Minto-Morley Reforms Essay

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By 1909, there was seen a great deal of political consciousness amongst the Indians. Similarly, political parties like Indian National Congress and All Indian Muslim League had emerged. By then, the British were much influenced and affected by these political parties. As previous reforms and acts did not meet the political aspirations of all the Indians, the British realized that in order to introduce new reforms to impoverish the grievances of the Indians they needed to cater to these two political parties. Besides this, there were also other factors which led to the formation of Minto-Morley Reforms. In this context, the instance is the victory of Japan in the Russo-Japan War of 1904-5 can be cited as an example. This was a ray of hope for …show more content…

The Liberal Party did not want to pursue the autocratic policies of the Conservative Party. Such political changes in Britain and as well as in India, which altered the public opinion in both countries. Following are the salient features of Minto-Morley Reforms.

Salient Features of Minto-Morley Reforms:

The number of members of legislative council of Governor General and the Governors of various provinces was increased.
The powers of Members of Legislative were increased. They could now criticize the actions of the executive, ask questions and even supplementary questions, and express their views by moving resolutions. Matters of public interest were also discussed in the Legislative Council.
The Indians were included in the councils, where ultimate decisions were made, of the India Secretory and Viceroy. Before these reforms they were excluded from such councils. In fact, a type of consultative body was formed.
For the first time, the demand for a separate electorate was accepted. A constitutional recognition of Separate Electorate was a great achievement for the Muslims. Muslims could now have their own representative members at the Legislative Councils. They were to be elected by Muslims

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