Crown Rule (1858-1947)

Government of India Act, 1858 (Act for Good Government of India)

Viceroy: Lord Canning

Abolition of the East India Company: Powers transferred to the British Crown.
Viceroy of India: The Governor General became the Viceroy, with Lord Canning as the first appointee.
End of Double Government: Abolished the Board of Control and Court of Directors.
New Office: Established the Secretary of State for India, a British Cabinet member accountable to Parliament. Created an advisory Council of 15-members to assist the Secretary, chaired by him.
Corporate Body: Formed the Secretary of State-in-Council, capable of suing and being sued in India and in England.

Indian Councils Act, 1861

Viceroy: Lord Canning

The Viceroy could nominate Indians as non-official members of his council; in 1862, Lord Canning nominated three: the Raja of Benaras, Maharaja of Patiala, and Sir Dinkar Rao.
Restored legislative powers of Bombay and Madras, initiating decentralisation and granting provinces near autonomy by 1937.
Established New Legislative Councils for Bengal (1862), Northwestern Province (1886), and Punjab (1897).
Enabled the Viceroy to issue Ordinances (valid for 6 months) for emergencies without council consent.
Introduced the Portfolio system, allowing council members to independently manage departments.

Indian Councils Act, 1892

Viceroy: Lord Lansdowne

Increased Non-Official Members: Non-official representation in Central and Provincial Legislative Councils was raised while maintaining an official majority.
Expanded Functions: Legislative Councils gained powers to discuss budgets and address questions to the Executive.
Nomination Process: Non-official members were nominated:

Central Council: By the Viceroy upon recommendations from the Provincial Legislative Council and Bengal Chamber of Commerce.
Provincial Council: By the Governor on advice from District Boards, Municipalities, Universities, Trade Associations, Zamindars, and Chambers.

Indirect Elections: Although elections were not explicitly mentioned, a limited indirect election process for nominated members was introduced.

Indian Councils Act, 1909 (Morley Minto Reforms)

Viceroy: Lord Minto II

Legislative Council: Membership increased from 16 to 60; official majority retained.
Provincial Councils: Allowed non-official majority, membership varied in provinces.
Deliberative Powers: Members could ask supplementary questions and propose budget resolutions; separate budget voting introduced; budget as a whole could still not be voted upon.
Separate Electorate: Muslims could vote only for Muslim candidates, legalising communalism. Lord Minto came to be known as “Father of Communal Electorate”.
Representation: First Indian, Satyendra Prasad Sinha, appointed to the Viceroy’s Executive Council as law member; separate representation for Presidency Corporations, Chamber of Commerce, Universities, and Zamindars.

Government of India Act of 1919 (Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms)

Viceroy: Lord Chelmsford

Objective: On August 20, 1917, the British Government aimed to gradually introduce a Responsible Government in India.
Classification of Subjects: Administration was divided into central and provincial subjects under the Devolution Rules, enabling authority delegation from the centre to provinces.
Dyarchy: Introduced a dual governance scheme in provincial subjects:

Reserved Subjects: Governed by the Governor General and his Executive Council, not accountable to the Legislative Council. [UPSC 2022]
Transferred Subjects: Managed with legislative council oversight. [UPSC 2022]

Legislative Structure: Replaced the Indian Legislative Council with a Bicameral Legislature—Upper House (Council of State) and Lower House (Legislative Assembly) with a majority elected directly.
Indian Representation: Included three Indian members in the Viceroy’s Executive Council (excluding the Commander-in-Chief).
Electoral Reforms: Extended separate electorates for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans; franchise limited to property, tax, and educational criteria.
Financial Autonomy: Separated the Provincial Budget from the Central Budget, allowing provinces to enact their own budgets.
High Commissioner for India: Established in London, transferring certain functions from the Secretary of State for India.
Civil Service Recruitment: It provided for establishment of a public service commission and thus a Central Public Service Commission was created in 1926.
Chamber of Princes: It proposed establishment of a Chamber of Princes(Narendra Mandal). which was formed in 1921 with 120 members (princes and representatives), promoting discussion on shared interests.
Future Review: Mandated a statutory commission to assess its effectiveness after ten years.

The Simon Commission (1927)

Composition: A seven-member statutory commission led by Sir John Simon, appointed by the British Government, Composed entirely of British members.
Key Proposals (Report submitted in 1930):

Abolishment of Dyarchy.
Expansion of Responsible Government in provinces.
Creation of a Federation of British India and princely states.
Maintenance of Communal Electorate.

Communal Award (1932)

Proposed by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald to ensure minority representation. Separate Electorates for Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo- Indians, Europeans, and extended to the depressed classes (Scheduled Castes).
Gandhi’s Opposition: Mahatma Gandhi opposed separate electorates for the depressed classes, leading to a fast in Yerawada Jail.
Poona Pact: Agreement between Congress and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Preserved Hindu joint electorate and reserved seats for the depressed classes.
Government Acceptance: The British Government accepted the Poona Pact, eliminating separate electorates for the depressed classes, with provisions incorporated into the Government of India Act, 1935.

Government of India Act, 1935

Viceroy: Lord Willingdon

The Government of India Act, 1935 marked a significant step towards a responsible government in India, comprising 321 sections and 10 schedules.

Aimed to establish an All-India Federation with provinces and princely states, but it failed due to nonparticipation from the princely states. [UPSC 2024]
Powers were divided into three lists: Federal (59 items), Provincial (54 items), and Concurrent (36 items), with residual powers assigned to the Viceroy. [UPSC 2012]
Introduced provincial autonomy, introduced dyarchy at the centre; autonomous governments formed in 1937 butwere suspended in 1939.
Established bicameralism in six provinces, Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces.
Introduced separate electorate for depressed classes (Scheduled Castes), women, and labourers.
Extended franchise to 14% of the population and created the Reserve Bank of India.
Established Federal and Provincial Public Service Commissions and a Federal Court in 1937.
Burma was separated from India, and two new provinces, Orissa and Sind, were created.
Introduced safeguards for minority interests and established a Federal Railway Authority. An Auditor-General was appointed for financial oversight.

Indian Independence Act, 1947

Viceroy: Lord Mountbatten

Partition Plan: Presented by Lord Mountbatten on June 3, 1947; accepted by the Congress and Muslim League, leading to India’s independence on August 15, 1947.
Dominions Established: Created two independent dominions—India and Pakistan—with the right to exit the British Commonwealth.
Governance Changes:

Abolished the office of Viceroy; introduced a Governor-General for each dominion.
Constituent Assemblies empowered to create constitutions and repeal British laws, including the Independence Act.

Legislative Authority: Assemblies could legislate until new constitutions were enacted; British acts post-August 15 required dominion approval.
End of British Control: The Secretary of State for India’s role was abolished; British paramountcy over princely states lapsed, granting them autonomy.
Civil Services: Appointment and reservation by the Secretary of State ceased, but pre-1947 appointees retained benefits.
Leadership: Lord Mountbatten became the first Governor-General of India. The Constituent Assembly formed in 1946 became the parliament of India.

First Cabinet After Independence

No	Members	Portfolios
1	Jawaharlal Nehru	Prime Minister; External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations; Scientific Research
2	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel	Home, Information and Broadcasting; States
3	Dr Rajendra Prasad	Food and Agriculture
4	Maulana Abul Kalam Azad	Education
5	Dr. John Mathai	Railways and Transport
6	R.K. Shanmugham Chetty	Finance
7	Dr. B.R. Ambedkar	Law
8	Jagjivan Ram	Labour
9	Sardar Baldev Singh	Defence
10	Rajkumari Amrit Kaur	Health
11	C.H. Bhabha	Commerce
12	Rafi Ahmed Kidwai	Communication
13	Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee	Industries and Supplies
14	V.N. Gadgil	Works, Mines, and Power