EHI - 5

Block 6
9th Part

Q  Discuss the Government of India Act of 1858.              12

Q  Discuss the nature of the Government of India Act, 1858. 12

Q  Explain the features and significance of the Government of India Act, 1858.       12

A   As the Charter Act of 1853 did not give the East India Company the right to govern India for another 20 years, it gave an opportunity to the Home Government to step in and take the responsibility in the place of the East India Company in India. This process was further hastened by the happenings of 1857 'Mutiny'. 

Features - 

Due to the Government of India Act of 1858 - 

# The Government of India passed from the hands of the English East India Company to the crown. The armed forces of the company were transferred to the crown.

#  The Board of control and court of Directors were abolished. Their place was taken by the Secretary of State of India and his India Council. They were to govern India in the name of her majesty. The Secretary of State was to sit in Parliament. He was a cabinet minister of England and as such was responsible to Parliament. Ultimate power over India remained with Parliament of England.

#  The Act created an India council of fifteen members. It was to advise the Secretary of State on matters, who had the power to overrule its decisions. Approval of the Council was essential in financial matters. Most of the members of the Indian Council were those who had retired from Indian services and as such has experience to work in India.

#  The Secretary of State was given the power of sending and receiving secret messages & despatches from the Governor-General without the necessity of communicating them to the India Council. The Secretary of State was to present a report periodically to the House of Commons on the moral and material progress of India.

#  The Government of India in its dealings with England was guided by the directions laid down by the Secretary of State. All matters concerning legislation, land revenue, public works, railways, jobs, new expenditure, and policies were rigidly scrutinized and controlled by the Secretary of State. The Rules and Regulations made in India by the secretary of state were to be laid on the table of the House of Commons.

Significance - 

The Governor-General became known from now as the Viceroy or Crown's representative. In matters of policy formation and its execution, the viceroy was reduced to a subordinate position in relation to the British Government. The Government of India was finally directly under the control of London.

Q  What are the differences between the Charter Act of 1833 and 1853?            12

Q  Write a note on the charter Act of 1833.                              12

A  Charter Act of 1833 - 

The British East India Company was to have only political functions. The President of the Board of-Control became the minister for Indian affairs. The Directors of the Company were to act as expert advisors of the President of the Board of Control. The Board of Control was given the authority to superintend, direct and control the affairs of the Company relating to the revenues of the Indian territory.

   The Governor-General of Bengal became the Governor-General of India. The Governor-General in Council was given the authority to superintend, direct and control the civil and military affairs of the Company. Bombay, Bengal, Madras and other regions were now under the complete control of the Governor-General in Council. 

The Central Government was to have complete control over raising of revenues and expenditure. The expenses of the Provincial Governments, creation of new offices, and obedience of all members of the Government of Bombay, Madras were under the strict control of the Central Government.

     By the Act of 1833, the Governor-General in Council was given the authority to legislate for the whole of the British territories in India. These laws were applicable to all persons, British or Indian, foreigners or others and to the servants of the Company. These laws were enforceable by all courts of law in India. The Act of 1833, added one more member to the Executive council of the Governor-General, the Law Member. The work of the law member was fully legislative. He had no vote in the Council and he was to attend meetings, on the invitation. 

         Bombay and Madras were to keep their separate armies under the Commanders-in-Chief. They were to be under the control of the Central Government. The Act provided for the codification of laws in India. There were different types of laws in India before 1833. There were the English Acts, Presidency Regulations, Hindu Law, Muslim Law, Customary Law, etc. By this Act, the Governor-General was empowered to appoint the Law Commission to study, collect and codify laws in India. The Indian Penal Code and Civil laws and Criminal Law were enacted by the efforts of the Indian Law Commission. 

        The Charter Act of 1833 made no provision to secure the nomination of Indians to the covenanted services of the company.

Charter Act of 1853 -    

By the Act of 1853, the separation of the executive and the legislative functions went a step further. There was a provision of including additional members to the council for the purpose of the legislation. 

The Law Member was made a full member of the Executive Council of the Governor-General. The consent of the Governor-General was made necessary for all legislative proposals. In this framework, the central legislature was completed. The Central Legislative Council was to consist of one representative from each of the Provinces. Measures related to the province were to be considered in the presence of representatives from that province. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Calcutta became the ex-officio member of the Central Legislative Council. Two more civilians might be nominated by the Governor-General, but this authority was never exercised.

The Council in its legislative capacity was to consist of 12 members. These included the Governor-General, Commander-in-Chief, four members of his council and six legislative members. 

All vacancies in India were to be filled in by competitive examinations. Lord Macaulay was appointed the President of the Committee. The number of Directors was reduced from 24 to 18. Six of them were to be nominated by the Crown. The Company was allowed to retain possessions of the Indian territories.   

Q  What were the main features of the Charter Act of 1813?  
          A        Inquiries into the Company's affairs were ordered before another renewal of the Charter which was due in 1813. In 1808, the House of Commons appointed a Committee to investigate into the affairs of the company. Its report on judicial and police arrangements was submitted in 1812. The government decided to allow British subjects access to India with their ships. 

The Home Government had specifically directed the Government of India not to follow the policy of conquests. However, the aggressive policies adopted by the company resulted in the acquisition of more territories in India. Lord Wellesley and Hastings continued to follow an imperialistic policy. The Company's power had spread to the whole of India except Punjab, Nepal, and Sind. Company requested for financial help from the Parliament due to overspending in wars and setback in trade. There was also a lot of agitation in Britain against the continuance of commercial monopoly granted to the East India Company. Independent merchants demanded the end of this policy. They wanted a share in the trade with India. The teachings of Adam Smith and his school during this time was dominating the politics of Britain. The Reformists, the Evangelicals, and the Traditionalists tried to influence British politics and policies towards British India. Their foremost interest was to safeguard the stability of the Empire.

The Act of 1813 renewed the Company's Charter for 20 years, but it asserted the

sovereignty of the British Crown over the territories held by the Company in India. The Company was allowed to have territorial possessions for another 20 years. The Company was deprived of its monopoly of trade with India. It was allowed to continue with its monopoly of trade with China for 20 years. The Indian trade was thrown open to all British merchants.  

Q  Pitt's India Act, 1784                                                    6

A  The purpose of the Pitt’s act was to remove the defects in the Regulating Act. The Company's public affairs and its administration in India were to come directly under the supreme control of the British Government. The right of the Company to territorial possessions was however not touched. The Act established a Board of Control whose function was to guide and control the work of the Court of Directors and the Government of India. They were to control all civil and military matters of the British territories in India.

     The Act established the principle that the government of India is placed under the Governor-General and a Council of three. The Act clearly stated that the Presidencies of Madras and Bombay were subordinate to the Presidency of Bengal in all matters of war, diplomatic relations and revenues. It helped in uniting India by giving supreme power to Governor-General over the Governors of Presidencies. The possessions of the Company in India came under the supremacy of the British Parliament. The Pitt’s Act laid the foundation of a centralized administration.

Q  Regulating Act of 1773                                                  6

A  The Regulating Act was passed by the British parliament to control the Company's Administration. Changes were made in the Constitution of the Court of Directors of the Company. It was required that it should submit to the Government all communications it has received from Bengal about civil and military affairs and revenues of India. In the field of executive government, the status of Governor of Bengal was raised to Governor-General.   The Governor-General in Council was given the authority to superintend and control the presidencies of Madras and Bombay in matters of war and peace. 

The Governors of Madras & Bombay were required to send information regularly to the Governor-General, regarding the government, revenues or interests of the Company. The Governor-General, in turn, was under the direct control of the Court of Directors and kept it fully informed about the affairs or interests of the Company. The Act provided for the establishment of a Supreme Court of Justice at Calcutta. Legislative powers were granted to the Governor-General and Council to make rules. 

Q  Analyse the changes in the colonial policy towards sati and widow-remarriage during the early 19th century.  12

Q  Discuss the British policy on sati and infanticide in India. 12

Q  Briefly discuss the British policy towards 'Sati' in the early 19th century.         12

A  Infanticide - The first traditional social evil custom which was suppressed by the British Indian government was the practice of infanticide. Female infanticide was prevalent in many parts of India. The difficulty and expenses incurred in marrying girls amongst the different communities in society gave rise to the practice of killing female infants by starvation or poisoning. Jonathan Duncan, the Resident of Benares was the first official who tried to curb this social evil. Instead of unilaterally abolishing infanticide by legislation Duncan met the local Rajkumars and convinced them that the killing of female infants went against the tenets of Hindu scriptures. As the female children were considered an economic liability to their families Duncan promised monetary compensation from the Government if the Rajkurnars abandoned this practice. 

        Around the same time, the Calcutta magistrates sent a letter to the Vice-President in-Council stating that infanticide had never enjoyed sanction under the Mughal or the British governments. They also mentioned that no public opposition was encountered when the police prevented infanticide. Ultimately a law banning infanticide was enacted as Regulation VI of 1802. The abolition of infanticide which appears to have been effective in Bengal did not result in any significant opposition by the public.

Sati - Sati practice was widespread in all the three Presidencies at the beginning of the 19th century. A large number of such incidents were reported from the lower districts of Bengal. Widow burning was practiced not only by the Brahmans but also by other castes. However, in proportion to the total population, the incidence of Sati was very limited. As early as 1795 Colebrook demonstrated that this practice wasn’t sanctioned in Vedic tradition. In the past, a number of Indian rulers including Akbar, Jahangir, Guru Amardas, the Maratha chief Ahalya-bai, the Peshwas, the King of Tanjore and the Portuguese in Goa tried to discourage this practice in their respective areas. 

        However, no sustained and systematic effort was made to suppress this inhuman practice until the 19th century. While the other European companies in Bengal had banned widow burning in their territories, the Calcutta Supreme Court disallowed it only in one part of the city. The British government was also reluctant and hesitated in using coercion to stop this practice. In 1819 and 1821 two Judges of the Supreme Court pleaded for immediate

suppression of Sati arguing that such a measure would not result in any serious public resentment. This plea was however rejected by the government. 

       While the government dragged its feet over this issue, some Indian social reformers led by Ram Mohan Roy spearheaded an agitation for the abolition of Sati. In 1818 he sent a petition to the government urging them to abolish this practice and counter the demand of orthodox Hindus who were against the abolition of Sati. A vigilance committee was organized to strictly implement the age restrictions on the practice of Sati. Rammohan engaged in a debate with the supporters of Sati and wrote pamphlets and newspaper articles to mobilize public opinion against these customs. He used his journal Sambad Kaumudi to further his campaign, with papers like Samachar Darpan supporting him.

       In spite of the mounting demand for its abolition in India and Britain parliament, the company authorities in England did not want to take any decision themselves as they feared public reaction. Finally, it was abolished in 1829 through legislation by Governor-General Bentinck. The abolition of widow-burning by the government did not result in any visible anger or resentment among the Indians.