Which of the following acts introduced the system of separate electorates for Muslims in British India, earning it the reputation of sowing the seeds of communal division?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The Morley-Minto Reforms, officially known as the Indian Councils Act of 1909, introduced separate electorates for Muslims, a measure that contemporary critics and historians viewed as a deliberate attempt to institutionalize communal divisions in the Indian polity. Later legislation like the Government of India Act of 1919 extended this communal representation principle to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Europeans, and Anglo-Indians. Modern Indian history questions consistently emphasize the constitutional evolution and British divide-and-rule tactics.