Laxmikant Sample

LAXMIKANTH SAMPLE
Unit 1. Historical background

The British arrived in India in 1600 as merchants, and name was the East India Company,
which held exclusive trading rights in India under a charter from Queen Elizabeth I. In
1765, the Company transitioned from solely trading to acquiring the 'diwani' (the rights to
revenue and civil justice) of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. The ‘diwani’ was given by the
Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam, after the Battle of Buxar in 1764. This marked the
beginning of the Company's role as a territorial authority. After the 'sepoy mutiny' in
1858, the British Crown took direct control over India's administration. This direct rule
lasted until India got independence on August 15, 1947.
With the attainment of Independence, there arose a necessity for a constitution.
Consequently, a Constituent Assembly was established in 1946, and the Constitution was
officially adopted on January 26, 1950. Nevertheless, many characteristics of the Indian
Constitution and its political system can be traced back to the era of British rule. Certain
occurrences during this period established the legal framework for the governance and
administration in British India. These occurrences have significantly shaped our
Constitution and political structure. They are detailed here in a chronological format
under two primary categories:
1. The Company Rule (1773 – 1858)
2. The Crown Rule (1858 – 1947)
1. The company rule:
In this time-period have various acts and charters like:
a. Regulating Act of 1773
This act has great importance like
a) The first initiative by the British Government to oversee and regulate the East India
Company's activities in India.
b) For the first time, it formally recognized the political and administrative
responsibilities of the Company.
c) It set the foundation stone for the development of a central administration in India.
The features of this act:
I. It started the Governor of Bengal as the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’ and
established an Executive Council of four members to support him. The first
Governor-General was Lord Warren Hastings.
II. It made the governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the
governor-general of Bengal, because earlier, these presidencies were independent
of one another.
III. Establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) comprising one chief justice
and three other judges.
IV. Prohibited the servants of the Company from private trade, accepting gifts or
bribes from the ‘natives.’
V. Established the Court of Directors (governing body of the Company) to report on
its revenue, civil, and military affairs in India.
b. Amending act of 1781
The British Parliament enacted the Amending Act of 1781 or Act of settlements to rectify
the defects of the Regulating Act of 1773.
The features of this Act:
I. It exempted the Governor-General, the servants of the company and the Council
from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for their official actions.
II. It excluded the revenue matters and collection of revenue from the jurisdiction of
the Supreme Court.
III. The Supreme Court was to have jurisdiction over all the inhabitants of Culcutta
like Hindus and Muslims were to be tried according to the Hindu law and
Mohammedan law respectively.
IV. Appeals from the Provincial Courts could be taken to the Governor-General-in-
Council and not to the Supreme Court.
V. The Governor-General-in-Council could frame regulations for the Provincial
Courts and Councils.
c. Pitts India act of 1784
It was presented in the British Parliament by the then Prime Minister, William Pitt.
This act has great importance like:
a) For the first time territories of company called as ‘British possessions in India’.
b) It empowered British government to supreme control over Company’s affairs and its
administration in India.
The features of this Act:
I. It distinguished the company’s commercial and political functions with Court of
Directors and Board of Control (created new body) respectively. That made it as a
system of double government.
II. It empowered the Board of Control to supervise the all operations of the civil,
revenue and military government of the British possessions in India.
d. Act of 1786
The features of this act:
In 1786, Lord Cornwallis was designated as the Governor-General of Bengal. He set forth
two conditions for accepting this role:
1. He wanted the authority to overrule his council's decisions in exceptional
circumstances.
2. He also requested the position of Commander-in-Chief.
e. Charter Act of 1793
The features of this Act were as follows:
1. It extended the overriding power given to Lord Cornwallis over his council, to all
future Governor-Generals and Governors of Presidencies.
2. It gave the Governor-General more powers and control over the governments of the
subordinate Presidencies of Bombay and Madras.
3. It extended the trade monopoly of the Company in India for another period of
twenty years.
4. It provided that the Commander-in-Chief was not to be a member of the Governor-
General’s council, unless he was so appointed.
5. It laid down that the members of the Board of Control and their staff were,
henceforth, to be paid out of the Indian revenues.

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LAXMIKANTH SAMPLE

Unit 1. Historical background

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