With reference to the Government of India Act, 1935, consider the following statements: 1. It provided for the establishment of an All India Federation based on the union of the British Indian Provinces and Princely States. 2. Defence and Foreign Affairs were kept under the control of the federal legislature. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: A. Only Statement 1 is correct. Statement 1 is CORRECT. The Government of India Act 1935 provided for an All-India Federation comprising British Indian Provinces and Princely States. The federation was to be voluntary for princely states (sanad-based accession). Crucially, the federal provisions never came into force because not enough princely states acceded; only the provincial autonomy provisions took effect from 1937. Statement 2 is WRONG. Defence and Foreign Affairs were placed under the GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S discretionary power, NOT under the federal legislature. The Act explicitly listed defence, external affairs, ecclesiastical affairs and tribal areas as 'reserved subjects' to be administered by the Governor-General through Counsellors. The federal legislature had no control over these. Source: NCERT Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work Ch 1 / Themes in Indian History Part III.