Swadeshi & Extremists · 1906–1909
Muslim League and Morley-Minto Reforms
The All-India Muslim League was founded at Dhaka in 1906. The Indian Councils Act 1909 then gave Muslims separate electorates.
Causes
- Fear among Muslim elites of being outnumbered in elected bodies
- British policy of balancing communities against each other
Consequences
- Separate electorates introduced for the first time
- Limited expansion of legislative councils
- Communal identity entered electoral politics
Significance
Planted the seeds of communal politics that would shape the road to Partition.
Key terms
Sources
- Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, From Plassey to Partition (Orient BlackSwan, 2004)
- Sumit Sarkar, Modern India 1885–1947 (Macmillan, 1983)