Montague Chelmsford Reforms (GoI Act) Dec 1919 (MontFord)

Dyarchy introduced!

Dates

• 1918: Montague Chelmsford Reform/Report (MontFord Reforms)
• 1919: GoI Act, based on the MontFord Reforms

Reasons

• narrative of democracy (from WWI)
• indians fought for SG in Europe
  • $\therefore$ desired self govt in india
• Pressure of
  • INM
  • Ghadar Movement (1913-15)
  • Home Rule Leagues (1916-18)
  • Lucknow Pact 1916

Features

• CLA & COS for Brit India
  • Central Legislative Assembly (like LS)
  • Centre of States (like RS)
  • $⟹$ thus bicameral
  • old structure abolished
• Narendra Mandal (Chamber of Princes) created as advisory body of 565PS as a reward for support in WWI
• first elected majority: CLA, COS, PLA
  • back in 1909: only non officer majority at PLC
• first direct elections in COS, CLA, PLA
• right to vote linked with income (same as 1909)
• right to vote for women (thanks to Sarojini Naidu 🙏)
• separate electorates for Muslims, Sikhs, Anglo-Indians & Christians
  • back in 1909: only for Muslims
• first time reservation of nominated seats for depressed classes in CLA, COS, PLA
  • not elected seats 😔
  • majority seats were elected, so reservation not significant

Federalism

• Provincial Budget separated from Central budget for the first time
• sources of revenues were divided
  • LR to provinces
  • Customs, Income Taxes to centre
• Viceroy Executive Council was not responsible to legislature; the Viceroy could veto bills
  • power to reject the bill, restore cuts in grants, ordinance power
• budget as a whole not vetoable
  • additionally, 75% of items in budget not vetoable
• taxation w/o representation
• adjournment motions allowed
• $3/8$ members of Viceroy council to be indian
• Dyarchy at provinces
  • subjects divided into reserved & transferred
  • Reserved: laws by governor & officers; exec powers w/ Governor & officers
  • Transferred: laws by PLA, ministers responsible to PLA
  • ministers of reserved subjects are not responsible to PLA
    • $\therefore$ partially responsible govt
  • Reserved $=$ politically imp eg Law & order, finance, LR, control over officers
  • Transferred $=$ health, education, local govt, agri
• goal $=$ hurt popularity of indian ministers as they wouldn’t be able to work $\leftarrow$ no control over finances
• if failure of constitutional machinery, then govt could take exec & legis powers of transferred subjects
• ministers from PLA could be overruled by governor in any matter
• INM leaders unhappy because no Universal Adult Franchise
  • dissatisfactory division of subjects
  • no responsible govt at centre and only partially responsible govt in provinces
• Provinces allocated seats in CLA and COS not as per population but importance
  • eg military imptance of punjab, commercial imptance of Bombay
• GoI 1919 brought greater limited self govt, but not proper self government