Correct Option (D)
The Butler Committee, appointed in 1927 and chaired by Harcourt Butler, was tasked with investigating and clarifying the relationship between the British paramount power and the Indian Princely States. Its primary objective was to enhance and define this relationship, which was becoming increasingly complex amidst growing nationalist sentiments in British India. The committee's report emphasized the supremacy of the British Crown (paramountcy) over the princely states and recommended that the Viceroy, as the Crown's representative, should be the primary channel for interactions with these states.
Incorrect Options:
A) Defining the jurisdiction of Central and Provincial Governments was addressed by constitutional reforms such as the Government of India Acts, not by the Butler Committee. The committee's mandate was specifically focused on the princely states.
B) The powers of the Secretary of State for India were established through various acts of Parliament, particularly after the Government of India Act 1858, and were not the subject of the Butler Committee's inquiry. The committee's focus was on the relationship with Indian states.
C) Imposing censorship on the national press was a measure often undertaken by the British Indian government through specific press acts (e.g., Vernacular Press Act), but it was not within the scope or objective of the Butler Committee. The committee's mandate was limited to the princely states.