In 1906 the British government decided to take the advantage of the new political consciousness of the Muslims and announced a committee to look into the matter of extending the representative element in the legislative council. The Muslim leaders saw this as an opportunity for the possibility of negotiating with the government in order to safeguard their interests.
Viceroy Lord Minto assured the Muslim delegates to safeguard their interests and came up with the Morley-Minto Reforms in 1909. It accepted the Muslim demands of separate electorate for them in elections to Imperial Legislative Councils and provincial councils.
The concept of separate electorate meant that the Muslims representatives would be elected by the Muslims and the Hindu population would elect only Hindu representatives. The acceptance of separate electorate proved a fatal blow to the unity of India and acted as a precursor to the ‘Two Nation Theory’ and ultimately partition of the country on religious lines.
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