CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
Which province was given special gubernatorial responsibility concerning the Sukkur Barrage?
A. Bengal
B. Sind
C. Madras
D. Orissa
Correct Answer: B
The White Paper proposals recognised Sind's special financial obligations regarding the Sukkur Barrage.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
Under the proposed system, irrigation was generally treated as:
A. A transferred provincial subject
B. A British foreign-affairs subject
C. A matter reserved for the Chamber of Princes only
D. A subject outside government
Correct Answer: A
The parliamentary debate specifically referred to irrigation as a transferred subject.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
Which concern was used to justify provincial safeguards?
A. Expansion of private armies
B. Ending all elections
C. Creation of Pakistan in 1933
D. Protection of minorities and maintenance of order
Correct Answer: D
The British Government defended special powers as necessary for minorities, stability and obligations.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
A governor could intervene especially in matters involving:
A. Only university examinations
B. Only municipal sanitation
C. Special responsibilities and emergencies
D. Only political party membership
Correct Answer: C
The scheme preserved intervention powers to protect specified interests and constitutional stability.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
Did provincial autonomy remove every power of the governors?
A. Yes, governors became ceremonial immediately
B. No, governors retained special responsibilities and discretionary authority
C. Yes, governors were abolished
D. No, because provincial legislatures were abolished
Correct Answer: B
Provincial responsibility was limited by safeguards and reserve powers.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
The White Paper aimed to separate provincial powers from those of the:
A. Central federal government
B. Municipal governments
C. British political parties
D. European commercial chambers
Correct Answer: A
Parliamentary debate described a clearer constitutional separation between provincial and central authority.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
Provincial ministers were expected to be responsible to:
A. The British monarch alone
B. The Federal Court alone
C. The Chamber of Princes
D. Provincial legislatures
Correct Answer: D
Responsible government meant ministers would normally depend on legislative support.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
Under the later 1935 Act, provincial autonomy replaced:
A. Separate electorates
B. Provincial legislatures
C. Dyarchy in the provinces
D. The office of governor
Correct Answer: C
The 1919 system of divided provincial subjects was abolished.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
The provincial reform proposed in the White Paper is generally called:
A. Central absolutism
B. Provincial autonomy
C. Communal federation
D. Military provincialism
Correct Answer: B
The proposals aimed to transfer day-to-day provincial administration to responsible ministries.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
The White Paper proposed what form of government in the provinces?
A. Full responsible government subject to safeguards
B. Permanent dyarchy
C. Direct rule by the British Cabinet only
D. Government without legislatures
Correct Answer: A
Pakistan Studies summaries describe the proposal as full responsible provincial government.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
Which statement best describes the fate of the federation proposed in the White Paper?
A. It began in 1933 and continued until 1947
B. It was rejected before any legislation
C. It became the Constitution of Pakistan
D. It was incorporated into the 1935 Act but never inaugurated
Correct Answer: D
The federal provisions entered the 1935 Act, but the required accession of states did not materialise.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
One criticism of the federal scheme was that it was:
A. Too simple to address any Indian issue
B. Based on universal adult franchise
C. Complex and dependent on numerous safeguards
D. Already fully independent
Correct Answer: C
Even supporters acknowledged that the scheme was highly complicated.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
The White Paper's federation was designed as:
A. A military dictatorship
B. A federal rather than a purely unitary system
C. A municipal confederation only
D. A presidential republic
Correct Answer: B
It proposed division of authority between a federal centre and autonomous provinces.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
Which element ultimately prevented the proposed federation from becoming operational?
A. Insufficient accession by princely states
B. A shortage of provincial governors
C. A ban by the Federal Court
D. The abolition of all legislatures
Correct Answer: A
The federation depended on sufficient accession by rulers, which did not occur.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
The White Paper's federal scheme attempted to combine:
A. Only British officials and soldiers
B. Only elected village councils
C. Only provincial judges
D. Representatives of British India and the princely states
Correct Answer: D
The central government was intended to bring together the two major constitutional parts of India.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
The Indian princes were reluctant to enter a central system controlled entirely from:
A. Lahore
B. Karachi
C. Whitehall
D. Calcutta University
Correct Answer: C
The government argued that responsibility at the centre was necessary to attract princely participation.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
Why did the British Government favour a comprehensive scheme covering both centre and provinces?
A. It intended to abolish every province
B. It valued the accession of the princely states and wanted simultaneous central reform
C. It wanted to exclude Indian states permanently
D. It planned immediate partition
Correct Answer: B
The government argued that provincial reform alone would not secure the participation of the princes or Indian political goodwill.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
Participation of the princely states in the federation was based on:
A. Accession by the rulers
B. Automatic election by all Indian adults
C. Compulsory merger ordered by Congress
D. A United Nations vote
Correct Answer: A
The princes would join through instruments or terms of accession.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
The proposed federation was to include:
A. Only princely states
B. Only British Indian provinces
C. Only Muslim-majority provinces
D. British Indian provinces and princely states
Correct Answer: D
The federal plan depended on participation by both categories of territorial units.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1940- Constitutional Proposals - White Paper
The central constitutional structure proposed in the White Paper was an:
A. Independent unitary republic
B. Confederation limited to Bengal
C. All-India Federation
D. Alliance of municipalities
Correct Answer: C
The scheme proposed a federation embracing British Indian provinces and acceding Indian states.