Government of India Act

Audience

The principal audience for the Government of India Act of 1919 was, of course, the Indian people. In the wake of growing civil unrest, agitation for independence, and outbreaks of violence, the law was intended to give Indians a greater role in their own governance with a view to India's eventually achieving dominion status. Such status would have made India similar to Canada and Australia, which were self-governing under the British monarch as head of state. This status was often referred to by the phrase “responsible government,” referring to the principle of parliamentary accountability. It was hoped that the 1919 act would appease the nationalist movement and restore peace to the colony. In this respect, a major component of the audience was the Indian National Congress, a political party formed in 1885 whose goal was Indian independence.

Another audience was the British people, many of whom were appalled by events in India, particularly the Amritsar Massacre. The massacre was condemned worldwide, and in 1920 a commission that investigated the matter exposed the extraordinary callousness of the British commander, General Reginald Dyer. In the House of Commons, Winston Churchill stated, “It is an extraordinary event, a monstrous event, an event which stands in singular and sinister isolation” (qtd. in Farwell, p. 286). In this climate of unrest, the British public had to be reassured that their government had a handle on the situation in India and was willing to recognize Indian aspirations for self-rule.