Question

By which Act, Communal Electoral system was introduced in India?
A) Indian Councils Act, 1892
B) Indian Councils Act, 1909
C) Indian Councils Act, 1919
D) Indian Independence Act, 1947

Answer 1

Hint:
The British came to India in 1600 as traders, in the form of the East India Company. The ‘sepoy mutiny’ in 1858 resulted in the British Crown assuming direct responsibility for the governance of India. Thus, the British used the divide and rule policy and made policies that suited their motives.

Complete Answer:
The Indian Councils Act of 1909 is also known as Morley-Minto Reforms (Lord Morley was the then Secretary of State for India and Lord Minto was the then Viceroy of India).

This act has the following features:-
- The Muslim members were to be elected only by Muslim voters under this system. Therefore, Lord Minto came to be known as the Father of Communal Electorate, and the Act successfully ‘legalized communalism’.
- For the first time, Indians were associated with the executive councils of the Viceroy and Governors. Satyendra Prasad Sinha was appointed as the law member and he thus became the first Indian to join the Viceroy’s Executive Council.
- In the Central Legislative Council, the number of members was raised from 16 to 60 whereas, in the provincial legislative councils, the number of members was not uniform.
- It allowed for a non-official majority in the provincial legislative councils but retained the official majority in the Central Legislative Council.
- The deliberative functions of the legislative councils at both levels were enlarged.
- It also provided for the separate representation of zamindars, chambers of commerce, presidency corporations, and universities.

Thus, option (B) is correct.

Note:
The Indian Councils Act of 1909 introduced communal representation, while the Government of India Act, 1935 extended this principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for the depressed classes (scheduled castes), women, and labor.