With reference to Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909, consider the following statements. a) They are also called the Indian Councils Act, 1909. b) They increased the strength of Legislative Councils. c) The right to separate electorate was given to the Muslims. Which of the above statements is/are correct?

Correct — D. All three statements hold.

Statement a: the Morley-Minto Reforms are the popular name of the Indian Councils Act, 1909 — John Morley was Secretary of State for India and Lord Minto the Viceroy.

Statement b: the Act enlarged the legislative councils, taking the Central Legislative Council from 16 members to 60 and expanding the provincial councils as well.

Statement c: it introduced separate electorates for Muslims, seats voted on by Muslim electors alone, which is why Minto is remembered as the father of communal electorates.

With a, b and c all correct, the answer is option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  a, b — Statement c is correct too. Separate electorates for Muslims are the single best-remembered feature of 1909, so a pair that leaves that statement out cannot be the full answer.
• (b)
  c, a — Statement b is correct too. The Act raised the Central Legislative Council from 16 members to 60, so dropping the enlargement of the councils makes this pairing incomplete.
• (c)
  b, c — Statement a is correct too. Morley-Minto Reforms and Indian Councils Act, 1909 are two names for one law, so excluding statement a discards something the Act plainly is.

The Indian Councils Act, 1909 answered two pressures at once: the Congress moderates wanted a larger share in the councils, and the Muslim League's Simla deputation of 1906 wanted a guaranteed one.

What the Act did: enlarged the central and provincial legislative councils, and kept an official majority at the Centre while permitting a non-official majority in the provinces.

It also widened the councils' powers to ask questions and discuss the budget, and created separate electorates for Muslims.

What it did not do: give responsible government. The councils could talk, not govern, and that gap is what the 1919 and 1935 Acts were later written to close.

Key facts

• The Indian Councils Act, 1909 is called the Morley-Minto Reforms after John Morley, Secretary of State for India, and Lord Minto, the Viceroy.
• It raised the membership of the Central Legislative Council from 16 to 60.
• It retained an official majority at the Centre while allowing a non-official majority in the provincial councils.
• Satyendra Prasad Sinha became the first Indian appointed to the Viceroy's Executive Council, as Law Member.

Common traps

• Assuming a statement-set item cannot have every statement correct.
• Crediting 1909 with dyarchy, which arrived with the Government of India Act 1919.

No directly related past PYQ was found.