The Government of India Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5 c. 101) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed to expand participation of Indians in the government of India. The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report of the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, and the Viceroy, Chelmsford. The Act covered ten years, from 1919 to 1929. This Act represented the end of benevolent despotism (the act of authorities enhancing themselves[clarification needed]) and began the genesis of responsible government in India. It was set to be reviewed by the Simon Commission in 10 years.
◇ 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.
◇ 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, 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'.
■ GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT 1919
◇ It introduced, for the first time, bicameralism and direct elections in the country. The majority of members of both the Houses were chosen by direct election.
◇ 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.
◇ It extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
◇ It granted franchise to a limited number of people on the basis of property, tax or education.
■ GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT, 1919
◇ 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.
◇ It provided for the establishment of a public service commission. Hence, a Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants.
◇ It separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central budget and authorised the provincial legislatures to enact their budgets.
◇ 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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