Question

Which of the following are the principal features of the Government of India Act, 1919?
1. Introduction of diarchy in the executive government of the provinces.
2. Introduction of the separate communal electorate for Muslims.
3. Devolution of legislative authority by the Centre to the Provinces.
4. Expansion and reconstitution of Central and Provincial Legislatures.
A) 1, 2 and 3
B) 1, 2 and 4
C) 2, 3 and 4
D) 1, 3 and 4

Answer 1

Hint:The British Parliament passed the Government of India Act in 1919 in order to encourage Indian participation in the management of their country. The act was based on a report by Edwin Montagu, the Secretary of State for India at the time, and Lord Chelmsford, India's Viceroy between 1916 and 1921.

Complete answer:
The United Kingdom's Parliament passed the Government of India Act in 1919. It was passed in order to increase Indian participation in the Indian government. The Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, and the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu suggested improvements in their reports. From 1919 to 1929, the Act was in effect.
Some features of the Act are:
At the provincial level, diarchy was instituted. Diarchy refers to the existence of two governments, one of which is accountable and the other not. The provincial government's subjects were separated into two sections. One group was set aside, while the other was relocated. The British Governor of the province had responsibility over the reserved subjects, while the transferred subjects were assigned to the Indian ministers.
The Government of India Act of 1919 established a system for categorising central and provincial topics. The Act preserved income tax as a revenue stream for the federal government. However, to address Bengal and Bombay's concerns, a provision was devised to give them 25% of the income tax.
By demarcating and separating the central and provincial subjects, the Government of India Act, 1919 loosened central control over the provinces. The federal and provincial legislatures were given the authority to pass laws on the issues on their respective lists. However, the government's structure remained centralised and unitary. The provincial subjects were further separated into two categories: transferred and reserved.

Let us look at the given options:
Hence, Sentences 1, 3 and 4 are correct. However, Sentence 2 is incorrect because The Government of India Act of 1919 did not provide separate electorates for Muslims; instead, the Government of India Act of 1909 did so. This makes Option A, B and C incorrect. Option D is the correct answer because Sentences 1, 3 and 4 are true.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘D’.

Note: The Act was rejected by the Indian National Congress, but several leaders, including Annie Besant, G.S. Khaparde, Bipin Chandra Pal, Surendranath Banerjee, and Tej Bahadur Sapru, welcomed it and were willing to work with the government. They walked out of Congress. Indian Liberal Federation was founded by Surendranath Banerjee and Tej Bahadur Sapru, who were commonly referred to as "Liberals."