Consider the following assertion : The genesis of political alliances based on community…

Approach: *Analyze how the structural framework of the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) institutionalized communal representation, encouraging all socio-political groups to align along community lines to gain political leverage.*

- **Correct Answer:** (d) 1, 2 and 3
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- **Statement 1 supports the assertion:** By retaining separate electorates for Muslims and extending them to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans, the 1919 Act formally institutionalized community identity as the basic unit of political representation.
- **Statement 2 supports the assertion:** The expansion of separate electorates was a deliberate colonial "Divide and Rule" strategy designed to splinter the electorate into fragmented communal blocs, effectively countering the rising tide of unified Indian nationalism.
- **Statement 3 supports the assertion:** The framework established a system where political power and concessions were tied to community identity. This incentivized marginalized and deprived classes to politically mobilize and rally around the "favours" (special reserved representation) inherent in this system, paving the way for the later demands of the 1930s.