The
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms were reforms introduced by the
British Government in IndiaThe British Raj was the British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule...
to introduce self-governing institutions gradually to India. The reforms take their name from
Edwin Samuel MontaguEdwin Samuel Montagu PC was a British-Jewish Liberal politician. He notably served as Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922.-Background and education:...
, the
Secretary of State for IndiaThe office of Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was created in 1858 when Company rule in India ended and British India was brought under direct British administration ....
during the latter parts of World War I and Lord Chelmsford, Viceroy of India between 1916 and 1921. The reforms were outlined in the Montagu-Chelmsford Report prepared in 1918 and formed the basis of the
Government of India Act 1919The Government of India Act 1919 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed to expand participation of the natives in the government of India. The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report of the Secretary of State for India, Sir Edwin Montagu, and the Viceroy, Lord...
. Indian nationalists considered that the reforms did not go far enough while British conservatives were critical of them.
Edwin Montagu became Secretary of State for India in June 1917 after
Austen ChamberlainSir Joseph Austen Chamberlain, KG was a British statesman and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.- Early life and career :...
resigned after the capture of
KutAl-Kūt is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 100 miles south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 374,000 people...
by the Turks in 1916 and the capture of an Indian army staged there.
The
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms were reforms introduced by the
British Government in IndiaThe British Raj was the British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule...
to introduce self-governing institutions gradually to India. The reforms take their name from
Edwin Samuel MontaguEdwin Samuel Montagu PC was a British-Jewish Liberal politician. He notably served as Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922.-Background and education:...
, the
Secretary of State for IndiaThe office of Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was created in 1858 when Company rule in India ended and British India was brought under direct British administration ....
during the latter parts of World War I and Lord Chelmsford, Viceroy of India between 1916 and 1921. The reforms were outlined in the Montagu-Chelmsford Report prepared in 1918 and formed the basis of the
Government of India Act 1919The Government of India Act 1919 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed to expand participation of the natives in the government of India. The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report of the Secretary of State for India, Sir Edwin Montagu, and the Viceroy, Lord...
. Indian nationalists considered that the reforms did not go far enough while British conservatives were critical of them.
Background
Edwin Montagu became Secretary of State for India in June 1917 after
Austen ChamberlainSir Joseph Austen Chamberlain, KG was a British statesman and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.- Early life and career :...
resigned after the capture of
KutAl-Kūt is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 100 miles south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 374,000 people...
by the Turks in 1916 and the capture of an Indian army staged there. He put before the British Cabinet a proposed statement containing a phrase that he intended to work towards
the gradual development of free institutions in India with a view to ultimate self-government. Lord Curzon thought that this phrase gave too great an emphasis on working towards self-government and suggested an alternative phrase that the Government would work towards
increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration and the gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive realization of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire. Cabinet approved the statement with Curzon's phrase incorporated in place of Montagu's original phrase.
The report
In late 1917, Montagu went to India to meet up with Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy of India, to meet with leaders of Indian community such as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Muhammed Ali Jinnah to discuss the introduction of limited self-government to India and protecting the rights of minority communities such as Muslims and Sikhs.
The Report went before Cabinet on 24 May and 7 June 1918 and was embodied in the
Government of India Act of 1919. These reforms represented the maximum concessions the British were prepared to make at that time. The franchise was extended, and increased authority was given to central and provincial legislative councils, but the viceroy remained responsible only to London.
The changes at the provincial level were significant, as the provincial legislative councils contained a considerable majority of elected members. In a system called "dyarchy," the nation-building departments of government — agriculture, education, public works, and the like — were placed under ministers who were individually responsible to the legislature. The departments that made up the "steel frame" of British rule — finance, revenue, and home affairs — were retained by executive councillors who were nominated by the Governor. They were often, but not always, British and who were responsible to the governor.
In 1921 another change recommended by the report was carried out when elected local councils were set up in rural areas, and during the 1920s urban municipal corporations were made more democratic and "Indianized."
Reception in India
The 1919 reforms did not satisfy political demands in India. The British repressed opposition, and restrictions on the press and on movement were reenacted in the
Rowlatt Acts introduced in 1919. These measures were rammed through the Legislative Council with the unanimous opposition of the Indian members. Several members of the council including Jinnah resigned in protest. These measures were widely seen throughout India of the betrayal of strong support given by the population for the British war effort.
Gandhi launched a nationwide protest against the
Rowlatt Acts with the strongest level of protest in the
PunjabThe Punjab The Punjab The Punjab (pronounced or ; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], [[Shahmukhi script|, ), also spelled Panjab ' onMouseout='HidePop("73717")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Amritsar">Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northwestern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering just over 3,695,077...
in April 1919. This tragedy galvanized such political leaders as
NehruJawaharlal Nehru was an Indian statesman who was the first, and has been the longest-serving prime minister of India to date, having served from 1947 until 1964...
and Gandhi and the masses who followed them to press for further action.
Montagu ordered an inquiry into the events at Amritsar by Lord Hunter. The Hunter Inquiry recommended that General Dyer, who commanded the troops, be dismissed, leading to Dyer's sacking. Many British citizens supported Dyer, whom they considered had not received fair treatment from the Hunter Inquiry. The conservative
Morning PostThe Morning Post, as the paper was named on its masthead, was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by The Daily Telegraph.- History :...
newspaper collected a subscription of £26,000 for General Dyer and Sir Edward Carson moved a censure motion in Montagu which was nearly successful. Although Montagu was saved largely due to a strong speech in his defence by
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
,
Lloyd George'sDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British statesman and the only Welsh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he is also the only one to have spoken English as a second language, Welsh having been his first.During a long tenure of office, mainly as Chancellor of the...
secretary reported that some of the Tories
could have assaulted him (Montagu) physically they were so angry.
The Amritsar massacre further inflamed Indian nationalist sentiment ending the initial response of reluctant co-operation. At the grass roots level, many young Indians wanted faster progress towards Indian independence and were disappointed by lack of advancement as Britons returned to their former positions in the administration. At the
Indian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is a major political party in India. Founded in 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha, Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, Surendranath Banerjee, Monomohun Ghose, and William Wedderburn, the Indian National Congress became the leader of the Indian...
annual session in September 1920, delegates supported Gandhi's proposal of
swarajSwaraj can mean generally self-governance or "home-rule" but the word usually refers to Mahatma Gandhi's concept for Indian independence from foreign domination. Swaraj lays stress on governance not by a hierarchical government, but self governance through individuals and community building. The...
or self rule — preferably within the British empire or outside it if necessary. The proposal was to be implemented through a policy of non-cooperation with British rule meaning that Congress did not stand candidates in the first elections held under the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms in 1921.
Review
The Montagu-Chelmsford report stated that there should be a review after 10 years. Sir
John SimonJohn Simon may refer to:* John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain 1940–45** Several of his descendants who held the title of Viscount Simon* John Simon , 19th century British politician...
headed the committee (
Simon CommissionThe Indian Statutory Commission was a group of seven British Members of Parliament that had been dispatched to India in 1927 to study constitutional reform in that colony. It was commonly referred to as the Simon Commission after its chairman, Sir John Simon...
) responsible for the review which recommended further constitutional change. Three roundtable conferences were held in London in 1930, 1931 and 1932 with representation of the major interests. Gandhi attended the 1931 roundtable after negotiations with the British Government. The major disagreement between Congress and the British was separate electorates for each community which Congress opposed but which were retained in
Ramsay MacDonald'sJames Ramsay MacDonald was a British politician and twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He rose from humble origins to become the first Labour Prime Minister in 1924....
Indian Communal Award. A new
Government of India Act 1935The Government of India Act 1935 was passed during the "Interwar Period" and was the last pre-independence constitution of India.The Act was originally passed in August 1935 , and is said to have been the longest Act of Parliament ever enacted by that time...
was passed continuing the move towards self-government first made in the Montagu-Chelmsford Report.
See also
- Diarchy
Diarchy , from the Greek "δύο", and αρχειν, "to rule," is a form of government in which two diarchs are the heads of state. In most diarchies, the diarchs hold their position for life and pass the responsibilities and power of the position to their children or family when they die.The diarchy is...
- Reservation in India
Reservation in Indian law is a quota system whereby a percentage of seats are reserved in the public sector units, union and state government departments and in all public and private educational institutions, except in the religious/ linguistic minority educational institutions, for the socially...
- British Raj
The British Raj was the British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule...
- Central Legislative Assembly
The Central Legislative Assembly was a legislature for India created by the Government of India Act 1919 from the former Imperial Legislative Council, implementing the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms...
- Secretary of State for India
The office of Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was created in 1858 when Company rule in India ended and British India was brought under direct British administration ....
- India Office
The India Office was the British government department responsible for the direct administration of India during the British Raj. It was headed by the Secretary of State for India, who was a member of the British Prime Minister's Cabinet.- Origins :...
- Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
- Indian Civil Service
- Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India that led to the creation, on August 14, 1947 and August 15, 1947, respectively, of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India...
- British India
- British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
- History of Bangladesh
Bangladesh became one of the large nation states in 1971 when it seceded from Pakistan. Prior to the creation of Pakistan in 1947, modern-day Bangladesh was part of ancient, classical, medieval and colonial India. Since independence, the government has experienced periods of democratic and...
- History of India
The known history of India - the name in this context includes the areas now known as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - begins with the Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE. Its Mature Harappan period...
- History of Pakistan
The first known inhabitants of the modern-day Pakistan are believed to have been the Soanian - Homo erectus which setteled in the Soan Valley and Riwat almost 2 million years ago. Over the next several thousand years, the region would develop into various civilizations like Mehrgarh and the Indus...
Reference and further reading
- Paul Johnson, A History of the Modern World: from 1917 to the 1990s Revised Edition, Weidenfeld and Nicolson London 1991
- Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary entry on Edwin Montagu, Merriam-Webster, 1995
Further Reference