Q. The Government of India Act, 1935, prescribed a federation of the provinces and the princely states as its units. The federation part of the Act never took effect, because
(a) the Congress did not accept it
(b) the Muslim League did not accept it
(c) some of the provinces did not accept it
(d) the rulers of the Indian states never gave their consent to join the federation
Ans: (d) the rulers of the Indian states never gave their consent to join the federation
Explanation: The correct answer is (d) the rulers of the Indian states never gave their consent to join the federation.
The Government of India Act, 1935 did indeed prescribe a federation of the provinces and princely states as its units. However, the federation part of the Act never came into effect because the rulers of the Indian princely states did not give their consent to join the federation.
Under the Act, the princely states were given the option to join the federation or remain outside of it. The consent of the princely states was crucial for the formation of the federation. Unfortunately, most of the princely states, especially those with larger territories and significant autonomy, chose not to join the federation. Their reluctance to give up their sovereignty and merge their territories with the proposed federation led to the failure of the federation provision in the Government of India Act, 1935.
