Colonial Rule & Administration

A three-member committee headed by Harcourt Butler, appointed on December 16, 1927, aimed to examine the relations between the native states and the paramount power, and to improve the relationship between the Government of India and the Indian States. It clearly stated that paramountcy must remain paramount. The committee fully endorsed that the viceroy should remain the Crown agent in dealing with the native states.

Satyashodhak Samaj is a social reform society founded by Jyotirao Phule in Pune, India, on 24 September 1873.
Its purpose was to liberate the less privileged in the then-prevailing society such as women, Shudra, and Dalit from exploitation and oppression. Jyotirao's wife Savitribai was the head of the women's section of the society. Through his writing and work, Jyotirao advocated against the caste system and the illogical and orthodox status of Brahmin. Phule had also started a newspaper Deenbandhu which provided the voice for the views of the Samaj. Jyotirao Phule's book Gulamgiri is dedicated to the pain, suffering and hardship faced by slaves.

* The Cripps Mission was a failed attempt in late March 1942 by the British government to secure full Indian cooperation and support for their efforts in World War II. * The mission was headed by a senior minister Sir Stafford Cripps, Lord Privy Seal and leader of the House of Commons.
* Cripps was sent to negotiate an agreement with the nationalist Congress leaders, who spoke for the majority Indians, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League, who spoke for the minority Muslim population.
* Cripps worked to keep India loyal to the British war effort in exchange for a promise of elections and full self-government (Dominion status) once the war was over. * Cripps discussed the proposals, which he had drafted himself, with the Indian leaders and published them.
* Both the major parties rejected his proposals, and they were also unacceptable to Churchill; no middle way was found and the mission failed.

The Montague-Chelmsford Proposals were related to constitutional reforms in British India. These proposals, named after Secretary of State for India Edwin Montagu and Viceroy Lord Chelmsford, aimed to gradually introduce self-governing institutions in India. The reforms were outlined in the Montagu-Chelmsford Report of 1918 and later formed the basis of the Government of India Act 1919.

The 'Swadeshi' (promotion of indigenous products and industries) and 'Boycott' (of British goods and institutions) were adopted as methods of struggle for the first time during the Anti-Partition Movement or the Swadeshi Movement of 1905-1911. This movement was sparked by the decision of the British colonial government to partition the province of Bengal in 1905, which was seen as an attempt to weaken the nationalist movement in Bengal.

The Extremist wanted to extend the Boycott and Swadeshi Movement to regions outside Bengal and also include all forms of associations (government services, law courts, councils, etc.) within the boycott programme, thus starting a nationwide mass movement. Unlike Extremists, Moderates were opposed to extending the movement and the idea of passive resistance. They felt that it involved the use of force. After the split, the Congress came to be dominated by the Moderates with Tilak?s followers functioning from outside. The two groups reunited in December 1915. Next year, the Congress and the Muslim League signed the Lucknow Pact and decided to work together for representative government in the country.

Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1876), this influential book written by *Dadabhai Naroji* argued that British policies were a significant cause of widespread poverty in India. Naoroji presented his theory of the "drain of wealth," which explained how the transfer of resources from India to Britain hampered economic growth. A book titled Some Economic Aspects of British Rule in India (1903) by *Subramania Iyer* argued that India's economic stagnation wasn't due to its pre-colonial past, but rather a direct consequence of British policies. The Economic History of India in the Victorian Age (1903) is a book written by *R.C. Dutt* that analyzed the economic transformation of India under British rule. Thus efforts of all three led to an economic critique of British colonialism in India.

Statement 1 is correct: A committee named the 'Sedition Committee' was set up in 1918 by the British Raj, led by Sir Sidney Rowlatt, a British judge. The purpose of this committee was to investigate political activities considered seditious by the British government, particularly in Bengal and Punjab. Statement 2 is correct: Gandhi believed the Rowlatt Act, passed based on the committee's recommendations, was unjust. It gave the British authorities broad powers to arrest and detain people suspected of revolutionary activities without trial. While not the primary tool used by Gandhi, Gandhi did attempt to leverage the support and networks of the Home Rule Leagues to mobilize people against the Rowlatt Act. Statement 3 is incorrect: Demonstration against the Simon Commission was held in 1928, while the Rowlatt Act was passed in 1919.

Statement 1 is correct: The Cabinet Mission (1946) recommended the establishment of a federal government in India with a weak centre controlling only defence, foreign affairs, and communications, and the provinces grouped into sections with autonomy in other matters. Statement 2 is incorrect: The Mission did not propose any changes in the powers of Indian courts; its purpose was to plan the constitutional framework for transfer of power, not judicial reforms. Statement 3 is incorrect: The Mission made no recommendation regarding the Indian Civil Services (ICS) or increasing Indian participation in it.

The Government of India Act of 1919 aimed to expand Indian participation in governing the country. The Act introduced a dual scheme of governance, separating the central and provincial subjects, with a division of powers between the British Government and Indian authorities. It established a dual system of government at the provincial level, known as diarchy. Certain subjects called Transferable subjects like education and health were placed under Indian ministers answerable to elected councils, while others called Reserved subjects remained under British control.