India -- History -- British occupation, 1765-1947; India -- Politics and government -- 1765-1947
A scheme for the creation of the "Council of State" on the lines of the
Joint Report is set forth, on the basis of election thereto by
non-official members of the Provincial Councils. There would be 24
elected and 32 _ex-officio_ or nominated members, exclusive of the
Governor-General. The electors should be left free to choose any person
qualified to be a member of a Provincial Legislature.
THE DIVISION OF FUNCTIONS
The first duty of Mr. Feetham's Committee was to consider what were
the services to be appropriated to the provinces, all others
remaining with the Government of India. The Committee proceeded on
the basis that there is to be no such statutory demarcation of
powers as to leave the validity of Acts passed to be challenged in
the Courts. In other words, no alteration is proposed in the system
under which the All-India Legislature as regards British India, and
each of the Provincial Legislatures as regards its own province,
have in theory concurrent jurisdiction over the whole legislative
field.
In framing the lists the Committee have treated as All-India subjects
certain large general heads, such, for instance, as commerce and laws
regarding property, but have taken out of these and allotted to the
provinces important sections--_e.g._, in the case of the first Excise,
and in the case of the second laws regarding land tenure. Any matter
included in the provincial list is to be deemed to be excluded from any
All-India subject of which otherwise it would form part. Subjects not
expressly included in either list are regarded as All-India subjects,
but the Governor-General in Council may add to the provincial list
"matters of merely local or private interest within the province." It is
claimed that the scheme has been devised on such a basis as to leave the
way open for the process of development.
The list of subjects to be transferred to Indian Ministers is on the
whole more extensive than the suggested list attached to the Joint
Report. With certain reservations University education is to be
transferred, as well as primary, secondary, and technical, on the ground
that the educational system must be regarded as an organic whole. But
European and Anglo-Indian education, which is organized on a separate
basis is excluded from the transfer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account