Volta
PoliticsAugust 1935

Government of India Act 1935

Britain passed a Government of India Act widening self-government in the provinces; in the elections it held in 1937 the Congress formed governments in many provinces.

The 1937 provincial elections under the Government of India Act 1935 — largest party in each province
The 1937 provincial elections under the Government of India Act 1935 — largest party in each province

Rohitm2000 · CC0 · Source

After the civil disobedience campaign and three Round Table Conferences, the British Parliament passed a new Government of India Act in August 1935. Each province was given autonomy under elected Indian ministers, and the electorate was greatly enlarged. But Britain kept defence and foreign affairs, and the planned federation including the princely states never came into being. Under the act Burma was separated from India in 1937. In the elections of 1937 the Congress won most provinces while the Muslim League fared poorly, deepening the rift between them. The framework of the act carried over into the constitutions of independent India and Pakistan.

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States at the time
British Raj · ruling power
Great Britain · led by

Before and after

Earlier
1930 Salt March
Later
1942 Quit India Movement

Themes that include this event

  • National Movements in Asia and Africa1915 – 1948

    From the Hussein–McMahon correspondence to the founding of Israel — three decades in which India, West Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa, swept up in the tide of self-determination after the First World War, pressed toward independence and modernization