The British officials of India took the demands of the Muslim League hand-in-hand and in AD 1909 they announced the Marley-Minto Reform Act. The unity of India's national movement was derailed through this act.
Marley-Minto Reform Act
'Marley-Minto Reform Act' Through the Ghori government of India, separate representation was given to the Muslims, landlords and traders in the provincial legislative assemblies i.e. posts were reserved for them. Thus, for the first time by the British government, Hindus and Muslims were given separate representation by accepting them as separate units. Along with this special concession was given to Muslims in the matter of representation.
He was given the right to send more representatives in proportion to the population in the Central and Provincial Legislative Councils. The income eligibility for Muslim voters was also kept lower than that of Hindus. The Congress opposed this arrangement while the Muslim League supported it. Historians called this system of British divide and rule Called the policy of
why. P. Singh has written- 'The British sowed the seeds of communal hatred through the Indian Councils Act, 1909.' Noted journalist Durgadas has written- 'The White Hall unknowingly sowed the seeds of partition by accepting separate electorates and communal representation. Ganeshprasad Barnwal has written- 'The crop of communalism is insured by the Marley Minto Reform Act. In the words of Minto- 'Muslim Nation.'
We believe that these were not unintentionally sown seeds. The seeds of communalism were present in the political soil of India for centuries and its crop was also swaying for centuries. The Marley-Minto Act had developed a method of reaping the crop of communalism and making maximum profit from it. Due to the provisions of the Marley-Minto Act, there was excitement among both the Hindus and the Muslims regarding their respective sides. The politics of India took a completely communal colour. Demonstrations started across the country and there was unrest all around.
Peace in the country with the Lucknow Accord
In those days two major international incidents against Muslims took place-
(1) Two wars between European countries over the Balkan Peninsula,
(2) Young Turk Movement in Turkey.
In both these incidents the Muslims had to be humiliated at the hands of the Christians. For this reason, after AD 1911, the tide of royal devotion towards British rule among Indian Muslims cooled down. Since the Muslim League was teaching the Muslims the lessons of British royalty and the Congress asked the British colonial self-government Therefore, the young Muslim section of India began to sympathize with the goal of the Congress rather than the Muslim League. In view of this attitude growing among the Muslim youth, in AD 1913, the Muslim League, by amending its constitution, made its goal like the Congress, colonial self-government in India. Be sure to get it.
When the goals of both the parties became one, it was natural for them to get closer. The Congress also wanted the cooperation of the Muslims for the fulfillment of its objectives. As a result, an agreement was reached between the Congress and the Muslim League in AD 1916, which was called the Lucknow Pact it is said. Bal Gangadhar Tilak in getting this agreement done and Muhammad Ali Jinnah The role was important. There were three main things in this agreement-
(a.) The Muslim League also demanded responsible governance for India like the Congress.
(b.) The Congress accepted the request for a separate electorate of Muslims and also accepted their proportion in different provinces. The proportion of Muslims in the country's eleven provincial legislative assemblies was determined as follows- Punjab: 50 percent, United Provinces: 30 percent, Bengal: 40 percent, Bihar: 25 percent, Madhya Pradesh: 15 percent, Madras: 15 percent and Bombay: 43 percent.
(c.) It was accepted that if three-fourth members of any one sect oppose a motion presented by a private member in the Legislative Assemblies, then that motion will not be considered.
Pt. Madanmohan Malviya, C.Y. Many Congress leaders like Chintamani felt that excessive facilities had been given to Muslims in this agreement. Some historians consider these facilities to be an important link in the development of communalism, which culminated in the form of Pakistan.
Tilak said- 'Some people are of the view that excessive concessions have been given to our Muslim brethren but it was necessary to get their heartfelt support for the demand of Swarajya; Whether it is right or wrong from the point of view of harsh justice. We cannot move forward without their help and cooperation.' According to Ayodhya Singh- 'The ones who were most affected by this pact were the British imperialists and their brokers.' As a result of the Lucknow Pact, the communal problem in the country was pacified for some time.
More representation to Muslims in the Central Assembly
E. The First World War, fought from 1914 to 1919, broke the structure of the British system in India. 6 lakh 80 thousand British were killed in the First World War. This loss proved to be very fatal for England. Now the demand for the rights of self-government was increasing in India, so now they could not run the rule of India on the basis of Victoria's Declaration or on the basis of Marley-Minto Act. It became necessary for them to implement a law passed by the British Parliament in India, in which Indians were given more participation in governance.
During the First World War, Indians had given full support to the British Government and a large number of Indian youths had lost their lives fighting for England on the British fronts. In return for this cooperation, the Ghori government of India gave the Indians right to self-government after the end of the war. But after the end of the war, the British government did not keep its promise.
'Government of India Act 1919' Via Montegue-Chelmsford Reforms was announced. This was the new constitution of the country which enacted the Marley-Minto Reforms Act 1909 took its place. In this constitution, Indians were given more participation in governance but Indians were not given the right of self-government. It was a betrayal of the Indian people. Due to this the nationalist leaders were dissatisfied with this act, but Gandhiji was in favor of implementing this constitution. Therefore, the British implemented this new law in the eleven British-Indian provinces under their direct control.
For the first time in India through the Government of India Act 1919, a two-housed central legislature (Parliament) was established. The first house is called Vidhan Sabha and the second house is Rajya Sabha was called The term of Legislative Assembly was kept for 3 years and that of Rajya Sabha was kept for 5 years. The Governor General could dissolve these houses even before the completion of their term.
Central Legislative Assembly It had 145 members, of which 104 were elected members. Of the elected members, 52 from general constituencies, 30 Muslims, 2 Sikhs, 9 Europeans, 7 Zamindars and 4 Indian represented the interests of commerce. Of the 41 nominated members, 26 were government officials and 15 were non-official members. Central Rajya Sabha The maximum number of members was 60.
Of these, the maximum number of official members could be 20. Out of the remaining 40 members, 34 were elected out of which 19 were from the general constituency, 12 from the communal areas i.e. Muslims, Sikhs and Christians and 3 from the special constituencies. 6 non-official members were appointed by the Governor General.
In this way, such an arrangement was made in both the houses that if needed, the white government of India could destroy all the proposals of the Congress on the strength of Muslim and Christian representatives and government members, but still through this arrangement the Indians established modern political rule. entered the system. For this reason many scholars believe that the seeds of India's constitutional development were present in this act.