Polity Flashcards
Diwani
- rights over revenue and civil justice
- entry of British into non trade functions begins when Diwani is obtained in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1765
Arrival of the British in India
- 1600: British arrive as traders, the British East India Company
- exclusive right of trading in India under charter granted by queen Elizabeth I
Beginning of direct control by the Crown
- 1858
- following the sepoy mutiny, continues till Independence
MN Roy
- suggested the creation of a Constituent Assembly for the drafting of a Constitution
- pioneer of the communist movement in India
Constituent Assembly
-formed in 1946 to draft constitution under scheme formulated by Cabinet Mission Plan
- originally demanded by the Indian National Congress in 1935
- 389 seats: 296-> British India –>292 from 11 governors provinces, 1
each from the 4 commissioners provinces
93->princely states
-partly elected and partly nominated
-completes drafting and Constitution is adopted on 26 January, 1950
Criticism of the Constituent Assembly
- Not a representative body (not directly elected)
- Not a sovereign body (created upon British proposals)
- Time consuming
- Dominated by Congress
- Dominated by Lawyers and Politicians
- Dominated by Hindus
Regulating Act of 1773
- first step taken by British Crown to control and regulate BIC
- first recognizes political and administrative capacity of BIC
- laid the foundation of central administration in India
- designated Governor of Bengal as Governor General of Bengal and created Executive Council of four members to assist him (1st: Warren Hastings)
- subordinated governors of Bombay and Madras to Bengal
- established Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) comprising one justice and three other judges
- defects of the act were rectified by the Amending Act of 1781 (aka Act of Settlement)
Pitt’s India Act of 1784
- distinguishes between commercial and political functions of BIC
- Board of Control established to manage political affairs–> double govt
- Board of Control empowered to supervise and direct all operations of the civil and military govt or revenues of the “British possessions in India”**
- British govt takes supreme control over BIC affairs and admin in India
Charter Act of 1833
- Governor General of Bengal made Governor General of India (1st: William Bentick)
- Governors of Madras and Bombay are divested of their powers
- Laws made under the Act are called Acts, whereas previously they were called regulations
- East India Company becomes a purely administrative body, holding the territories in India ‘in trust’ for the British crown
- Attempted to establish Civil Services through open competition, including Indian candidates
Charter Act of 1853
- separated the legislative and executive functions of the governor generals council–> established the Indian Central Legislative Council, which functioned as a mini-Parliament
- established the Macaulay Committee on the Indian Civil Service in 1854 for an open competitive system of recruitment of civil servants
- introduced local representation in the Indian Central Legislative Council
Government of India Act (1858)
Act for the Good Government of India
- Abolished the East India Company, following the Sepoy Mutiny
- all powers of government were transferred to the British Crown
- Governor General henceforth designated as Viceroy, was the direct representative of the Crown in India
- Lord Canning was the first Viceroy
- Created office of Secretary of State for India who was a member of the British Cabinet and was answerable to the British parliament
- established 15 member Council of India to assist the Secretary of State for india
Sepoy mutiny
-aka the Revolt of 1857, or the First War of Independence
Indian Council Act of 1861
- Indians were associated with the law making process of British India
- Viceroy nominates some Indians as non-official members of his expanded council
- Bombay and Madras Presidencies are restored legislative powers, initiating the process of decentralization
- gave recognition to the portfolio system established by lord Canning
- empowered the Viceroy to issue ordinances without the concurrence of the legislative council during emergency (ordinance is valid for six months)
Indian Council Act of 1892
- increased the number of non-official members in the central and provincial legislative councils
- legislative council given the power of discussing the budget and addressing questions to the executive
Indian Councils Act of 1909 (Morley-Minto Reforms)
- increased size of central and provincial legislative councils
- allowed provincial legislative council to have non-official majority
- introduced a system of communal representation for Muslims: separate electorate