---
title: "Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms: 1919 Act | Model Diplomat"
description: "The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) introduced dyarchy in Indian provinces, dividing subjects into reserved and transferred lists—a key UPSC GS1 topic."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/montagu-chelmsford-reforms"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms were constitutional changes introduced by the Government of India Act 1919, establishing dyarchy in the provinces of British India.
- What was dyarchy under the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms?
- How did the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms differ from the Morley-Minto Reforms?
- Why did the Indian National Congress reject the 1919 reforms?
- What replaced the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Timeline

1. 20 August 1917

   The intellectual genesis was the Montagu Declaration of , in which Montagu announced before the House of Commons that British policy aimed at "the increasing…

2. 13 April 1919

   The simultaneous enactment of the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of destroyed much of the goodwill the reforms might otherwise have generated…

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Example

In 1921 the Justice Party formed a dyarchy ministry in Madras Presidency under the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, administering transferred subjects such as education and local self-government while the Governor retained law and order.

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