Unlock Elite Access: Level Up Your Preparation with Exclusive Content

History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

Is it justified to say that the Government of India Act of 1935 had all brakes, but no engine?

  • UPSC 2019
  • Constitutional Developments in Colonial India, 1858-1935

Jawaharlal Nehru's verdict on the Government of India Act, 1935 — "a machine with strong brakes but no engine" — captures the Act's central contradiction: elaborate safeguards for British control paired with only a hollow, conditional promise of self-propelling responsible government.

You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of the History Optional PYQ Master Pack.

What the full answer covers

  • The Brakes: Mechanisms of Retained Control
  • The Missing Engine: No Genuine Self-Propulsion at the Centre
  • A Partial Engine: Provincial Autonomy
  • Assessing the Verdict

Unlock this answer and 1,350+ more

  • 1,350+ solved UPSC History Optional PYQs from 1985 to 2025, Paper-1 and Paper-2
  • Topic-wise across Ancient, Medieval, Modern, Post-Independence and World History
  • Model answers with a clear structure and historian citations
  • Map section solutions included, at no extra cost
  • Read online on lotusarise.com, plus PDF download

₹1,499₹2,50040% off

Get History Optional PYQ Master Pack @ ₹1,499 →

One-time payment · No subscription · Instant access · UPI, cards, RuPay

See every Constitutional Developments in Colonial India, 1858-1935 question (27 solved) →Already enrolled? Log in