1935 Act and the 1937 elections

Pakistan Affairs · The Pakistan Movement. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

Test this topic free All Pakistan Affairs topics

The idea

The Government of India Act 1935 had two halves. The federal half planned an All-India Federation of provinces and princely states, but the princes did not join, so it never came into force. The provincial half did work: it gave provincial autonomy, with ministers answerable to elected legislatures.

Elections under the Act were held in 1937. The Congress won most provinces and formed ministries. The Muslim League did poorly, and the Congress refused to share power with it.

Congress rule from 1937 to 1939 left many Muslims feeling that their culture and rights were under threat. This drove them to the League, which Jinnah rebuilt as a mass party. When the ministries resigned, the League observed a Day of Deliverance.

Rules to remember

1935 Act: provincial autonomy; a Federal Court; separate electorates kept; Governors kept special reserve powers.
The All-India Federation never came into force because the princely states did not agree.
Sindh was separated from the Bombay Presidency and became a province under the Act.
1937: in the United Provinces the Congress would share power only if the League merged with it.
Muslim grievances: Bande Mataram in schools and assemblies; recorded in the Pirpur Report (1938).
The Congress ministries resigned in 1939 because the Viceroy declared India at war without consulting Indian leaders.
Day of Deliverance: 22 December 1939.

Common mistake

Students write that the whole 1935 Act was put into practice. Only the provincial part worked; the federation at the Centre never started, so the Centre went on being run much as before.

Worked example

The Muslim League lost badly in the 1937 elections. Why do historians still call 1937 a turning point in its favour?

Defeat showed the League that it was not yet a mass party.
Congress rule, with no share of power for the League, gave Muslims direct experience of majority rule.
Jinnah reorganised the party and membership rose sharply before 1940.

Answer: The defeat and the Congress ministries together turned the League into the main voice of Muslims, which made the Lahore Resolution of 1940 possible.

Ask about this

Type what you are stuck on. The helper finds the explanation, worked examples and the notes to read, free and instant.

Read the full notes

Keep going

← Lucknow Pact to the Fourteen Points Lahore Resolution to independence →Take a Pakistan Affairs test