Q. The object of the Butler Committee of 1927 was to?

  • Define the jurisdiction of the Central and Provincial Governments.
  • Define the powers of the Secretary of State for India.
  • Impose censorship on national press.
  • Improve the relationship between the Government of India and the Indian States.

Answer: (d) Improve the relationship between the Government of India and the Indian States.

Butler Committee,1927:
  • The Butler Committee, officially the Indian States Committee, was formed in 1927 to investigate and clarify the relationship between the British Raj and the Indian Princely States.
  • Led by Sir Harcourt Butler, it aimed to improve relations and address issues surrounding the British Government’s “paramountcy” over the states.
    • The committee was established to examine the nature of this relationship and address the concerns of the princely states about their sovereignty and future status.

Important Recommendations:

  • The Committee advises that the Viceroy should represent the Crown in all dealings with the States. This proposed change is comparable with the new Imperial arrangement by which the Governor-General of a Dominion is High Commissioner for the Dominion’s Protectorates.
  • It says that paramountcy must remain supreme.
  • It says that British paramountcy preserves the princely state.
  • The Committee sympathize with the fear of the Native Princes that their States might pass without their consent under a new Government in British India responsible to an Indian Legislature, and they plainly express the opinion that no such transference should be made without the consent of the Princes.
    • It also says that the state should not be transferred without their own agreement.