Question

Q. Major portion of Indian Constitution has been borrowed from:

• A.
  Government of India Act, 1919
• B.
  Indian Independence Act, 1947
• C.
  Government of India Act, 1935
• D.
  Government of India Act, 1858

Answer 1

The correct option is C

Government of India Act, 1935
Explanation:

The Constitution of India is the backbone of democracy in our country. It is an umbrella of rights that gives the citizens an assurance of a free and fair society.

The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26th November 1949 and it came into effect on 26th of January 1950.

Major portion of Indian Constitution has been borrowed from Government of India Act 1935:

• The Constitution of 1950 was a by-product of the legacy started by the Government of India Act 1935. This was the longest act passed by the British government with 321 sections and 10 schedules. This act had drawn its content from four sources – Report of the Simon Commission, discussions and deliberations at the Third Round Table Conference, the White Paper of 1933 and the reports of the Joint select committees.
• This act abolished the system of provincial dyarchy and suggested the establishment of a dyarchy at the centre and a ‘Federation of India’ consisting of the provinces of British India and most of the princely states.
• Most importantly, the act established the office of the Governor; all the executive powers and authority of the centre was vested in the Governor.

Some features of the Government of India Act 1935 were:

• Federal Legislature: The act suggested that the legislature will have two houses, i.e., the Council of States and a Federal Assembly. The Council of States was the upper house which was a permanent body with a tenure of three years and composed of 260 members of which 156 were representatives of British India and 101 of the Princely Indian states. The Federal Assembly was the lower house with a tenure expanding up to five years and its composition included 250 representatives of British India and 125 members from Princely states.
• Provincial Autonomy: This act enabled the Provincial Governments to be responsible only to Provincial Legislatures and helped them break free from external control and intrusion.
• It was with the establishment of this act that the powers between the centre and provinces were divided in terms of three lists – Federal list (59 items for the Centre), Provincial list (54 items for Provinces) and Concurrent list (36 items for both). The Residuary powers were handed over to the Viceroy.