The federation’s formation was conditional on the fulfilment of two conditions.
- The princely states that would join the federation should fill at least 52 (half) of the 104 seats of the Council of State.
- The aggregate population of states in the above category should be 50 per cent (half) of the total population of all Indian states.
Since these conditions were not fulfilled, the proposed federation never came up. Hence, the Central Government continued until 1946 under the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1919. The Act proposed a Federal government for India and, for the first time, tried to bring British provinces and Indian States under one common constitution.

The Government of India Act of 1935 introduced the principle of Dyarchy at the Centre. Subjects to be administered were divided into reserved and transferred subjects. Reserved Subjects such as foreign affairs, defence, and tribal areas were to be exclusively administered by the Governor-General on the advice of executive councillors. Executive councillors were not to be responsible to the central Legislature. Transferred subjects were administered by the ministers responsible to the central Legislature. The Governor-General had complete control over reserved subjects and effective control over transferred subjects.

Statement 1 is a standard feature of the Government of India Act 1935 — it proposed an All India Federation consisting of British Indian provinces and princely states. Statement 2 can be eliminated using basic understanding. Under British rule, sensitive subjects like Defence and Foreign Affairs were unlikely to be handed over to federal legislature and were kept under the Governor-General’s control.