Previous Year Question

The system of the ‘Chamber of Princes’ with 120 members was associated with the Government of India Act, 1919.

The Government of India Act, 1919 is commonly associated with the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. Under this constitutional arrangement, steps were also taken towards providing the rulers of the Indian princely states with an institutional forum alongside the constitutional development of British Indian provinces.

Under this arrangement, the Chamber of Princes, also known as the Narendra Mandal, was established. Its purpose was to provide the rulers of Indian princely states with a common forum for discussion on matters concerning their collective interests.

The Chamber of Princes was formally inaugurated on 8 February 1921. It was not a legislative institution but primarily an advisory body. The Viceroy was its ex-officio President, and its members discussed matters of common concern to the princely states.

The institution did not possess law-making powers comparable to the Legislative Assembly or the Council of State of British India. It mainly served as a forum for communication between the British Government and the princely states.

The Charter Act of 1853 was concerned with changes in the administrative and legislative machinery of the East India Company. The Indian Councils Act of 1909, or the Morley-Minto Reforms, expanded legislative councils and introduced provisions such as separate electorates. Neither of these created the Chamber of Princes.