Which one of the following statements about the Government of India Act, 1919 is not correct?
- A.It extended the practice of communal representation.
- B.It made the Central Executive responsible to the Legislature.
- C.It is also known as the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms.
- D.It paved the way for federalism by clearly separating the responsibilities of the Centre and the Provinces.
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, It made the Central Executive responsible to the Legislature.. The Act of 1919 did not make the Central Executive responsible to the Legislature; the Governor-General and his Executive Council stayed answerable only to the British Parliament.
The Government of India Act, 1919 came out of the report of Secretary of State Edwin Montagu and Viceroy Lord Chelmsford, so it is called the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. It divided subjects into central and provincial lists, loosening the Centre's control over the provinces. In the provinces it brought in dyarchy, with "transferred" subjects under ministers answerable to the legislature and "reserved" subjects under the Governor. At the Centre it created a bicameral legislature, but the executive was not responsible to it. It also extended separate electorates to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
A is wrong as a choice because the Act did extend communal representation. C is wrong as a choice because the Act is indeed known as the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. D is wrong as a choice because separating central and provincial subjects was a real step towards federalism.
Exam tip: 1919 Act = dyarchy in provinces, bicameral central legislature, no responsible government at the Centre.
Practice Questions
View allArthashastra, the classical work of Indian political thought, focuses primarily on
- A.economy
- B.culture
- C.statecraft
- D.monarchy
Show answer
The Arthashastra is a manual on how a king should govern, defend and expand his state, so its main subject is statecraft.
Read the full explanation →The call for 'renunciation of (all) voluntary associations with the (British) Government' was given during
- A.Non-Cooperation Movement.
- B.Civil Disobedience Movement.
- C.Quit India Movement.
- D.Protest against partition of Bengal.
Show answer
The Congress resolution on non-cooperation, passed at the special Calcutta session of September 1920 and confirmed at Nagpur in December 1920, called for the renunciation of all voluntary association with the British Government.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following events leading to the Indian Independence : 1. Lucknow Pact 2. Return of Subhash Chandra Bose to India 3. Cripps Mission 4. Naval Mutiny in Bombay Select the chronological sequence of these events (earliest to latest) from the code given below:
- A.4, 3, 2, 1
- B.3, 4, 2, 1
- C.1, 2, 3, 4
- D.2, 1, 3, 4
Show answer
The events run from the Lucknow Pact of 1916, through Subhas Chandra Bose's return to India in the 1920s and 1930s, to the Cripps Mission of 1942 and the Naval Mutiny of 1946.
Read the full explanation →During the period 100 BCE - 200 CE, valuable evidence of India's maritime trade links has been identified from which of the following sites on the Coromandel Coast ?
- A.Arikamedu
- B.Tamralipti
- C.Bharukachcha
- D.Muchiri
Show answer
Arikamedu, near Puducherry on the Coromandel Coast, has yielded clear evidence of trade with the Roman world between about the first century BCE and the second century CE.
Read the full explanation →Who was the founder of Mahakali Pathshala in Calcutta?
- A.Her Holiness Mataji Maharani Tapaswini
- B.Sister Nivedita
- C.Madame Blavatsky
- D.Sarojini Naidu
Show answer
Mataji Tapaswini founded the Mahakali Pathshala in Calcutta in 1893 to give girls an education rooted in Indian tradition. Tapaswini was a woman ascetic from Maharashtra who settled in Calcutta and won the support of leading Bengali families for her school.
Read the full explanation →