KERALA PSC / CONSTITUTION / THE LANDMARKS OF THE
CONSTITUTION / NOTES
KERALA PSC / CONSTITUTION / THE LANDMARKS OF THE
CONSTITUTION / NOTES
REGULATING ACT, 1773
· This was the first step taken by the British Government
to control and regulate the affairs of the East India Company in India
· Governor of Bengal became Governor General for all
British territories in India
· The first Governor-General was Lord Warren Hastings
· It subordinated the Governors of Bombay and Madras to the
Governor-General of Bengal
· The Supreme Court was established at Fort William
(Calcutta) as the Apex Court in 1774
PITT’S INDIA ACT, 1784
· It was introduced to remove the drawbacks of the
Regulating Act
· Was named after the then British Prime Minister
· Placed the Indian affairs under the direct control of the
British Government
· Established a Board of Control over the Court of
Directors
CHARTER ACT 1793
· Company given monopoly of trade for 20 more years
· Expenses and salaries of the board of control to be
charged on Indian Revenue
· Governor General could override his council
CHARTER ACT, 1813
· Monopoly of Company’s trade abolished except trade in tea
and trade with China
· One way free trade was imposed on India
· An annual sum of Rs.One Lakh earmarked for education
CHARTER ACT, 1833
· It made the Governor-General of Bengal as the Governor-General
of India
· First Governor-General of India was Lord William Bentick
· All civil and military powers were vested in him
· Inclusion of a Law member in the council of Governor
General (Macaulay-first law member)
· Governments of Bombay and Madras were deprived of their
legislative powers
· This was the final step towards centralization in the
British India
· The Act ended the activities of the East India Company as
a commercial body. Company’s monopoly of trade was completely abolished.
CHARTER ACT, 1853
·
The legislative and
executive functions of the Governor-General’s Council were separated
·
Recruitment of civil
servants was based on open annual competitive examination
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT, 1858
·
The rule of Company was
replaced by the rule of the Crown in India
·
The powers of the
British Crown were to be exercised by the Secretary of State for India
·
The Secretary of State
was a member of the British Cabinet
·
He was assisted by
the Council of India, having 15 members
·
This act was declared
to be an act of “good government” for India
·
Secretary of state
governed India through the Governor-General as his agent.
·
The Governor-General
was made the Viceroy of India
·
Lord Canning was the
first Viceroy of India
INDIAN COUNCILS ACT, 1861
· It introduced for the first time the representative institutions
of India
· It provided that the Governor-General’s Executive Council
should have some Indians as the non-official members while transacting the
legislative businesses
· Initiated the process of decentralization by restoring
the legislative powers to the Bombay and the Madras Presidencies
· It accorded the statutory recognition to the Portfolio
system
INDIAN COUNCILS ACT, 1892
· Introduced the principle of elections, but in an indirect
manner
· Enlarged the functions of the Legislative Councils and
gave them the power of discussing the Budget and addressing questions to the
Executive
INDIAN COUNCILS ACT, 1909
· This Act is also known as the Morley-Minto Reforms (Lord
Morley was the then Secretary of State for India and Lord Minto was the then
Governor-General of India)
· Introduction of an element of direct elections to the
Legislative Councils
· The act provided the so called ‘Representative Govt’ in
India
· It changed the name of the Central Legislative Council to
the Imperial Legislative Council
· Introduced a system of communal representation for
Muslims by accepting the concept of ‘Separate Electorate’. (Communal Electorate)
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT, 1919
· This Act is also known as the Montague Chelmsford Reforms
· Montague was the then Secretary of State and Lord Chelmsford
was the then Governor General of India
· The act was meant to provide “Responsible Government” in
India
· The Central subjects were demarcated and separated from
those of the Provincial subjects
· The scheme of dual governance, ‘Dyarchy’, was introduced
in the Provinces
· Division of Provincial subjects into Reserved subjects
(like police, jails, land revenue, irrigation, forests etc to be administered
by the Governor and his Executive Council) and Transferred subjects (like
education, local self Government, public health and sanitation, agriculture,
industries to be looked after by the governor and his ministers)
· The Act introduced, for the first time, bicameralism and
direct elections in the country
· The Act also required that the three of the six members
of the Governor-General’s Council (other than the Commander-in-Chief) were to
be Indians.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT, 1935
· The Act provided for the establishment of an “All-India
Federation” consisting of the Provinces and the princely States as the units
· The Act divided the powers between the Centre and the
Units in terms of three lists, namely the Federal List, the Provincial List and
the Concurrent List.
· The Federal List for the Centre consisted of 59 items,
the Provincial List for the Provinces consisted of 54 items and the Concurrent
List for both consisted of 36 items
· The residuary powers were vested with the
Governor-General
· The Act abolished the Dyarchy in the Provinces and
introduced ‘Provincial Autonomy’.
· It provided for the adoption of Dyarchy at the Centre
· Introduced bicameralism in 6 out of 11 Provinces
· These six Provinces were Assam, Bengal, Bombay, Bihar,
Madras and the United Province
INDIAN INDEPENDENCE ACT OF 1947
· Till 1947, the Government of India functioned under the
provisions of the 1919 Act only, the provisions of 1935 Act relating to Federation
and Dyarchy were never implemented
· The Executive Council provided by the 1919 Act continued
to advice the Governor General till 1947
· It declared India as an Independent and Sovereign State
· Established responsible Governments at both the Centre
and the Provinces
· Designated the Governor-General of India and the Provincial
Governors as the Constitutional Heads (nominal heads)
· It assigned dual functions (Constitutional and
Legislative) to the Constituent Assembly and declared this dominion legislature
as a sovereign body
· Two Dominions were constituted-India and Pakistan
· The King would appoint a Governor General for each
Dominion
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