What were the Montagu- Chelmsford Reforms?

The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms were the measures taken by the British Government in 1918 to introduce self-governing institutions gradually to India.

The reforms take their name from Edwin Montagu, the British Secretary of State for India at that time, and Lord Chelmsford, the British Viceroy in India from 1916 to 1921.

The reforms introduced the principle of a dual mode of administration, or diarchy, in which both elected Indian legislators and appointed British officials shared power. They also expanded the central and provincial legislatures.

Agriculture, local government, health, education, and public works, were handed over to Indians, while more sensitive matters such as finance, taxation and maintaining law and order were retained by the provincial British administrators. These reforms represented the maximum concessions the British were prepared to make at that time.