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.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 only
The 1935 Act did provide for an All-India Federation of the British Indian provinces and the princely states willing to join, although the federal part never came into operation. Defence and foreign affairs, however, were not placed under the federal legislature: the colonial power kept control of foreign affairs, defence and internal security.
- ✓ 1. The Act envisaged a 'federation of all-India' made up of the British provinces and the Indian states willing to join it. The federal part never came into operation, so only the provincial part of the Act worked.
- ✗ 2. Under the 1935 reform the colonial power kept control of foreign affairs, defence and internal security; they were not handed to a federal legislature.
Remember · 1935 Act: an All-India Federation of provinces and willing princely states was proposed, but the federal part never came into operation; the British kept foreign affairs, defence and internal security.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- PIB (President's Secretariat), 15 May 2017: President Pranab Mukherjee, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat memorial lecture on the History of Parliamentary Democracy in India ↗ “envisaged a 'federation of all-India', consisting of the British provinces and the Indian states willing to join it. … The federal part of the 1935 Act never came into operation.”
- NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 2 “In 1935, the British conceded some degree of provincial autonomy. The reform allowed for elected governments at the provincial level, although the colonial powers retained much control, including foreign affairs, defence, and internal security.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·