Edwin Montagu
Topic: Framing the Indian Constitution · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution"
Meaning
Edwin Montagu was the British Secretary of State for India from 1917 to 1922. This was the British cabinet minister in London who was in charge of Indian affairs. His August 1917 declaration promised that India would move gradually towards "responsible government". This meant ministers who answer to an elected legislature. He worked with Viceroy Chelmsford on the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, which became the Government of India Act of 1919.
Example
The 1919 Act brought in dyarchy, or "dual rule", in the provinces. Some subjects went to Indian ministers who answered to the provincial legislature, while British officials kept the important ones. It was one step in the colonial reform ladder of 1909, 1919 and 1935. Even so, the electorate stayed small and the British stayed in control.
Don't confuse with
- Morley-Minto Reforms (1909): an earlier Act that brought in separate electorates for Muslims.
- Lord Chelmsford: the Viceroy in India, not the minister in London.
Related concepts
- Objectives Resolution
- Somnath Lahiri
- Indian Councils Act 1909
- Government of India Act 1919
- Dyarchy
- Government of India Act 1935
- Federal Court of India
- Jyotiba Phule
- Swami Vivekananda