(a) the separation of power between the judiciary and the legislature
(b) the jurisdiction of the central and provincial governments
(c) the powers of the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy
(d) None of the above
Answer:(b)
On August 20, 1917, the British Government declared, for the first time, that its objective was the gradual introduction of a responsible Government in India. The Government of India Act of 1919 was thus enacted, which came into force in 1921. This Act is also known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (Montagu was the Secretary of State for India and Lord Chelmsford was the Viceroy of India).
Option (b) is correct: The Government of India Act 1919 clearly defined the jurisdiction of the central and provincial governments in the following ways:
O It relaxed the central control over the provinces by demarcating and separating the central and provincial subjects. The central and provincial legislatures were authorised to make laws on their respective list of subjects. However, the structure of government continued to be centralised and unitary. y It further divided the provincial subjects into two parts– transferred and reserved. The transferred subjects were to be administered by the Governor with the aid of Ministers responsible to the legislative council. The reserved subjects, on the other hand, were to be administered by the Governor and his executive council without being responsible to the legislative council. This dual scheme of governance was known as ‘dyarchy’–which means a dual system of government.
O It introduced bicameralism and direct elections in the country. Thus, the Indian legislative council was replaced by a bicameral legislature consisting of an Upper House (Council of State) and a Lower House (Legislative Assembly). Most members of both the Houses were chosen by direct election.
O It also separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central budget and authorised the provincial legislatures to enact their budgets.
