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PART III

THE STATES UNDER THE SCHEME OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT, 1935, AND SUBSEQUENT PLANS FOR INDIA'S CONSTITUTIONAL ADVANCE


Federal Scheme of 1935

47. The federal scheme embodied in the Government of India Act, 1935, was the first effort to provide for a constitutional relationship between the Indian States and the Government of India on a federal basis. One of the special features of this scheme was that, whereas in the case of the Provinces accession to the Federation was to be automatic, in the case of the States accession was to be voluntary and the establishment of the contemplated Federation was conditional on the accession of States entitled to fill not less than 52 seats in the Council of State, and having an aggregate population of not less than one half of the total population of the States.

48. The accession was to be effected by the King's acceptance of an Instrument of Accession, the terms of which made it clear that the Act asserted no authority over the State save such as flowed from the Ruler's freely-executed Instrument. The Instrument, which was to be the over-riding document, was to govern the accession and had to specify the matters on which the Federal Legislature was to have power to legislate for the State, and any limitations subject to which the legislative and executive power of the Federation was to be exercised in relation to that State.

49. The Instruments were to provide that a number of provisions of the Act, which were specified in the Second Schedule to the Act, might be amended without affecting the accession of the States, but no such amendment was to extend, unless accepted by the Rulers concerned, by means of supplementary Instruments, the functions exercised by any federal authority in respect of the States. Thus apparently any change in the basic structure of the Federation or any amendment materially altering provisions such as those relating to the position of the Governor-General in respect of External Affairs and Defence would have affected the accession of the States.

50. An important feature of this scheme was that the proposed Federation was to be composed of disparate constituent units in which the powers and authority of the Federation were to differ as between one

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