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:
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms / Government of India Act 1919 retained and extended separate electorates (originally given to Muslims in 1909) to Sikhs, Anglo-Indians, Europeans and Indian Christians. The British rationale was explicitly to counter the rising tide of Indian nationalism by institutionalising communal divisions; and depressed/deprived classes later rallied to separate representation (culminating in the Poona Pact debate). All three statements support the assertion that communal political alliances were embedded in the very design of the 1919 reforms. Bipan Chandra discusses this in the chapter on the rise of communalism.