1.

Historical Background of Indian Constitution

Introduction
The evolution of the Indian Constitution can be traced from the British rule. The British
came to India in 1600 as traders, in the form of East India Company. In the course of time, they
competed with the French, the Portugese and the Dutch and gained monopoly of trade with
India. In 1765, the Company obtained the ‘diwani’ (i.e., rights over revenue and civil justice) of
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam granted ‘Diwani’ to the Company
after its victory in the Battle of Buxar (1764).
Slowly they exploited the political void in the country and rose as a territorial power.
After the Sepoy Mutiny in 1858, the British Crown assumed direct responsibility for the
governance of India. This continued until India was granted independence on August 15, 1947.
After independence, the constituent assembly was formed to prepare a constitution for India.
Various features of the Indian Constitution and polity have their roots in the British rule. The
British laid down the legal framework for the organization of government and administration in
British India. These events have greatly influenced our constitution and polity. A brief review of
the acts is given below.

The British rule can be broadly divided into two phases.

1. The Company Rule (From 1773- 1858 AD)
2. The Crown rule (from 1858- 1947 AD)

I. The Company Rule (1773–1858)

1. Regulating Act of 1773
 It was the first step taken by the British Government to control and consolidate the
affairs of the East India Company in India.
  It designated the Governor of Bengal as the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’ and created
an Executive Council of four members to assist him. The first such Governor-General
was Lord Warren Hastings.
 It provided for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Fort Williams in Calcutta in 1774
comprising one chief justice and three other judges.
2. Pitt’s India Act of 1784
 To rectify the shortcomings of the Regulating Act of 1773, the British Parliament passed
the Pitt’s India Act of 1784.
 It distinguished between the commercial and political functions of the Company.
 It created a new body called Board of Control to manage the political affairs. Thus, it
established a system of double government.
 This act was significant for two reasons: first, the Company’s territories in India were for
the first time called the ‘British possessions in India’; and second, the British
Government was given the supreme control over Company’s affairs and its
administration in India.
3. Charter Act of 1833
 This Act was the final step towards centralization in British India.
 It made the Governor-General of Bengal as the Governor-General of India and vested in
him all civil and military powers. Lord William Bentinck was the first governor-general
of India.
 The Governor- General of India was given exclusive legislative powers for the entire
British India.
 The Charter Act of 1833 attempted to introduce a system of open competition for
selection of civil servants. However, this provision was negated after opposition from
the Court of Directors.
4. Charter Act of 1853
 This was the last of the series of Charter Acts passed by the British Parliament between
1793 and 1853. It was a significant constitutional landmark.
  It separated, for the first time, the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-
General’s council. It established a separate Governor-General’s legislative council which
came to be known as the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. Hence, this act laid the
foundation for a Parliamentary system of government in India.
 It introduced an open competition system of selection and recruitment of civil servants.
The Covenanted civil service was thus thrown open to the Indians also. Accordingly, the
Macaulay Committee (the Committee on the Indian Civil Service) was appointed in 1854.
 It introduced, for the first time, local representation in the Indian (Central) Legislative
Council. Of the six new legislative members of the governor-general’s council, four
members were appointed by the local (provincial) governments of Madras, Bombay,
Bengal and Agra.

II. The Crown Rule (1858–1947)

1. Government of India Act of 1858
 The Revolt of 1857—also known as the First War of Independence or the ‘sepoy mutiny’,
was the first organized attempt to overthrow the British rule in India. After the mutiny,
this act was formulated, putting an end to the East India Company rule in India and the
British Crown taking over the powers of government, territories and revenues. This act
is known as the Act for the Good Government of India.
 It provided that India henceforth was to be governed by, and in the name of, “Her
Majesty”. It changed the designation of the Governor-General of India to that of Viceroy
of India. He (viceroy) was the direct representative of the British Crown in India. Lord
Canning thus became the first Viceroy of India.
 It ended the system of double government by abolishing the Board of Control and Court
of Directors.
 It created a new office, Secretary of State for India, vested with complete authority and
control over Indian administration. The secretary of state was a member of the British
cabinet and was responsible ultimately to the British Parliament.
2. Indian Councils Act of 1861
  After the great revolt of 1857, the British Government felt the necessity of seeking the
cooperation of the Indians in the administration of their country. It began associating
Indians with the law-making process. It thus provided that the viceroy should nominate
some Indians as non-official members of his expanded council. In 1862, Lord Canning,
the then viceroy, nominated three Indians to his legislative council—the Raja of Benaras,
the Maharaja of Patiala and Sir Dinkar Rao.
 It gave recognition to the ‘Portfolio’ system, introduced by Lord Canning in 1859. Under
this, a member of the Viceroy’s council was made in-charge of one or more departments
of the government and was authorized to issue final orders on behalf of the council on
matters of his department(s). It empowered the Viceroy to issue ordinances.
3. Indian Councils Act of 1892
 It increased the number of additional (non-official) members in the Central and
provincial legislative councils, but the British maintained the official majority in them.
4. Indian Councils Act of 1909
 This Act is also known as Morley- Minto Reforms (Lord Morley was the then Secretary of
State for India and Lord Minto was the then Viceroy of India).
 It considerably increased the size of the legislative councils, both Central and provincial.
The number of members in the Central Legislative Council was raised from 16 to 60. The
number of members in the provincial legislative councils was not uniform.
 It provided for the first time, the association of Indians with the executive Councils of
the Viceroy and Governors. Satyendra Prasad Sinha became the first Indian to join the
Viceroy’s Executive Council. He was appointed as the law member.
 It introduced a system of communal representation for Muslims by accepting the
concept of ‘separate electorate’. Under this, the Muslim members were to be elected
only by Muslim voters. Thus, the Act ‘legalised communalism’ and Lord Minto came to
be known as the Father of Communal Electorate.

5. Government of India Act of 1919

 On August 20, 1917, the British Government declared, for the first time, that its
objective was the gradual introduction of 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).
 It relaxed the central control over the provinces by separating the central and provincial
subjects. The central and provincial legislatures were authorized to make laws on their
respective list of subjects.
 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’—a term
derived from the Greek word di-arche which means double rule.
 It introduced, for the first time, 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). The majority
of members of both the Houses were chosen by direct election.
 It extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates
for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
 It granted franchise to a limited number of people on the basis of property, tax or
education.
 It provided for the establishment of a public service commission. Hence, a Central Public
Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants. This was done on the
recommendation of the Lee Commission of 1924.
 It separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central budget and
authorized the Provincial legislatures to enact their budgets.
Simon Commission In November 1927, the British Government announced the appointment a
seven-member statutory commission under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon to report on
the condition of India under its new Constitution. All the members of the commission were
British and hence, all the parties boycotted the commission. The commission submitted its
report in 1930 and recommended the abolition of dyarchy, extension of responsible
government in the provinces, establishment of a federation of British India and princely states,
continuation of communal electorate and so on. To consider the proposals of the commission,
the British Government convened three round table conferences of the representatives of the
British Government, British India and Indian princely states. On the basis of these discussions, a
‘White Paper on Constitutional Reforms’ was prepared and submitted for the consideration of
the Joint Select Committee of the British Parliament. The recommendations of this committee
were incorporated (with certain changes) in the next Government of India Act of 1935.

The Nehru Report of 1928: Lord Birkenhead challenged Indians to frame a constitution, which
was acceptable to all. The Nehru report was a response to that challenge. It was named after
Motilal Nehru, who was the chairman of the committee that drafted the recommendations.

Communal Award In August 1932, Ramsay MacDonald, the British Prime Minister, announced a
scheme of representation of the minorities, which came to be known as the Communal Award.
The award not only continued separate electorates for the Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians,
Anglo- Indians and Europeans but also extended it to the depressed classes (scheduled castes).
Gandhiji was distressed over this extension of the principle of communal representation to the
depressed classes and undertook fast unto death in Yeravada Jail (Poona) to get the award
modified. At last, there was an agreement between the leaders of the Congress and the
depressed classes. The agreement, known as Poona Pact, retained the Hindu joint electorate
and gave reserved seats to the depressed classes.
6. Government of India Act of 1935
 The most remarkable feature of the GoI act, 1935 is that it provided for the
establishment of an All-India Federation consisting of provinces and princely states as
units. The 1935 act for the first time provided for a Federal System in India.
 The Act divided the powers between the Centre and units in terms of three lists—
Federal List (for Centre, with 59 items), Provincial List (for provinces, with 54 items) and
the Concurrent List (for both, with 36 items). Residuary powers were given to the
Viceroy. However, the federation never came into being as the princely states did not
join it.
 It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced ‘provincial autonomy’ in its place.
The provinces were allowed to act as autonomous units of administration in their
defined spheres. Moreover, the Act introduced responsible governments in provinces.
 It provided for the adoption of dyarchy at the Centre. Consequently, the federal subjects
were divided into reserved subjects and transferred subjects. However, this provision of
the Act did not come into operation at all.
 It introduced bicameralism in six out of eleven provinces. Thus, the legislatures of
Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces were made bicameral
consisting of a legislative council (upper house) and a legislative assembly (lower house).
 It extended franchise. About 10 per cent of the total population got the voting right.
 It provided for the establishment of a Reserve Bank of India to control the currency and
credit of the country.
 It provided for the establishment of not only a Federal Public Service Commission but
also a Provincial Public Service Commission and Joint Public Service Commission for two
or more provinces.
 It provided for the establishment of a Federal Court, which was set up in 1937.
7. Indian Independence Act of 1947
 On June 3, 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the viceroy of India, put forth the partition plan,
known as the Mountbatten Plan. This was the basis for the Indian Independence Act,
1947.
  It ended the British rule in India and declared India as an independent and sovereign
state from August 15, 1947.
 It provided for the partition of India and creation of two independent dominions of India
and Pakistan with the right to secede from the British Commonwealth.
 It abolished the office of viceroy and provided, for each dominion, a governor-general,
who was to be appointed by the British King on the advice of the dominion cabinet.
 It empowered the Constituent Assemblies of the two dominions of India and Pakistan to
frame and adopt any constitution for their respective nations and to repeal any act of
the British Parliament, Including the Independence act itself. The boundaries between
the two Dominions were determined by a Boundary Commission headed by Radcliff.
Hence the boundary line between India and Pakistan is known as the Radcliff line.
 It granted freedom to the Indian princely states either to join the Dominion of India or
Dominion of Pakistan or to remain independent.
 It dropped the title of Emperor of India from the royal titles of the king of England.

At the stroke of midnight of 14–15 August, 1947, the British rule came to an end and power was
Transferred to the two new independent Dominions of India and Pakistan. Lord Mountbatten
became the first governor-general of the new Dominion of India. He swore in Jawaharlal Nehru
as the first prime minister of independent India. The Constituent Assembly of India formed in
1946 became the Parliament of the Indian Dominion.
First Cabinet of Free India (1947)
S. No Members Portfolios Held
1. Jawaharlal Nehru Prime Minister, External Affairs& Commonwealth
Relations; Scientific Research
2. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Home, Information & Broadcasting; States
3. Dr. Rajendra Prasad Food & Agriculture
4. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Education
5. Dr. John Mathai Railways & Transport
6. K. Shanmugham Chetty Finance
7. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Law
8. Jagjivan Ram Labour
9. Sardar Baldev Singh Defence
10. Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur Health
11. C.H. Bhabha Commerce
12. Dr. Shyam Prasad Mukherji Industries and Supplies
13. V. N. Gadgil Works, Mines and Power