Lucknow pact (1916) & Home-rule movement radicalised national movement. Government felt the need to make concessions.
Edwin Montague, Secretary of State, on 20th August 1917 declared that British policy would be gradual development of self-government institutions and progressive realisation of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British empire.
Significance
- An improvement over the Indian Council Act of 1909.
- Demand for self-government cannot be termed seditious.
- The term responsible government meant rulers would now be answerable to the elected majority.
Reaction
- Responsible government was to be realised progressively, suggesting an indefinite time frame.
- Leaders resented the idea that British would decide the fate of Indians on the issue of self-government.
