The Government of India Act of 1919 was declared by the imperialist bourgeoisie to be a landmark in the political progress of India, and it found not a few enthusiastic supporters in the Labour Party, Mr. MacDonald himself being one. These very meagre reforms were conceded very grudgingly and from the beginning they have been sabotaged by all conceivable means. Now comes Mr. MacDonald to tell the Indian Nationalists that they should be thankful to imperialism for this Great Charter, but should not insist upon its fulfillment. [MN Roy -1924 – The 2nd International & the Doctrine of Self–Determination-Communist International, no.4 (New Series), pp.123-137]
Preamble
Part I
Section1 – Government of India by the Crown
Section2 – The Secretary of State
Section3 – The Council of India
Section4 – Seat in Council disqualification for Parliament
Section5 – Duties of Council
Section6 – Powers of Councel
Section7 – President and vice-president of Councel
Section8 – Meetings of Council
Section9 – Procedure at meetings
Section10 – Committees of Council and business
Section11 – Correspondence between Secretary of State and India
Section12 – [Omitted]
Section13 – [Omitted]
Section14 – [Omitted]
Section15 – Communication to Parliament as to orders for commencing hostilities
Section16 – [Omitted]
Section17 – Establishment of Secretary of State
Section18 – Pensions and gratuities
Section19 – Military appointments
Section19A – Relaxation of control of Secretary of State
Part II
Section20 – Application of revenues
Section21 – Control of Secretary of State over expenditure of revenues
Section22 – Application of revenues to military operations beyond the frontier
Section23 – Accounts of Secretary of State with Bank
Section24 – Power of attorney for sale or purchase of stock and receipt of dividends
Section25 – Provision as to securities
Section26 – Accounts to be annually laid before Parliament
Section27 – Audit of Indian accounts in United Kingdom
Part III
Section28 – Power of Secretary of State to sell, mortgage and buy property
Section29 – Contracts of Secretary of State
Section29A – High Commissioner for India
Section30 – Power to execute assurances, etc., in India
Section31 – Power to dispose of escheated property, etc.
Section32 – Rights and liabilities of Secretary of State in Council
Part IV
Section33 – Powers of control of Governor-General in Council
Section34 – The Governor-General
Section35 – [Omitted]
Section36 – Members of Council
Section37 – Rank and precedence of the Commander-in-Chief
Section38 – Vice-President of Council
Section39 – Meetings
Section40 – Business of Governor-General in Council
Section41 – Procedure in case of difference of opinion
Section42 – Provision far absence of Governor-General from meetings of Council
Section43 – Powers of Governor-General in absence from Council
Section43A – Appointment of Council Secretaries
Section44 – Restriction on power of Governor-General in Council to make war or treaty
Part V
Section45 – Relation of local Governments to Governor-General in Council
Section45A – Classification of central and provincial subjects
Section46 – Local government in governors’ provinces
Section47 – Members of governors’ executive councils
Section48 – Vice-president of council
Section49 – Business of governor in council and governor with ministers
Section50 – Procedure in case of difference of opinion in executive council
Section51 – Provision for absence of governor from meetings of council
Section52 – Appointment of ministers and council secretaries
Section52A – Constitution of new provinces, etc., and provision as to backward tracts
Section52B – Saving
Section53 – Lieutenant-governorships
Section54 – Appointment, etc., of lieutenant-governors
Section55 – Power to create executive councils for lieutenant-governors
Section56 – Vice-president of lieutenant-governor’s council
Section57 – Business of lieutenant-governor in Council
Section58 – Chief commissioners
Section59 – Power to place territory under authority of Governor-General in Council
Section60 – Power to declare and alter boundaries of provinces
Section61 – Saving as to laws
Section62 – Power to extend boundaries of presidency-towns
Part VI
Section63 – Indian legislature
Section63A – Council of State
Section63B – Legislative Assembly
Section63C – President of Legislative Assembly
Section63D – Duration and sessions of Legislative Assembly and Council of State
Section63E – Membership of both chambers
Section64 – Supplementary provisions as to composition of Legislative Assembly and Council of State
Section65 – Powers of Indian legislature
Section66 – Laws for the Royal Indian Marine Service
Section67 – Business and proceedings in Indian legislature
Section67A – Indian budget
Section67B – Provision for case of failure to pass legislation
Section68 – Assent of Governor-General to Bills
Section69 – Power of Crown to disallow Acts
Section70 – [Omitted]
Section71 – Power to make regulations
Section72 – Power to make ordinances in cases of emergency
Section72A – Governors’ legislative councils
Section72B – Sessions and duration of governors’ legislative councils
Section72C – Presidents of governors’ legislative councils
Section72D – Business and procedure in governors’ leg’slative councils
Section72E – Provision for case of failure to pass legislation in governor’s legislative councils
Section73 – Legislative councils of lieutenant-governors and chief commissioners
Section74 – [Omitted]
Section75 – [Omitted]
Section76 – Constitution of legislative councils of lieutenant-governors and chief commissioners
Section77 – Power to constitute local legislatures in lieutenant-governors’ and chief commissioners’ provinces
Section78 – Meetings of legislative councils of lieutenant-governors and chief commissioners
Section79 – [Omitted]
Section80 – Business at meetings of councils of lieutenant-governors and chief commissioners
Section80A – Powers of local legislatures
Section80B – Vacation of seats in local legislative councils
Section80C – Financial proposals
Section81 – Assent to Bills
Section81A – Return and reservation of Bills
Section82 – Power of Crown to disallow Acts of local lagislatures
Section83 – [Omitted]
Section84 – Removal of doubts as to validity of certain Indian laws
Part VIA
Section84A – Statutory commission
Part VII
Section85 – Salaries and allowances of Governor-General and certain other officials in India
Section86 – Leave of absence to members of executive Councils
Section87 – Provisions as to absence from India
Section88 – [Omitted]
Section89 – Power for Governor-General to exercise powers before taking seat
Section90 – Temporary vacancy in office of Governor-General
Section91 – Temporary vacancy in office of governor
Section92 – Temporary vacancy in office of member of an executive council
Section93 – Vacancies in legislative councils
Section94 – Leave
Section95 – Power to make rules as to Indian military appointments
Section96 – No disabilities in respect of religion, colour or place of birth
Section96A – Qualification of rulers and subjects of certain states for office
Part VIIA
Section96B – The civil services in India
Section96C – Public service commission
Section96D – Financial control
Section96E – Rules under Part VII-A
Part VIII
Section97 – Rules for admission to the Indian Civil Service
Section98 – Offices reserved to the Indian Civil Service
Section99 – Power to appoint certain persons to reserved offices
Section100 – Power to make provisional appointments in certain cases
Part IX
Section101 – Constitution of high courts
Section102 – Tenure of office of judges of high courts
Section103 – Precedence of judges of high courts
Section104 – Salaries, etc., of judges of high courts
Section105 – Provision for vacancy in the office of chief justice pr other judge
Section106 – Jurisdiction of high courts
Section107 – Powers of high court with respect to subordinate courts
Section108 – Exercise of jurisdiction by single judges or division courts
Section109 – Power for Governor-General in Council to alter local limits of jurisdiction of high courts
Section110 – Exemption from jurisdiction of high court
Section111 – Written order by Governor-General justification for act in any court in India
Section112 – Law to be administered in case of inheritance and succession
Section113 – Power to establish additional high court
Section114 – Appointment and powers of advocate-general
Part X
Section115 – Jurisdiction of Indian bishops
Section116 – [Repealed]
Section117 – Consecration of person resident in India appointed to bishopric
Section118 – Salaries and allowances of bishops and archdeacons
Section119 – Payments to representatives of bishops
Section120 – Pensions to bishops
Section121 – Furlough rules
Section122 – Establishment of chaplains of Church of Scotland
Section123 – Saving as to grants to Christians
Part XI
Section124 – Certain acts to be misdemeanours: Oppression–Wilful disobedienceBreach of duty–Trading–Receiving presents
Section125 – Loans to princes or chiefs
Section126 – Carrying on dangerous correspondence
Section127 – Prosecution of offences in England
Section128 – Limitation for prosecutions in British India
Section129 – Penalties
Part XII
Section129A – Provision as to rules
Section130 – [Repealed]
Section131 – Savjng as to certain rights and powers
Section132 – Treaties, contracts and liabilities of East India Company
Section133 – Orders of East India Company
Section134 – Definitions
Section135 – Short title
Schedule I – FIRST SCHEDULE
Schedule II – SECOND SCHEDULE
Schedule III – THIRD SCHEDULE
Schedule IV – FOURTH SCHEDULE
Schedule V – FIFTH SCHEDULE
______________________________
Ramsay MacDonald’s speech on India before UK Parliament (Extract)
26 January 1931 vol 247 cc637-762
If we wish to see how far we have travelled upon the road to self-government for India, we have only to com- 674pare the Declaration made in this House in 1917 by Mr. Montagu, who was then Secretary of State for India, and which was embodied in the Government of India Act, 1919, with the position to-day. The Government of India Act in its preamble spoke of the gradual development of self-governing institutions, with a view to the progressive realisation of responsible government in British India as an integral part of the British Empire. It went on to say this policy can only be achieved by successive stages …. and the time and manner of each advance can be determined only by Parliament, upon whom responsibility lies for the welfare and advancement of the Indian peoples. Compare that with the Prime Minister’s statement in summing up the Round Table Conference. Finally, I hope and I trust and I pray that by our labours together India will possess the only thing which she now lacks to give her the status of a Dominion among the British Commonwealth of Nations—what she now lacks for that—the responsibilities and the cares, the burdens and the difficulties, but the pride and the honour of responsible self-government.
The Prime Minister definitely placed the Indian constitution on a permanent basis. Responsibility in future is to be placed on Indians, both at the Centre and in the Provinces. The safeguards are a matter of common agreement and concern, and their disappearance in time will result as a matter of negotiation amongst equals. Compare that with the Declaration of 1917, in which Parliament was to be the sole judge, and one can see how far we have travelled. The test then was to be India’s fitness. That has entirely gone. In the Prime Minister’s statement there is no question about India’s fitness; we admit that. I should like to quote some words of Immanuel Kant, which, I think, are quite apposite: If we were not designed to exert our powers until we were assured of our ability to attain our object, those powers would remain unused. It is only by trying that we learn what our powers are. Dr. Rabindranath Tagore, who was referred to by the hon. Member for Bodmin (Mr. Foot) wrote a letter in the “New York Times” in which he said: It is the opportunity for self-government itself which gives for self-government, not foreign subjection. 675I should also like to thank the Noble Lord, Lord Lothian, for his excellent statement that The only cure for irresponsibility is responsibility. An India free and friendly will be a great bulwark for Britain. We went to India nearly two centuries ago for trade, and that is what we want badly to-day.
The agreement to-day with India is the best promise for trade and benefit both to India and to Britain. Something has been said about safeguards. These are necessary in the interests of the Indians themselves, and as I said in the House last May, if we brought the Indians here to a Round Table Conference they themselves would insist on safeguards. They are absolutely necessary in the interests of Indians themselves, and Indians alone will be able to say when they will be unnecessary. It is in the interests of a united India for Indians to make them unnecessary as soon as possible. The Prime Minister in referring to safeguards pointed out that it would be the primary concern of His Majesty’s Government to see that the reserved powers are so framed and exercised as not to prejudice the advance of India through the new constitution to full responsibility for her own government. Sir Taj Bahadur Sapru, that far-seeing statesman, said in connection with safeguards: It may be that there are certain safeguards. Frankly, I am not alarmed by those safeguards; and indeed …. those safeguards are really intended in the interests of the responsible government that we are establishing at the centre and not to strengthen the hands of English control over us. India has been a great country, not merely for centuries but for thousands of years. Indian culture has influenced and is influencing the world to-day. India in the past has had great Empires and the names of Asoka and Akbar will be remembered for all times as great emperors. India has survived while other countries and empires which have grown up since have perished. [Ramsay MacDonald’s speech-1931]
