Government of India Act 1858

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The Government of India Act 1858, or An Act for the Better Government of India , is the name of a law that was passed by the British Parliament on August 2nd, 1858. It ended the supremacy of the British East India Company over British India and transferred the powers previously exercised by this organization directly to the British Crown. The bill was tabled by Lord Palmerston , the British Prime Minister at the time. The background to the bill was the Indian uprising of 1857 , the cause of which was also seen in the inadequate administration of the country.

In detail, the law provided:

  • the takeover of all territories in India from the East India Company, which at the same time lost the powers and powers of control that had previously been transferred to it.
  • the government of the estates on behalf of Queen Victoria as a crown colony . A Secretary of State for India was placed at the head of the administrative administration, who was answerable to parliament. The Secretary of State for India, who headed the India Office , was assisted by a 15-member advisory board.
  • The British Crown appointed a Governor General and Viceroy of India who was responsible for administrative management and jurisdiction.
  • Creation of the Indian Civil Service , which was subordinate to the Secretary of State for India.
  • the takeover of all the company's assets and the entry of the crown into all previously concluded contracts and agreements.

At the same time, the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II was deposed. From now on the Council of the Governor General ruled, which was subordinate to the India Office in London. The Doctrine of Lapse was abandoned, ie princely states could again be inherited through adoption.

Councils

Legislative authority lay with the Governor General (Viceroy) and his Executive Council. The participation rights of the Indian population lay mainly at the local level with councils whose members were nominated, not elected. Their minimum competencies were regulated by the following laws:

  • Indian Councils Act, 1861
  • Indian Councils Act, 1892
  • Indian Councils Act, 1909

After 1861, the viceroy was able to appoint an additional 6–12 members - including Indian - of his council, half of the appointees were not allowed to belong to the Indian Civil Service (ICS). In this composition the council was called the Imperial Legislative Council. It had no decision-making authority in budget matters; all other drafts could only be discussed if the Government of India (GoI) had given its prior approval. The council created under this law met only 25 times in 31 years. During this time, only 45 Indians were nominated, mostly with terms of 2 to 3 years. They were all Rajas from princely states or rich traders respectively. Zamindari . The Provincial Legislative Councils of Madras, Bombay and Bengal were structured in the same way.

With the reform of 1892 going back to Lord Dufferin , the number of possible appointees was increased to between ten and 16, who were now allowed to advise the state budget, but not vote on it. Some members were chosen by limited indirect election. On average there were 13 annual meeting days. The number of Indians never exceeded five out of a maximum of 24 members. Nevertheless, the council became an important platform for nationalist agitation.

Regarding the constitutional amendment in 1909, the Indian Councils Act 1909 (commonly referred to as "Morley-Minto Reforms"), Lord Morley explicitly stated that this reform should not lead to self-determination. The number of still indirectly elected members of the Legislative Council was increased to 27. Six of them represented the landlord class and two represented the interests of British capital. Of the now 68 members, 36 came from the ICS, five were appointed non-officials. An Indian now had to be appointed to the Executive Council.

The regulations were reformed by the Government of India Act 1919. Another constitutional law of the same name was passed in 1935.

Single receipts

  1. ↑ 21 and 22 Vic., C. 106.
  2. ^ Stanley Wolpert: A New History of India. 3rd edition. Oxford University Press, New York NY et al. 1989, ISBN 0-19-505637-X , pp. 239-240.
  3. ↑ Bipan Chandra, Mridula Mukherjee: India's Struggle for Independence. 1857-1947. Penguin Books, New Delhi a. a. 1989, ISBN 0-14-010781-9 , pp. 114 f., 142 f., 168.