Consider the following assertion:

The genesis of political alliances based on community lay in the very nature of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919.

Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion?

1. Reforms retained and extended the principle of separate electorates.

2. Separate electorates were supposed to counter Indian nationalism, which was growing stronger.

3. Deprived classes rallied around the favours inherent in separate electorates.

The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (which culminated in the Government of India Act, 1919) played a foundational role in institutionalizing community-based identity politics in modern India.

Statement 1 supports the assertion: The Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909 had already introduced separate electorates for Muslims. The 1919 Reforms went a step further by retaining this system and extending it to other communities, including Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans. This legally cemented the idea that political representation in India was tied to religious and community identity rather than a unified secular citizenship.

Statement 2 supports the assertion: The British colonial administration utilized the policy of "Divide and Rule" to fracture the growing tide of Indian nationalism (which was peaking around this time with the Home Rule Movement and the entry of Mahatma Gandhi). By carving out distinct political spheres for different communities, the colonial state ensured that Indian politicians would compete against each other for communal quotas rather than presenting a unified front against British rule.

Statement 3 supports the assertion: Seeing that the colonial state was distributing political power, legislative seats, and administrative favors along community lines, various socio-economically marginalized groups—including the depressed classes, non-Brahmins in Madras, and backward communities—began to organize themselves politically. They rallied to demand their own separate electorates or reserved seats to safeguard their interests, realizing that political leverage under the new reforms depended entirely on organized communal/caste identity.