Constitutional and administrative development 1858-1947
Government of India Act 1919 (Montagu-Chelmsford reforms) and dyarchy
Practise 7 PYQsConcepts to cover
- Montagu declaration 1917 and Montford Report 1918 as constitutional reforms toward responsible government by stages
- Dyarchy in provinces: reserved subjects (land revenue, police, administration of justice, finance, irrigation) under Governor and councillors; transferred subjects (local self-government, education, health, agriculture) under Indian ministers
- Devolution Rules demarcating central and provincial subjects; bicameral central legislature (Council of State, Legislative Assembly) with direct election
- Property-based franchise for about ten percent of adult men; separate electorates extended to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans; women's vote left to provinces (Madras 1921 first); separate electorates used to counter nationalism and draw communities to the state
- High Commissioner for India in London, Public Service Commission to be set up (1926), statutory commission after ten years, Governor-General's certification and ordinance powers
- Congress calls the reforms inadequate and disappointing; dyarchy unworkable; Muddiman Committee 1924
Where to study
A Brief History of Modern India · Rajiv Ahir (Spectrum)
- ch. 26 Constitutional, Administrative and Judicial Developments
Tamil Nadu State Board Class XII History
- ch. 3 Impact of World War I on Indian Freedom Movement
Themes in Indian History Part III, Class XII, Theme 12 Framing the Constitution: The Beginning of a New Era
- Theme 12 Framing the Constitution, 2. The Vision of the Constitution, pp. 11-12 (printed 326-327)
- Theme 12 Framing the Constitution, 2. The Vision of the Constitution, p. 12 (printed 327)
India’s Struggle for Independence, 1857–1947 · Bipan Chandra and others
- ch. 31 The Rise and Growth of Communalism, pp. 398-413
- ch. 19 The Years of Stagnation: Swarajists, No-Changers and Gandhiji, pp. 235-246