The Government of India Act 1935 was originally passed in August 1935 (25 & 26 Geo. 5 c. 42), and is said to have been the longest (British) Act of Parliament ever enacted by that time. Because of its length, the Act was retroactively split by the Government of India (Reprinting) Act 1935 (26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8 c. 1) into two separate Acts: The Government of India Act 1935 (26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8 c. 2) The Government of Burma Act 1935 (26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8 c. 3) References in literature on Indian political and constitutional history are usually to the shortened Government of India Act 1935 (i.e. 26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8 c. 2), rather than to the text of the Act as originally enacted.