I Year B.A., LL. B (Div.
-D and E) – Semester-II
2nd -Internal Assessment – History-II
Review Article Submission
Topic
‘An Analysis of the Government of India Act 1909’
NAME: BHOOMI TANK
DIVISION: D
PRN: 23010125328
COURSE: BA LL.B. (H)
BATCH: 2023-2028
2nd Internal Assessment – History II
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 3
VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE ACT .............................................................................. 4
Increase in Legislative Council Members.............................................................................. 4
Composition of Legislative Councils ..................................................................................... 4
Elections ................................................................................................................................. 4
Privilege to Muslim Community: ........................................................................................... 5
Expanded Legislative Council Powers .................................................................................. 6
Executive Councils ................................................................................................................. 7
Other Provisions .................................................................................................................... 7
ANALYSIS OF THE ACT ...................................................................................................... 9
Indian in blood, but English in taste ...................................................................................... 9
Limited power of Legislative Councils ................................................................................ 10
The seeds of Communalism? ................................................................................................ 10
Repressive measures ............................................................................................................ 12
CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 13
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................... 15
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INTRODUCTION
In the early 1900s, tensions between Hindus and Muslims in India intensified for various
reasons. One significant event was the partition of Bengal in 1905, which was proposed by
Lord Curzon. This decision aimed at improving administrative efficiency but ended up
sparking resentment among Hindu Bengalis. They saw it as a way to break apart the Bengali
intelligentsia. The freedom of the Press had been re-established in 1882 by Lord Ripon, but it
had degenerated into license. Furthermore, with the dissatisfaction due to the Councils Act of
1892 which provided no clear form of elections or right to resolution in case of budgets, and
with the mobilization of the educated middle class becoming more and more aware about their
rights and understanding the exploitation through the oppressive drain of wealth, a need for a
new Government of India Act was felt.
A leadership shift exacerbated these difficulties. Following Lord Curzon's departure from India
in 1905, Lord Minto was left to handle the intricacies of Indian politics with Lord Morley as a
result of changes in the British political scene. This change signalled the beginning of the era
known to historians as “Edwardian India,” which was defined by a shifting relationship
between Britain and its Indian subjects. Legislative reform became imperative in light of the
growing unhappiness and the need to resolve the problems of different Indian tribes. To solve
these problems, the Government of India Act of 1909 was enacted. It aimed to introduce limited
reforms, including increased representation for Indians in legislative councils, in an attempt to
assuage the growing discontent and foster a sense of inclusion and participation among diverse
Indian communities. In October 1906, a Muslim delegation led by Aga Khan met the Viceroy
at Shimla, popularly known as the Shimla deputation. Viceroy Minto promised them a Separate
Electorate with representation much in excess as compared to their population. Hence,
foundations for the Muslim communalism were laid which later on resulted in the partition of
India.
Shima Deputation
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VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE ACT
The most conspicuous aspect of Morley Minto reforms was that the sizes and functions of both
Provincial and Central legislatures were increased. Though the reforms did not satisfy the
nationalists, they nevertheless laid the foundation for legislative development in India.
Increase in Legislative Council Members
The additional members of the Governor-General's council were increased from 16 to a
maximum of 60.
• The number of additional members in the Imperial Legislative Council (Governor-
General's council) was increased from 16 to a maximum of 60.
• For the provincial councils of Madras, Bombay, Bengal, United Provinces and Eastern
Bengal the maximum was set at 50.
• For the Punjab and Burma provincial councils, the maximum was 30.
• This led to an increase in total members from 124 to 331, with elected members rising from
39 to 135.
Composition of Legislative Councils
• The legislative councils at the Centre and provinces were to have four categories of
members:
• Ex officio members: Governor-General and executive council members.
• Nominated official members: Govt officials nominated by Governor-General.
• Nominated non-official members: Non-officials nominated by Governor-General
• Elected members: Elected by different categories of Indians
Elections
• The elected members were elected indirectly through an electoral college system.
• The electoral college was elected by local bodies.
• Elected members came from local bodies, chambers of commerce, landlords, universities,
traders’ communities and Muslims.
• In the provincial councils, non-official members were in the majority. However, some were
nominated, so overall there was a non-elected majority.
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• Separate electorates were introduced for Muslims, with some constituencies earmarked
only for Muslim voters.
Municipal boards in larger cities were to select members:
• Municipal boards in larger cities selected members.
• In smaller cities, members chosen jointly by municipal boards, district councils,
landholders, chambers of commerce.
• Indian commercial interests, special interests such as jute and tea-planting, and the
universities were to be represented.
• Crucially, separate electorates were introduced for Muslims to elect their own members
• Muslim representation was based not just on population but also “political importance and
services to Empire”
This expansion of the legislative councils, both at the central and provincial levels, allowed for
greater Indian representation and voices to be included. However, the directly elected members
remained in a minority compared to the nominated members, ensuring that the British could
still maintain control. The complicated system of indirect elections, with members chosen by
different interest groups like municipalities, landholders, commercial bodies etc., was an
attempt to get representative voices without introducing direct popular elections which the
British feared could empower radical elements, like the extremists.
Privilege to Muslim Community:
• Separate electorates were made for the Muslims (only Muslims should vote for candidates
for the Muslim seats),
• Representation in excess of the strength of their population was accorded to the Muslims.
• The income qualification for Muslim voters was kept lower than that for Hindus.
The provision for separate electorates for Muslims was a critical concession by the British to
avoid antagonizing the Muslim population that had expressed concerns of being swamped by
the Hindu majority in the joint electorates. Muslim representation was not specifically based
on population, and other factors such as political influence which assumed that a Muslim
constituency because it was pro-British or conservative was viewed as more important. The
inclusion of representatives from such groupings as municipalities, local boards, and
landholders, commercial interests, etc., were attempts at giving voice to the well-to-do, elite
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classes which the British were convinced would be more loyal to them than the educated middle
class that was becoming increasingly nationalistic.
Expanded Legislative Council Powers
Functions Related to Finances/Budgets:
• The estimates of the Governor-General's council were to be presented to the council
• Members could move resolutions relating to:
➢ Alterations in taxation
➢ New loans
➢ Additional grants to local governments
• After disposing of such resolutions, detailed explanations on the financial statement could
be sought
• Resolutions could be moved on any points related to the budget
• However, the effect of these resolutions was merely that of recommendations to the
government. No further resolutions could be moved at this stage.
This allowed the legislative councils to scrutinize and recommend changes to budgetary
proposals to some extent. However, their role remained advisory without any binding powers.
A discussion was permitted on the final budget, but no substantive changes could be proposed
at that stage.
• Matters Excluded from Discussion:
➢ Military affairs
➢ Political affairs
➢ Provincial affairs
➢ Under 'revenue' - stamps, customs, assessed taxes, courts
➢ Under 'expenditure' - assignments, compensations, interest on debt, ecclesiastical
expenditure, state railways
➢ Any matter which the Governor-General's council could not legislate on
➢ Any matter affecting relations with foreign powers or Indian states
➢ Any matter under legal adjudication
Core areas of governance like foreign affairs, defense, provincial matters and several financial
matters were completely insulated from any discussion or scrutiny by the legislative councils.
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• The president could disallow any resolution on the grounds of public interest or it being a
provincial subject
• Members could ask questions, with supplementary questions allowed. But the member in
charge could decline to answer
• President had powers of disallowance over questions as well
• For provincial councils, the presiding officer had wide authority to control length and
relevancy of debates.
The presiding officers could disallow any resolutions, questions or debates that they considered
inappropriate. This also served to check the councils’ autonomy. While they could discuss
budget and finances and raise questions, the councils’ role was only advisory with core areas
being reserved for the government. As such, parliament allowing discussion of budget and
budgets and permitting resolutions was minimal legislation autonomy. However, since
resolutions were not legally binding but merely recommendations, British control was
preserved. Key areas like foreign policy were also excluded while the presiding officers’
overriding powers neutralized unwanted resolutions.
Executive Councils
• Madras and Bombay executive councils’ maximum strength raised to 4, with 2 under 12
years’ service.
• Provision made to constitute executive councils for provinces under Lt. Governors, first for
Bengal.
• Indians appointed for the first time:
➢ Satyendra P. Sinha as first Indian member of Viceroy's Executive Council
➢ Two Indians nominated to Secretary of State's Council for Indian affairs
Allowing Indians into the executive councils was symbolically significant in inducting them
into the real centers of decision-making power. However, their numbers remained token
representatives without any substantial share of executive authority.
Other Provisions
• An Indian member for the first time in the Governor-General's Executive Council
• Indian members also appointed to Madras and Bombay executive councils
• Two Indians appointed to the Secretary of State's Council in London
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• Proposal made for advisory councils of princes and landed elite (not implemented)
The Indian membership in the Viceroy's executive committee and provincial executive
councils, though extremely limited, held symbolic importance in breaching a domain hitherto
reserved exclusively for British officials. The Indian representation at the India Office in
London was similarly meant to bridge the growing distance between the rulers and the ruled at
a time of rising nationalist sentiment. The proposal for advisory councils comprising of princes
and landed aristocracy revealed British hopes of cultivating the support of the traditional elite
classes to act as a countervailing force against the more progressive, republican demands of
the nationalist movements.
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ANALYSIS OF THE ACT
The Morley-Minto reforms of 1909 were the British government's response to the rising tide
of Indian nationalism and demands for greater representation. However, the reforms were
carefully designed not to cede any real power, but rather to divide and mollify the nationalist
forces through controlled concessions and repression.
“Indian in blood, but English in taste”
“Disenfranchisement... is a policy which explains itself but the proposal is to restrict the
electorate to the selection of certain classes of persons. In this way the Government abandons
the power of choosing whom it considers most suitable whilst it also hampers the electorate in
their choice of the men whom they consider most suitable.”1
On the reform front, the most significant measure was the expansion of the legislative councils
at the central and provincial levels by adding more non-official Indian members. But this
expansion was severely limited by introduction of separate electorates based on interests like
religion, class, profession etc. rather than territorial constituencies. Separate electorates were
created for Muslims to drive a wedge between them and the Hindu nationalist movement.
Representation in the councils was based on a highly restricted franchise based on property
qualifications to exclude radical elements. Most seats were indirectly elected by municipal or
district boards stacked with government loyalists, rather than through direct popular elections.
Toothless provincial advisory councils with no real powers were proposed as a sop. The British
feared that territorial representation would allow the nationalist Congress Party to get elected
and gain influence. So, the reforms favored representation by “interests” and classes like
zamindars, merchants, landlords etc. who were seen as conservative and pliable by the colonial
regime. “The educated class could not fail to notice that this time the Government of India had
taken better care to see that the electorates would be formed in such a way as “to elect the
people they were intended to elect,”2
The Morley-Minto reforms gave an appearance of granting limited representative government,
but in reality, they were carefully designed to maintain British control and divide the nationalist
1
Dietmar Rothermund, REFORM AND REPRESSION, 1907-1910: AN ANALYSIS OF BRITISH-INDIAN POLICY
2
26 Congress Presidential Addresses, ed. Natesan, Madras, p. 796 ff. (Presidential Address of 1909, Pandit Madan
Mohan Malaviy
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ranks. On the representative front, the reforms introduced the principle of election to legislative
councils. However, this was severely constrained by narrow franchises based on high property
qualifications that heavily restricted the electorate. There were also disparities, with income
qualifications for Muslim candidates being lower than for Hindus. Most of the seats in the
councils were indirectly elected through a complex multilayered system - primary voters
elected members of local bodies, who then elected members of an electoral college, who finally
elected representatives to the provincial and central legislatures. This removed any direct
connection between voters and their representatives.
Limited power of Legislative Councils
The powers of these legislative councils remained extremely limited, with the real authority
still vested in the British government. The councils essentially had no functions beyond
criticism and debate. The government also retained overarching control by having the power
to disallow any candidate deemed “politically dangerous” from contesting elections. These
limited constitutional reforms cloaked in parliamentary forms were not aimed at granting any
real self-governance. Their primary objective was to divide the nationalist movement by
driving a wedge between the moderates seeking constitutional reforms, and the more radical
elements.
The seeds of Communalism?
“I feel strongly that we should recognize the Mohammedans as a community. This is already
done to some extent as we do (secretly) do Mohammedans in the matter of appointments
whenever a promising candidate presents himself.”3 The most pernicious aspect was the
introduction of separate electorates for Muslims, which sowed the seeds of communal
segregation in political representation. This “divide and rule” tactic rallied Muslims against
Hindu nationalists while also prompting demands for similar separate representation from other
minority groups. A conscious policy of divide-and-rule was followed, with the British actively
encouraging splits between moderate and radical nationalist groups through measures like the
creation of the Muslim League to counter the Hindu-dominated Congress. The intent behind
these dual measures of reform and repression was laid bare by Lord Minto, the Viceroy who
was the chief architect of these policies. He made it clear that his aim was to consolidate British
3
W.J. Cheek, THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND MORLEY MINTO REFORMS 1909, pg 24
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rule by establishing a “constitutional autocracy” - maintaining the essential despotism of the
Raj while underpinning it with loyalist conservative forces from Indian society.
There was a strong strain of traditionalism and desire to protect the privileges of princes,
Muslims and landlords. Minto wanted to counter not just the radical elements, but the entire
vocal professional middle class which formed the backbone of Congress. His separate
electorates scheme was aimed at giving a “counterpoise” not just to Hindu nationalists, but to
politically assertive middle-class groups across communities. So, while giving a facade of
representation to educated Indians in line with liberal Whig principles, Minto's real intent was
to utilize conservative social and religious groups as a bulwark of colonial rule against the
rising tide of modern Indian nationalism.
On the flip side of the coin, it can be argued that:
• Firstly, Morley's experience with the Irish Home Rule movement made him keenly
aware of the perils of a fragmented nationalist movement. As he stated, “from the Irish
point of view, I'd far rather see a Parnellite Ireland than a divided Ireland”4 There was
no plausible reason for him to want to introduce in India the very conditions he spent
his political career trying to prevent in Ireland and elsewhere. He had criticized policies
that “sow the seeds of division,” warning that the outcome “will be Ireland all over
again, with what is called a loyalist district, and outside of that an enormous
territory...saturated with sullen dissatisfaction.”5 It is improbable that Morley would
deliberately pursue such divisive policies in India after condemning them.
4
Morley to Lord Spencer, January 2I, I89I, Spencer Papers; Morley added that: "From an English point of view,
our position appeared to me to be very bad in either." The Spencer Papers are in the possession of the present Earl
Spencer at Althorp
5
Speech at Arbroath, September 5, I899. The Times, September 6, I899,
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• Secondly, Morley recognized that in areas with deep-rooted communal rifts, these
divisions could not be ignored, and Britain had an obligation to protect minority
interests. He viewed Muslims as a loyal conservative segment and aimed to safeguard
their minority rights, but not to exacerbate the Hindu-Muslim divide. His initial
proposal for indirect elections via electoral colleges was an attempt at proportional
representation without overt communal segregation, but he eventually accepted
separate electorates due to pressure from Minto and Muslim leaders.
• Thirdly, Both Morley and Minto were cognizant of the existing communal tensions in
India and sought to devise an electoral system to manage them, not deliberately deepen
the divisions. As Koss puts it, “Considering any electoral scheme, Morley and Minto
were equally innocent of diabolic contrivances; India's communal divisions probably
would have been less bitterly engendered during subsequent decades if either had any
ambition to use them as an attempt to impose alien rule.”
Repressive measures
The British also enacted a slew of repressive measures to counter the radical nationalist
elements. The policy of deporting leaders without trial under archaic regulations like the 1818
Act continued unabated. New sedition laws like the Seditious Meetings Act of 1907 were
enacted and stringently enforced against nationalist publications and activities. National
schools run by Congress were threatened with being banned as “unlawful associations” if they
promoted seditious ideas. When Aurobindo Ghose was prosecuted for sedition, the British
Secretary of State doubted if there was even adequate evidence, revealing the arbitrary nature
of repression. It was also difficult for the government to act against the schools created due to
the national education movement. The only thing required for the authorities was to prove that
these schools’ issue seditious question papers and prescribe seditious course books. Therefore,
many national schools were falsely named as illegal associations. However, it was impossible
to challenge the whole national education movement since liberals supported it, and its central
organs were guided by moderates. The existence of two opponents, extremists, and moderates,
caused problems for the government in this, as well as other attempts to act. However, the
government still managed to split the nationalists and the moderates in this case. The reforms
gave the appearance of granting a share in governance, while simultaneously deploying legal-
administrative repression and fomenting social divisions to cripple and undermine the
nationalist movement.
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CONCLUSION
To conclude, The Morley-Minto reforms were part of British efforts to bestow controlled
devolution while strengthening the firm grip of patriarchy with the help of legal-administrative
means. Nearly 120 years later, the Morley-Minto reforms continue to cast a long shadow upon
the process of India’s democratization and contemporary debates on decentralization and
electoral reforms the country is still having. As such, the poisonous legacy of separate
electorates along religious lines continues to allow politicians to divide communities along
these lines rather than addressing the real issues. For instance, even the most recent laws like
the Representation of People Act still allow the delimitation of constituencies depending on
the religion/caste balance rather than the population balance. Similarly, recent controversial
issues like the demand for data about religious/cast census continue to keep alive these artificial
divisions.
This attempt to articulate “interests” such as property owners/businesses, viewed as
automatically pro-British, is replicated in party preferences for caste, language, and region in
the reserved constituencies and in intra-state demands for autonomy over their interests as
political groups have quickly pushed the sectional interests-enabled. Constitutional limitations
on the legislative council’s authority boded badly for power-sharing in the centre-state
relationship. The Panchayati Raj Act 1992 and its amendments, which are supposed to make
governance more decentralized by redistributing authority to rural/urban local bodies, have not
been an example. Most of the financial and administrative control are still vested in state/central
authorities. While the property-based franchises were replaced by universal adult suffrage, new
problems like voter apathy, criminalization and lack of democracy in parties were uncovered.
The laws, such as the Representation of People Act made voting procedures more transparent
by adopting candidate-disclosure system and others meant for the accountability of political
machinery to the general public. The legacy of the British idea of indirect election that had no
place in the post-World War II India is indeed reminiscent in such recent allegations as large-
scale voter frauds, acquittals and legal issues concerning lack of financial autonomy of the
Election Commission of India, EVM hacking allegations, the refusal of the EC on the matter
of the timing of the elections and more. Nonetheless, all laws containing provisions for non-
direct election of the legislative bodies at all levels in India have been scrapped and replaced
with laws allowing to do so.
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As India strengthens its democratic fabric, it must decisively reject the policy of “divide and
rule” through measures like delimitation based on religious/caste identities rather than just
population. Representative laws should foster pluralism and participation rather than
ghettoization of communities based on sectarian considerations.
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REFERENCES
• C. Niemeijer, TOWARDS A HINDU-MUSLIM ENTENTE (1972)
• D. Rothermund, REFORM AND REPRESSION, 1907-1910: AN ANALYSIS OF BRITISH-INDIAN
POLICY (1961)
• R. J. Moore, JOHN MORLEY'S ACID TEST: INDIA, 1906-1910 (1967)
• A.B. Keith, A CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF INDIA 1600-1935 (1936)
• S. E. Koss, JOHN MORLEY AND THE COMMUNAL QUESTION (1967)
• W.J. Cheek, THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND MORLEY MINTO REFORMS 1909 (1963)
• M.N Das, INDIA UNDER MORLEY AND MINTO: POLITICS BEHIND REPRESSION, REVOLUTION
AND REFORMS (1964)
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