UPSC Prelims 2026 Question:

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 support/supports the above assertion? statements 

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:

Explanation: 

The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and the Government of India Act, 1919, played a major role in  institutionalising communal politics in colonial India. Although separate electorates had first been introduced  under the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909, the 1919 reforms retained and significantly expanded them. 

• The reforms retained separate electorates for Muslims and extended them to Sikhs, Anglo-Indians,  Indian Christians, and Europeans. This deepened political divisions along communal lines and  encouraged political alliances based on religious and community identities. So, statement 1 is correct. 
• The British consciously used separate electorates as a strategy to weaken the growing nationalist movement  led by the Indian National Congress. By dividing the electorate into communal constituencies, the  reforms made it difficult for a united nationalist political front to emerge. Thus, separate electorates  acted as a counterweight to Indian nationalism. So, statement 2 is correct. 
• The reforms also encouraged politically marginalized or deprived groups to seek separate representation  and safeguards through the colonial constitutional framework. Over time, depressed classes and other  disadvantaged communities increasingly rallied around the political advantages associated with  separate or reserved representation. This later became central to debates surrounding the Communal  Award and the Poona Pact. So, statement 3 is correct. 

Therefore, option (4) is the correct answer.