Why is the Government of India Act, 1935 important?

Q – Why is the Government of India Act, 1935 important?

(a) It is the main source of the Constitution of India

(b) It gave Independence to India

(d) It abolished the Native States

U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2015

Ans. (a)

Explanation – The Government of India Act, 1935 is an important source for the Constitution of India. Many provisions of Indian Constitution like Federal Government, diarchy at the centre, distribution of power between Centre and States and establishment of a Federal Court have been taken from it.

The Government of India Act, 1935 : Main source of Indian Constitution

The critics said that the framers of the Constitution have included a large number of the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1935 into the Constitution of India. Hence, they called the Constitution as a “Carbon Copy of the 1935 Act” or an “Amended Version of the 1935 Act“. For example,

N. Srinivasan observed that the Indian Constitution is “both in language and substance a close copy of the Act of 1935”.
Similarly, Sir Ivor Jennings, a British Constitutionalist, said that “the Constitution derives directly from the Government of India Act of 1935 from which, in fact, many of its provisions are copied almost textually”.
Further, P.R. Deshmukh, a member of the Constituent Assembly, commented that “the Constitution is essentially the Government of India Act of 1935 with only adult franchise added”.

The same Dr. B.R. Ambedkar answered the above criticism in the Constituent Assembly in the following way:

“As to the accusation that the Draft Constitution has reproduced a good part of the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935, I make no apologies. There is nothing to be ashamed of in borrowing. It involves no plagiarism. Nobody holds any patent rights in the fundamental ideas of a Constitution. What I am sorry about is that the provisions taken from the Government of India Act, 1935, relate mostly to the details of administration”.