Malaviya, Madan Mohan, A criticism of Montagu-Chelmsford proposals of Indian constitutional reform

(Allahabad :  Printed by C.Y. Chintamani,  [1918])

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THE MONTAGU«CHELMSFORD
Proposals for Indian Constitutional Reform.

The proposals of the Secretary of State and the
Viceroy relating to constitutional reform are, it is
scarcely necessary to say, the result of many months
of earnest discussion and careful deliberation held
under circumstances which are too well-known to
require recital. In the words of their authors the pro¬
posals are of *' great intricacy and importance", and
it is only right that they should have been published
for " full and public discussion " before being considered
by His Majesty's government in England. Both be¬
cause of their inherent importance and of the high
official position of their authors, the proposals deserve
most careful consideration at the hands of all serious-
minded persons who are interested in the future of
this country.

2. There is much in the proposals that is liberal,
and that will mean a real and beneficial change in the
right direction, which we must welcome and be grateful
for; but there are also grave deficiencies which must
be made up before the reforms can become adequate
to the requirements of the country. In the first cate¬
gory are the proposals, taking them In the order in
which they have been placed in the summary, to place
the salary of the Secretary of State on the estimates
of the United Kingdom, and to appoint a Select Com¬
mittee of the House of Commons for Indian affairs ;
to increase the Indian element in the Governor-Gene¬
ral's Executive Council by the appointment of a second
Indian Member; to replace the present Legislative
Council of the Governor-General by a Legislative
Assembly,  which  will  consist of about one  hundred
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