Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909, and the Formation of the Muslim League

At a Glance

• What it is The 1909 reforms and the League that preceded them
• Simla Deputation October 1906, led by the Aga Khan, to Lord Minto
• Muslim League Formed December 1906; Salimullah, Mohsin-ul-Mulk, Waqar-ul-Mulk
• Key feature Separate electorates for Muslims, first at the central council
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Era of Militant Nationalism, 1905-1909

Where Does It Fit?

This is the tenth and last topic of the category on the era of militant nationalism. The previous topic described the government’s repression and carrot-and-stick strategy, of which these reforms were the carrot. This topic describes the Muslim League and the reforms of 1909. The next category covers the revolutionary activities and the First World War. Previous topic: Government Repression and Strategy.

How Did the Muslim League Come Into Being?

In October 1906 a group of Muslim elites called the Simla Deputation, led by the Aga Khan, met Lord Minto and demanded separate electorates for Muslims and representation in excess of their numerical strength in view of the value of the contribution Muslims were making to the defence of the empire. The same group quickly took over the Muslim League, initially floated by Nawab Salimullah of Dacca together with Nawabs Mohsin-ul-Mulk and Waqar-ul-Mulk in December 1906. The League intended to preach loyalty to the empire and to keep the Muslim intelligentsia away from the Congress. The chapter elsewhere says the government propped the League up as an anti-Congress front; the correct date of the League’s formation is 30 December 1906. The background is in Swadeshi Movement New forms Boycott, meetings, samitis, festivals, atma…">New Forms of Struggle and the Extent of Mass Participation and Partition of Bengal, 1905.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale also went to England to meet John Morley, the Secretary of State for India, to put the Congress demand for a self-governing system like that in other British colonies.

What Were the Reforms of 1909?

The Viceroy, Lord Minto, and the Secretary of State, John Morley, agreed that some reforms were due, to placate both the Moderates and the Muslims. They worked out the set of measures known as the Morley-Minto Reforms, which became the Indian Councils Act of 1909.

The earlier Indian Councils Act of 1892, with which these reforms are often compared, is in Constitutional Reforms, Administrative Reforms and Civil Rights Campaigns.

How Were the Reforms Evaluated?

The reforms of 1909 afforded no answer to the Indian political problem. Lord Morley made it clear that colonial self-government, as demanded by the Congress, was not suitable for India, and he was against introducing a parliamentary or responsible government. He said that if it could be said that this chapter of reforms led directly or indirectly to a parliamentary system in India, he would have nothing to do with it.

The constitutional reforms were aimed at dividing the nationalist ranks by confusing the Moderates and at checking the growth of unity among Indians through the instrument of separate electorates. The government aimed at rallying the Moderates and the Muslims against the rising tide of nationalism. Officials and Muslim leaders often spoke of the entire community when they spoke of separate electorates, but in reality it meant the appeasement of a small section of the Muslim elite. The election was too indirect, giving the impression of infiltration of legislators through a number of sieves. Parliamentary forms were introduced but no responsibility was conceded, which sometimes led to thoughtless and irresponsible criticism of the government. Only some members, like Gokhale, put the opportunity to debate to constructive use by demanding universal primary education, attacking repressive policies and drawing attention to the plight of indentured labour and Indian workers in South Africa. The reforms gave the people a shadow rather than substance: they had demanded self-government and were given benevolent despotism.

Lord Morley hoped the reforms might save the Raj, and the later Montford Report said they afforded no answer to Indian problems. Jawaharlal Nehru wrote that the political barrier created round Muslims isolated them from the rest of India and reversed the unifying process that had gone on for centuries, a barrier small at first that grew with every extension of the franchise and affected the whole structure of political and social life like a canker.

As an analytical point, the 1909 reforms combine the two aims of the government’s strategy in Government Repression and Strategy: they gave the Moderates a step in representation, and they gave separate electorates to a small Muslim elite, which put the principle of community representation into the constitution. The consequences of that principle belong to the later categories on communal politics and constitutional development.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Key Act The Indian Councils Act 1909 and its provisions are asked in every Prelims cycle
• Separate electorates The origin of communal representation is a standard Mains theme
• Muslim League The origin of the League is a common factual question

What Came Next?

The next category covers the revolutionary activities and the First World War. Next topic: Why the Surge of Revolutionary Activities, 1907-1917.

Key People and Terms

• Simla Deputation The Muslim elite delegation led by the Aga Khan to Lord Minto in 1906
• Muslim League The body formed in December 1906 to preach loyalty and keep Muslims from the Congress
• Separate electorates A system in which only members of a community vote for its candidates
• Elective principle The recognition of election in the councils
• Indirect election Election through successive electoral colleges
• Benevolent despotism The phrase for what the reforms gave in place of self-government

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the provisions and effects of the 1909 Act. These points add depth.

• Communal representation Separate electorates and weightage for Muslims
• Limits No responsible government; indirect elections
• Divide and rule The reforms aimed to isolate the Extremists