Political Science · Political Institutions in India
UGC NET Dec 2018 Political Science
Which of the following was not a feature of the Government of India Act of 1919?
ABicameral Legislature at the Centre
BLegislative Assembly to have an elected majority
CLegislative Council enabled to move resolutions on Budget ✓ Correct
DCommunal representation extended to the Sikhs
Correct answer: (C) Legislative Council enabled to move resolutions on Budget — The feature that did not belong to the Government of India Act 1919 is the power of the Legislative Council to move resolutions on the budget, which is option (3).
Explanation
★The feature that did not belong to the Government of India Act 1919 is the power of the Legislative Council to move resolutions on the budget, which is option (3).
★The Act, the Montagu Chelmsford Reforms, aimed to enhance Indian participation in governance and gave statutory shape to the August 1917 declaration of responsible government.
★It established a bicameral legislature at the Centre, with a Council of State as the upper house and a Legislative Assembly as the lower house, so option (1) is a genuine feature.
★The Legislative Assembly was given a majority of elected members, which makes option (2) a genuine feature.
★It extended communal representation, providing separate electorates to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo Indians and Europeans, so option (4) is also a genuine feature.
★It introduced dyarchy in the provinces, dividing subjects into transferred and reserved categories.
★Transferred subjects were handled by ministers responsible to the legislature, while reserved subjects stayed with the Governor and his executive council.
★It introduced direct elections for the first time and granted a limited franchise based on property, tax or education.
★It expanded the size of the provincial legislative councils and required three of the six members of the Viceroy's Executive Council to be Indians.
★It separated provincial budgets from the central budget and created the office of High Commissioner for India in London.
★It also provided for a Central Public Service Commission, set up in 1926, and for a statutory review after ten years, which became the Simon Commission.
★The crucial limitation, and the answer to this question, is that the central legislature could discuss the budget but could not move resolutions on a large part of it, since major heads were non votable.
★The legislature's financial powers were therefore restricted, and real control over the budget remained with the executive.
★This restriction is the standard distractor in questions on the 1919 Act, separating its real reforms from its hidden limits.
★The 1919 Act was a halfway measure that fell short of self government, which fuelled the demand for the reforms that followed in 1935.
★For NET, remember the genuine features of 1919, namely bicameralism, an elected majority in the Assembly, dyarchy and extended separate electorates, against its key limit on financial control.
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