Previous Year Question
The object of the Butler Committee of 1927 was to
Correct Answer: D
Detailed Solution
The official name of the Butler Committee was the ‘Indian States Committee’. It was appointed by the British Government on 16 December 1927 to examine the relationship between the Indian States and the British Paramount Power and suggest measures for a more satisfactory adjustment of the existing relations.
It was a three-member committee:
Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler—Chairman
Professor W. S. Holdsworth
S. C. Peel
The Committee visited 16 Indian States and submitted its report in 1929.
The Committee supported the continuation of British paramountcy. According to it, the relationship between the Indian States and the British Crown was not merely a static relationship based on treaties but a relationship developing according to changing circumstances and requirements.
It recommended that an Indian State should not be transferred to any future responsible government in British India without the consent of its ruler. In dealings with the States, the Viceroy was to act as the representative of the British Crown.
The division of jurisdiction between the Central and Provincial Governments concerned constitutional reforms. The powers of the Secretary of State were determined through British parliamentary enactments, while imposing censorship on the nationalist press was not the objective of the Butler Committee. Therefore, (a), (b) and (c) are incorrect.