Consider the following assertion : **The genesis of political alliances based on community lay in the very nature of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919.** Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion ? 1. Reforms retained and extended the principle of separate electorates. 2. Separate electorates were supposed to counter Indian nationalism, which was growing stronger. 3. Deprived classes rallied around the favours inherent in separate electorates. Select the answer using the code given below :

QUESTION

Medium

Modern History

Prelims 2026

Consider the following assertion :

The genesis of political alliances based on community lay in the very nature of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919.

Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion ?

Reforms retained and extended the principle of separate electorates.
Separate electorates were supposed to counter Indian nationalism, which was growing stronger.
Deprived classes rallied around the favours inherent in separate electorates.

Select the answer using the code given below :

Select an option to attempt

Explanation

Statement 1 is Correct: The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (Government of India Act, 1919) not only retained the separate electorates for Muslims (first introduced by the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909) but explicitly extended them to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans. This institutionalized community-based representation, directly fostering political alliances based on community.

Statement 2 is Correct: The British utilized separate electorates as a strategic tool of "Divide and Rule." By institutionalizing communal and class divisions, the colonial government aimed to fragment and weaken the increasingly unified Indian nationalist movement, which was growing stronger at the time.

Statement 3 is Correct: The 1919 constitutional framework tied political representation, legislative power, and administrative favors directly to communal and class identities. Consequently, various minority groups and deprived classes began organizing politically around these specific identities to secure concessions and representation, which laid the genesis for community-based political alliances in India.

Therefore, all three statements support the assertion, making the correct option D.

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