Government of India Act 1858

Government of India Act 1858

The Government of India Act 1858, actually entitled An Act for the Better Government of India, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (21 & 22 Vict. c. 106) passed on August 2, 1858. Its provisions called for the liquidation of the British East India Company (who had up to this point been ruling India under the auspices of Parliament) and the transference of its functions to the British Crown. [Wolpert, Stanley (1989). "A New History of India" (3d ed.), pp. 239-40. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019505637X.] Lord Palmerston, then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, introduced a bill for the transfer of control of the Government of India from the East India Company to the Crown, referring to the grave defects in the existing system of the government of India.

Main provisions of the bill:
#The Act declared that the Company's territories in India shall vest in Her Majesty, and the Company shall cease to exercise its power and control over all these territories. India will be governed in the name of the Queen.
#The Queen's Principal Secretary of State shall have all such powers and perform all such duties as were exercised by the court of Directors. A council of fifteen members were apponted to assist the Secretary of State for India. The council became an advisory body in India affairs. For all the communications between England and India, the Secretary of State became the real channel.
#The Secretary of State for India was empowered to send some secret despatches to India directly without consulting the Council. He was also authorised to constitute special committees of his Council.
#The Crown was empowered to appoint the Governor General of India and the Governors of the Presidencies.
#It also provided for the creation of the Indian Civil Service under the control of the Secretary of State.
#All the property of the East India Company was transferred to the Crown. All treaties, contracts, etc. made by the Company remained binding on the Crown.

Thus, the passing of the Government of India Act 1858 ushered in a new period of Indian history, marking the end of Company rule in India and the start of the of direct rule by the British Crown, in an area defined as British India, under the British Raj. This era would last until independence was granted to India and Pakistan in August 1947.

ee also

*East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act
*British India
*British Raj
*Secretary of State for India
*India Office
*Governor-General of India
*Government of India Act 1909
*Government of India Act 1935
*History of Bangladesh
*History of India
*History of Pakistan

References

External links

* [http://www.houseofdavid.ca/Ind_uni.htm#Bibliography One Scholar's Bibliography]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Government of India Act 1858 — Der Government of India Act 1858,[1] oder auch An Act for the Better Government of India, ist die Bezeichnung eines Gesetzes, das am 2. August 1858 vom britischen Parlament verabschiedet wurde. Es beendete die Oberherrschaft der Britischen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Government of India Act 1935 — The Government of India Act 1935 ( 26 Geo. 5 1 Edw. 8 c. 2 ) was the last pre independence constitution of the British Raj. The significant aspects of the act were: * It granted Indian provinces autonomy and ended the dyarchy introduced by the… …   Wikipedia

  • Government of India Act — The term Government of India Act refers to any one of a series of Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to regulate the government of British India, in particular:*Government of India Act 1833 (also known as the Charter Act ), which …   Wikipedia

  • Government of India Act de 1858 — Le Government of India Act de 1858 est une décision votée par le parlement britannique le 2 août 1858. Son intitulé exact est An Act for the Better Government of India (en français : un acte pour un meilleur gouvernement de l Inde). Il met… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Government of India Acts — Bei den Government of India Acts handelt es sich um mehrere, während der Kolonialzeit erlassene, Grundgesetze in Britisch Indien. Alle regelten die Verwaltungsstruktur und die beschränkten Mitspracherechte der einheimischen Bevölkerung. Diese… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • India Act — (1858)    An act of the British parliament abolishing the East India Company, which had conquered a large Indian empire, and replaced its rule with that of a viceroy directly responsible to the British government. The East India Company,… …   Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914

  • Government of India Acts — ▪ United Kingdom       succession of measures passed by the British Parliament between 1773 and 1935 to regulate the government of India. The first several acts passed in 1773, 1780, 1784, 1786, 1793, and 1830 were generally known as East India… …   Universalium

  • India Office — The India Office was the British government department responsible for the direct administration of India during the British Raj. It was headed by the Secretary of State for India, who was a member of the British Prime Minister s Cabinet. Origins …   Wikipedia

  • India — • The peninsula is separated on the north from Tibet and Central Asia by the Himalaya, Hindu Kush, and Karakoram mountains, and some lower ranges divide it from Afghanistan and Baluchistan Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. India      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Central India Campaign (1858) — v · Indian …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”