Consider the following statements: 1. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 recommended granting voting rights to all the women above the age of 21. 2. The Government of India Act of 1935 gave women reserved seats in legislature. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: B. Only statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is WRONG. The MONTAGU-CHELMSFORD REFORMS of 1919 (Government of India Act 1919) DID NOT recommend granting voting rights to ALL women above 21. The Act: - Introduced DYARCHY at the provincial level. - Allowed franchise based on PROPERTY, EDUCATION, AND TAX QUALIFICATIONS. - LEFT THE QUESTION OF FEMALE FRANCHISE TO PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURES (Section 7). - Initially EXCLUDED women from voting under the central electoral rolls. - Madras Province in 1921 was the FIRST to grant women the limited franchise (on the same qualifications as men), followed by Bombay (1921), United Provinces (1923), Bengal (1925). There was NO universal women's franchise at age 21. (That came only with India's adult suffrage under the Constitution in 1950.) Statement 2 is CORRECT. The GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT 1935 PROVIDED RESERVED SEATS FOR WOMEN IN LEGISLATURES. Under the Sixth Schedule: - 41 seats were reserved for women in PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURES. - 9 seats were reserved for women in the Central Legislature. - This was a significant step in formalising women's representation. The 1935 Act also broadly EXPANDED THE FEMALE FRANCHISE compared to the 1919 Act (around 6 million women got voting rights, with property/literacy qualifications) — but the RESERVED SEAT provision is the distinct, correctly-stated reform. Source: NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History Part III 'Framing the Constitution' (Constitutional reform tracks) / Bipan Chandra, India's Struggle for Independence.