Unit 23 Constitutional DEVELOPMENTS (1757-1858) : 23.0 Objectives

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UNIT 23 CONSTITUTIONAL
DEVELOPMENTS (1757-1858)
Structure
23.0 Objectives
23.1 Introduction
23.2 Background
23.3 The Regulating Act, 1773
23.4 Pitts' lndia Act, 1784
I 23.5
23.6
23.7
Charter Act of 1793
Charter Act of 1813
Charter Act of 1833
i
23.8 Charter Act of 1853
I 23.9
23.10
Government of lndia Act. 1858
Let Us Sum Up
23.1 1 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
23.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit you will :
become ramiliar with the important constitutional devqlopnlents in the first
century of Hritish rule
trace the transition from Company's rule to rule by the Crown
acquaint yourself with the stages in the evolution of the structure of Government,
and
bring out the link between the constitutional changes and the economic and
political interests behind them.
23.1 INTRODUCTION
The English East lndia Company was essentially a commercial body. Following the
principles of mercantilism and to ensure monopolistic profit the company needed
political power hence political activities which resulted in acquiring revenue-yielding
territories. After 1757 it was in a privileged position of yielding political power over
a large section of the population of India.
The authority which controlled the Company was situated far away from lndia in
Britain. The Hritish Ciovernment faced many problems from this situation and
relationship. The Company had becomea great empire combining the role of trader
and an overlord. It was now clear that the power and sovereignty of the Indian
empire was vested in the Company. 7 hr British Government decided that it could no
longer be allowed to remain outside the ambit of the state. Even Clive and Hastings
had held that constitutional relations with the Crown might be desirable.
23.2 BACKGROUND
Establishing the sovereignty of the Crown in place of the Company was yet too bold
a siep t o be taken. That would have directly put a n enormous mass of patronage in
the hands of the government. Again it would have caused much bitterness in India
and among European hations. The wise step was to subject the Company to control
on the basis of current doctrines of constitutional law.
A select committee of Parliament was appointed in April, 1772 t o enquire into the
state of affairs in India. In August the Company begged the Government for a loan
Impact of British: Rule : of 6: 1,00,000.It was surprising that although the servants of the Company collected
Polity and Society
wealth, the Company faced serious financial crisis.
The problem before the British Government was to define the relationsh~pof East
lndia Company and its possessions with the British Government. Another problem
was td determine the way the Company's authorities in Britain were to control the
large number of officials and soldiers working for it in far away India. The question
of providing a single centre of control over farspread British possessions in Bengal,
Madras and Bombay was also causing great concern.
The form of the relationship of the East lndia Company and ~ t possessions
s with
the British Government was most important because it was closely connected with -
party and parliamentary rivalries in Britain. English statesmen were politically
ambitious and English merchants were commercially greedy. Bengal had yielded rich
resources into the hands of the Company. Fabulous wealth brought home by its
officials caused jealousy in the British natian. Mirchants, the growing section of
manufacturers and newly risen 'free enterprisers' were striving to have a share in the
profits of Indian trade and wealth coming from India. Why should East lndia
Company alone enjoy this? They wanted to put a n end to the monopoly of trade
held by the Company. With this end, they criticised the way the Company
administered Bengal.
Many political thinkers and statesmen of Britain were afraid that the Company and
its powerful rich officials would lower the standard of morality of the English nation
and increase corruption in British politics. The seats in the House of Commons were
bought by the Company for its agents. It was feared that the Company, with the
help of money brought from India, might achieve dangerous supremacy in the
British Government.
A new School of economists who were advocating free trade condemned exclusive
companies. Adam Smith in his book, 'Wealth of Nations' wrote that exclusive
companies were causing harm both to countries which estabIish them and the
countries that they govern.
The East India Company's position was unique a t home. King George-Ill patronised
it. It fought with the help of its friends in Parliament. The Parliament decided on a
compromise. A balance was worked out. The British decided t o control the
Company's lndian administration in the interest of Britain's influential elite class as a
whole. The Company was allowed t o continue with its monopoly of Eastern ttade.
The Directors of the Company were given the control of Indian administration.
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23.3 THE REGULATING ACT, 1773

In these circumstances. the Parliament passed its first important Act in 1773. called
the Regulating Act t o control the Company's Administration. The Act made changes
in the constitution of the Company at home; the whole of the territories in India
were subjected to some degree of control.
The provision was made in a very efficient manner for the government t o keep
supervision over the Company. 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 about civil and military affairs received from Bengal
and revenues of India.
In the field of executive government. the status of Governor of Bengal was raised t o
Governor General. His Council would consist of four members. The Governor
General in Council was given the power to superintend and control the presidencies
of Madras and Bombay in matters of war and peace. In this body was vested the
civil and military administration of the presidency, and government of all the
territorial acquisitions and revenues in the kingdoms of Bengal. Bihar and Orissa.
The Governors of Madras and Bombay were required t o send regularly. to the
Governor General, information connected with government, revenues. o r interests of
the Company. The Governor General in turn was under the direct control of Court
of Directors and kept it fully informed of the affairs concerning the interests of the
Company.
The Act also provided for the establishment of a Supreme Court of Justice at Constitutional
Developments ( I 757-1858)
Calcutta to give justice to Europeans, their employees and citizens of Calcutta.
Legislative powers were granted to the Governor General and Council to make rules,
ordinances and regulations for the civil government of Fort William and subordinate
factories.
The Regulating Act did not work smoothly in practice. Its defects and weaknesses
were exposed when it was put to working. Supervision of the British government was
ineffective. The Governor General had to face the opposition of his council, who
united against him. He had no power to override them, though in case of an equal
division he had a casting vote. Disunity of the Council prevented it from solving
external and internal problems of a serious nature. They had to often face deadlocks
which impeded smooth working of the administration. The President of Madras arid
Bombay were under the general controlling power of the Governor General and
Council proved inefficient in actual working.
23.4 PITT'S INDIA ACT, 1784

Pitt's India Act was passed in August, 1784. The purpose was to remove defects in
the Regulating Act. Its essential plan was the same. Company's public affairs and its
administration in lndia were to come directly under supreme control of the British
Government. The right of the Company to territorial possessions was however not
touched, so it essentially meant a compromise.
The Act established a Board of Control consisting of six~commissioners,including,
two Cabinet ministers. The Board of Control was to guide and control the work of .
the Court of Directors and the Government of India. They were to control all
matters of civil and military Government of the British territories in India.' A secret
'
committee consisting of three Directors was appointed to take the place of the Court
of Directors in political and military matters.
The Constitution of the Company's government in lndia was revised. The Act
established the principle that the government of lndia be placed under the Governor
General and a Council of three, so that if only one member of the Council supported
him, he could have his way. The Governor General was given a casting vote. The
Act clearly stated that the Presidencies of Madras and Bombay were to be
subordinate to the Presidency of Bengal in all matters of war, diplomatic relations
and revenue.
I The Governor General and council were made subordinate to British Government.
They were forbidden to declare war and enter into any treaty without the sanction of
the directors or the secret committee.
Pitt's lndia Act is important in many aspects. The President and the b o a 4 were
destined to be the future Secretary of State for lndia and his council. It helped in
uniting lndia by giving supreme power to Governor General over the Governors of
Presidencies.
By reducing one member of the Executive Council of the Governor General his
position was strengthened. The Governor General and Governors were given the
authority to override their councils. The possessions of the Company in India came
under the supremacy of the British Parliament.
The Act laid the foundation of a centralised administration-a process which
k reached its climax towards the close of the nineteenth century. Parliament's control
over East lndia Company was tightened, a trend which remained conspicuous till the
Crown directly took over the Government of lndia in 1858.
I The Act had many defects too. It had divided authority and responsibility. The
Governor General had two masters, the Court of Directors and the Board of
Control. Out of this conflict of authority emerged the view of the primacy of the
1 man on the spot. Cornwallis accordingly stretched his authority to the widest
I
I
possible limit. The actual state of affairs were not known to the Home Government.
This gave Governor General an opportunity to act in his discretion even on matters
of importance.
I
Impact of British Rule : The Government of India was to be carried on till 1857 according to the framework
Polity and Society given in the Pitt's lndia Act. Cornwallis, when appointed Governor General, insisted
on having the power to override his council in important matters such as safety,
peace abd interests of the Crown in India. The Act of 1786 gave him the powers he
asked for. The offices of the Governor General and the Commander-in-Chief were to
be united in the same person.
Declaratory Act of 1788 gave full powers and supremacy to the Board of control.
This wa6 a step towards transfer of powers of the Company to the Crown.
Check Your Progress 1

I) Why dtd the Rntish Covcrrin:cnt decttie that the a!fat15 of the 1 a\t ::l(i~d
Company should no .longer remain okt\lde thc~rcontrol)
2) Which weaknesses of the Regulating Act were removed by the Pitt's India Act?
Answer in five lines.
23.5 CHARTER ACT OF 1793

The Charter was to be renewed in 1793. Henry Dundas, President of the Board of
Control, was in favour of renewing the Charter and allowing the Company to retain
its political privileges and responsibilities. Cornwallis also supported this stand. The
Charter of the Company was renewed for 20 years and it was declared that it would
be allowed to continue with the possession of all territories for the next 20 years.
The Governor General's and Governors' powers to overrule their council were
emphasiked and explained. This power had been given specially to Cornwallis in
1786. Governor General's control over the Presidencies was strengthened. He was
allowed /to issue orders and directions to any Government and Preside'ncy of lndia
during his absence from Bengal without previous consultation with his council. He
could exercise all executive power vested in the Central Government.
A regular code of all regulations that could be enacted for the internal Government
of the BFitish territory in Bengal was framed. The Regulation applied to the rights.
persons and property of the Indian people and it bound the Courts to regulate their
decisioni by the rules and regulations contained therein. It also required that, "all
laws relqting to the rights of the person and property should be printed with
translation in Indian languages and prefixed with statements of grounds on which
they were enacted, "so that the people should become familiar with their rights.
privileges and immunities.
The Act of 1793 thus laid the foundation of government by written laws and Constitutional
regulations in British lndia in place of the personal rule of the past rulers. The L)evelopments ( 1757-1858)
interpretation of regulations and written laws was to be done by the Courts. The
concepts of a civil law. enacted by a secular human agency and applied universally,
was an important change.
Indians were not given positions where they could share the influence o r authority.
Indians were excluded "to satisfy the demand of English men for lucrative jobs."

Enquiries into the Company's affairs were ordered before another renewal of the
Charter due in 1813. In 1808, the House of Commons appointed a Committee of
investigations. Its report on judicial and police arrangements was submitted in 1812.
The government decided to allow British subjects access to lndia with their ships.
The Home Government had specifically directed the Government of lndia not to
follow the policy of conquests. But aggressive policies in lndia resulted in acquisition
of territory. Lord Wellesley and Marquis of Hastings followed an imperialistic
policy. The Company's power had spread t o the whole of lndia 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 against
continuance of commercial monopoly by the East lndia Company. Independent
merchants demanded ending of the same. They wanted a share in the trade with
India. The teachings of Adam Smith and his school were by then dominating the
politics of Britain. Benthamite Reformists, the Evangelicals a n d 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 lndian territories held by the Company,
Company was allowed t o 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 lndian trade was
thrown open to all British
- merchants.

The Industrial Revolution had made Britain a manufacturer of cotton textiles and
other factory goods. A vast country like lndia could consume a large number of
manufactured goods and provide raw materials as well. Industrialists were keen to
conquer the vast lndian markets. The East India Company served the ends of British
imperialism. Their restrictive policies had led t o the ruin of indigenous industries.
Laissez Faire had become the basic philosophy of the new industrial policy in
Britain. There was a popular desire to free trade from restrictions and monopolies.
When it wastime for the renewal of the Charter in 1833 there was widespread agitation for
abolition of the Company and take over of administration by the Crown. A
Parliamentary enquiry was held.
The political atmosphere in Britain was full of enthusiasm for reforms. The well
known Reform Act was passed in 1832. The country was enjoying the prosperity
achieved with the Industrial Revolution. It could afford to adhere t o the policy of
free trade. Slavery was abolished in the whole of the British empire.
The Act of 1833 was a great landmark in the constitutional history on India.
The monopoly of tea trade with China was abolished. The Company was t o have
only political functions. lndia was t o pay the Company's debts. Its shareholders were
guaranteed a dividend of 10.5 per cent per annum. The union of the trader and the
sovereign was finally dissolved. the lndian possessions of the Company were t o be
held in trust for the British Crown. The President of the Board of-Control became
Impact of British Rule : the minister for lndian affairs. The Directors were to act as expert advisors of the
Polity and Society President of the Board of Control. The Board of Control was invested with authority
to superintend, direct and control the affairs of the Company relating to the
Government or revenues of the lndian territory which vested in the Company in
trust for the English Crown.
Governor General of Bengal became the Governor General of India. The Governor
General in Council was to control, superintend and direct the civil and military
affairs of the Company. Bombay, Bengal, Madras and other regions were subjected
to complete control of the Governor General in Council. Central Government was to
have complete control over raising of revenues and expenditure. Expenses of
Provincial Governments, creation of new offices, and obedience of all members of
the Government of Bombay, Madras were under strict control of the Central
Government.
By the Act of 1833, the Governor General in Council were given the power to
legislate for the whole of the British territories in India. These laws were applicable
to all persons, British or lndian foreigners or others and to the servants of the
Company. They were enforceable by all cou'rts in India.
The Act added one more member to the Executive council of the Governor General.
the Law Member, whose work was fully legislative. He had no vote in the Council
and he was to attend meetings, on invitation. But he practically became a regular
member of the council. Lord Macaulay, the Law member, influenced't he educational
policy of the government for a number of years.
The number of members of the Presidency Councils was reduced to two. 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 several type of
laws 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 various rules and
regulations prevalent in India. The lndian Penal Code and Codes of Civil and
Criminal Law were enacted by the efforts of lndian Law Commission.
Section 87 of the Act declared, "that no native or natural born subject of the crown
resident in lndia should be by reason only of his religion, place of birth, descent,
colour or any of them be disqualified for any place in the company's service." It was
a momentous declaration. Lord Morley later described it as the most important
lndia Act passed by the British Parliament till 1909. This was not of much practical
importhnce, since nothing was done and Indians remained excluded from higher
posts in civil and military service.
The Charter Act of 1833 made no provision to secure the nomination of Indians to
the covenanted services of the company. Yet the clause proclaiming on
discrimination was of great importance for it became the sheet-anchor of political
agitation in lndia towards the end of the century.

I ) Which important source of profit did the East lndia Company lose in 1833'?
Write in five lines.
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2 ) What were the main clauses of the Charter Act of 1793? Write in ten lines.
Constitutional
Developments (I757-1858)

Politically conscious Indians made efforts to bring to an'end the reactionary
government of the East lndia Company. Raja Rammohan Roy went to Britain and
represented India's case before the Parliamentary Select Committee. The Bombay
Association and the Madras Native Association sent petitions on similar lines. But
there was strong opposition to it from leaders of different parties, ministers,
president of the Board of Control and Company's Directors. They favoured the
renewal of the Charter.
By the Act of 1853, separation of the executive and the legislative functions was
carried a step further by the provision of additional members of council for the
purpose of 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.
Central Legislative Council was to consist of one representative each from the
Provinces. Measures concerning a province were to be considered in the presence of
representatives from that province. The Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Calcutta
was to be the ex-officio member of the 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 lndia 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 " i ~trust for
Her Majesty, her heirs and successors until Parliament shall otherwise provide."
The "Legislative Councillors" were neatly distinguished from the "Executive
Councillors" and by doing so, legislation was for the first time treated as a special
function of the government requiring special machinery and special procedure. The
business of the Council was conducted in public. The procedure it adopted for
transaction of business was much the same as in the British Parliament. Questions
were put, papers were demanded and information was asked for and Government
was criticised for its lapses and excesses.
Certain misgivings were raised in the minds of Home authorities lest a representative
system might not pave its way into the fortress of their autocratic machinery. The
authorities in Britain felt when the Council which consisted of British officials only,
showed boldness and inquisitiveness and pried into the field of the Executive. Its
petitions for redress of grievances were presented as defiance of the parental
authority of the Home Government and public rejection of certain bills offended the
authorities in Britain. No Indian element was associated with the Legislative
Councils.
Impact of British Rule : In practice the Legislative Council threatened to alter the whole structure of the
Polity and Society Indian Government. It had developed into "an Anglo-Indian House of Commons."
23.9 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT. 1858

As the Charter Act of 1853 did not give the East lndia Company the right to
govern lndia for another 20 years, it gave an opportunity to the Home Government
to step in and take the place of the East lndia Company in India. This process was
hastened by the happenings of 1857, or the s o called 'Mutiny'.
Whigs and Tories had joined hands to complete without delay the process of
extendihg crown government over India. Lord Palmerston, the British Prime
Ministdr, declared his Government's decision to assume directly the Government of
lndia by the British Crown. John Stuart Mill prepared-a dignified and weighty
petition which was presented by the Company against the Government decision t o
both the Houses of Parliament. But no petition could any longer stem the tide of
mounting criticism against the Company's administration. Lord Stanley. President of
the Board of Control introduced a bill for the 'Better Government' of lndia which
became an Act of Parliament in August 1858.
The Government of lndia passed from the hands of the English East lndia Company
to the crown. The armed forces of the company were transferred t o the crown.
The Board of control and court of Directors were abolished. Their place was taken
by the Secretary of State of lndia and his lndia Council. They were to govern lndia
in the name of her majesty. The Secretary of State was t o sit in Parl~ament.He was
a cabinet minister of England and as such was responsible t o Parliament. Ultimate
power over lndia remained with Parliament.
The Act created a n lndia council of fifteen members. It was t o advise the Secretary
of State who could overrule its decisions. Approval of the Council was essential in
financial matters. Most of the members of the lndia Council were those who had
retired from Indian services.
The Secretary of State was given the power of sending and receiving secret messages
and despatches from the Governor General without the necessity of communicating
them t o the lndia Council. The Secretary of State was t o present t o the House of
C o m q o n s periodically report 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 in Council. All matters concerning legislation.
land revenue. public works, railways, jobs, new expenditure and policies were rigidly
scrutinised and controlled by the Secretary of State. The Rules and Regulations made
in lndia by the secretary of state were t o be laid on the table of the House of
Commons.
The Governor General became known from now as the Viceroy or Crown's
representative. In matters of policy and its execution the viceroy was increasingly
reduced to a subordinate position in relation to the British Government. The
Govetnrnent of lndia was finally directly controlled from London.

I ) T o what extent wab the revolt of t857 responbible lor the takeover of the I n d ~ a n
dovernment by the Crown !' Write in five line.\.
...................................................................................
2) What were the power5 of the Secretary ol State and the Viceroy under the
Gnvernrnrnt i > t Indtn Act of 1858 '7
Constitutional
Developments (1757-1858)
1 23.10 LET US SUM UP

The need for constitutional change arose after the East lndia Company became the
political power in 1757. The British Government was no longer willing t o allow the '
Company's affairs t o continue unsupervised. Pressure from merchants and
manufacturers t o end the monopoly of the Company mounted. Public opinion was
critical of corruption in the Government in Bengal. Free enterprise became a popular
slogan.
The Regulating Act of 1773 accordingly put a check -on the powers of the Company.
Its administration was subjected t o supervision by the British Government. The
setting u p of the Supreme Court at Calcutta was t-he first step towards establishing a
new structure of Government.
Pitt's lndia Act further strengthened the powers of the Government vis-a-vis the
Company. In lndia authority was centralised in the person of the Governor-General
who was answerable to the British Government through the Board ef Control.
The Charter Act of 1813 ended the prized monopoly of the Company over trade
with India. With this a n era begun in 1600 ended. The Company's control over
revenue. administration and appointments was untouched. Its monopoly of the
China trade continued.
The Charter Act of 1833 ended the Company's monopoly of the China trade. The
Act also declared that n o Indian subject would face discrimination o n the grounds of
creed, descent, colour etc.
The Charter'Act of 1853 was a holding measure. The Government of lndia Act of
1858 vested authority in the Secretary of State and the Viceroy. They became the
twin pillars on which the structure of Government rested. The rule of the Crown was
finally established in place of Company's rule.
23.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
I ) See Section 23.2
2) Read Sections 23.3 and 23.4 before writing your answer.

1) See Section 23.7
2) See Section 23.5

I) See Section 23.9
2) See Section 23.9
UNIT 24 ADMINISTRATION AND LAW
Structure
24.0 Objectives
24.1 lntroduction
24.2 The Background
24.2.1 British Thinking on Administration
24.2.2 British Interests
24.3 institutional Framework
24.3.1 Judicial System
24.3.2 Administrat~veSystem
24.3.3 Extent of Indian Part~cipation
24.4 Let Us Sum Up
.
24.5 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
24.0 OBJECTIVES
In the previous Unit (No 23) you got a summary of the const~tutionalprovisions
which were made by the British rulers in lndia from 1717 till the end of company's
rule. This Unit will take the story further and talk about how the structure of
administration and judiciary were gradually being built up by the British. This would
involve looking at the ideological orientation and specific requirements of the rulers
on the one hand, and the various changes and innovations made in the field of
administration, on the other. In this Unit you will study:
various ideas and elements that went into the making of the British administrative
policy
the institutional framework that evolved in accordance with that policy, and
an assessment of the administrative and judicial system introduced by the British
in India.
24.1 INTRODUCTION
You have seen in the earlier Units how the British gradually controlled the entire
country through a series of conquests. The East lndia Company was transformed
from b mere commercial body into a political force. Mere conquests could not
possibly hold the empire together for a long time. It had to be sustained by evolving
a comprehensive system of administration. This Unit, is therefore, concerned
exclusively with ideas and institutions. We discuss the British ideas on how to govern
India, and than go on to describe thckind of administrative institutions which were
evolved in order to govern and control India.
24.2 THE BACKGROUND

The vast territories of lndia were controlled by a massive administrative structure,
and various branches of which were held together by a set of laws. Before we go into
the details of this structure, let us look at the background to these administrative
innovations. These changes in the field of administration and law were a product of
certain ideas which had gained currency in 19th century Britain. These administrative
change also catered to certain British interests in lndia. Let us look at both these
aspects.
24.2.1 British Thinking on Administration

The administrative and legal system introduced by the British did not take shape
overnight and did not evolve in a vacuum. It was spread well over eighty years, was
implanted through a series of measures and acts, and was based on the initiative Administration and Law
taken by many British administrators and thinkers. A number of its provisions and
schemes continue even today. It did not evolve in a vacuum but should be seen
against the background of intellectual movements in the late 18th and early 19th
century Britain, which looked upon the British administration of lndia as on one of
its major concerns.
One of the earliest influences that can be seen is the idea of improvement. This
influence, evident at the earliest in Cornwallis, looked a t the creation of English style
aristocracy in land a s the best means of developing India. This aristocracy, identified
by Cornhallis as the Zamindars was looked upon as trustees who would encourage
the growth of trade and production under them. This coupled with English style
institution of law and administration-where the object was t o separate revenue and
judicial function of administration would effectively ensure the improvement of lndia
under the landed aristocracy. (See Block 4 and Section 24.3 below.)
,Whereas Cornwallis worked mainly with the ideas and perceptions which came
before utilitarianism, Macaulay was a liberal who had grown up in interaction with
both the missionary zeal of evangelicalism and the emerging pragmatism of 1830s
and 1840s. Thus we see him take up the codification of laws (see sec. 24.3) with
vigour. However, though he approved of this aspect of institutionalism, he did not at
all agree with their goal of reforming India.
Between the concern of Cornwallis and Macaulay,came the intellectual current called
.
'utilitarianism' (you have read about it in Unit 13 of Block 3) with James Mill,
Jeremy Bentham, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill a s were its major exponents
showed a special interest in the lndian question, and were largely responsible for the
kind of administration and judicial system that came into being in India. The
ufilitarians reflected on how to govern and control lndia and their ideas gradually
gained acceptance in Britain perhaps because they represented and combined the
interest of the British merchants. manufacturers and missionaries. What were their
ideas on lndia and prescription for the lndian problem ?
lndian society was seen by them as completely devoid of the values of rationalism
and individualism, which were seen as the essential principles for building a
modern society.
A traditional and decadent society like lndia could be improved through proper
legislation, which would impart "human justice" as against "divine justice"
practised in traditional societies. This meant that "British administration with its
principles of justice and uniformity could convert lndia into progressive and
dynamic society.
However in this scheme the instrumentality of education was rejected by Mill.
And s o was the lndianisation of the Government structure. Given their character,
Indians were seen unfit in the task of their over 'modernisation'. Mill therefore
dismissed the idea of giving any power and responsibility to Indians. Utilitarians
prescribed a modern machine of government, run by the British.
In other words, from the 19th century onwards when information about lndia
began trickling into the European societies, there began a debate among thinkers,
scholars and administrators on the lndian problem and its solution. Among them the
utilitarians. with their well defined structure of ideas, a set of followers, their
keenness on India, and the readymade applicabilities of their concerns (of taxation,
forms of government and administration of justice) to India, proved t o be the most
outspoken and effective. In 1819, James Mill was admitted into the executive
government of the East lndia Company. This made it easier for the utilitarian ideas
to be implemented in the lndian situation. Their ideas can be summed up in the
format of problems and prescribed solutions.
Problems '
Indian society was backward, decadent, retrograde and despotic. There was
degradation of the many by the few and absence of any security for the individual
and his rights.
This resulted in poverty, therefore crime
Servility and superstition was (characteristic of Indian people) 15
Impact of British Rule : Solution
Polity end Society
Advancement of society through'the establishment of a good government with
good laws and sound administration.
This would lead to freeing of individual initiative from despotism, customs and
communal ownership (which Mill saw a sign of a primitive society and inhibiting I
the making of a civil society).

T h i s would give a free and full scope for capital and labour and place due
emphasis on individual rights and ownership (as against communal ownership,
characteristic of Indian society).
Towards the same and it was necessary to legally define and protect individual
right in land.
To put it briefly, the utilitarian thinking was a n advocacy of a 'Rule of Law'. Laws
were to be scientifically defined and embodied in a written form in codes. They were I,
to be implemented through the creation of a body of local courts to make law
accessible to every man. Only this could create an individualist competitive society.
t4
24.2.2 British Interests
By now you must have become familiar with British ideas on law and its relationship
with the society. But at the same time, it would be wrong to overlook the interests,
which here also at work behind the introduction of British administration and law in
India. It suited the British requirements in lndia to have a uniform system of
adminibtration. And the British need for a new administration and laws varied with
the changes in the British interest in lndia and the combination of interest groups in
Britain.
As you are aware, the imperial interest in lndia did not remain the same throughout.
They changed during the different stages of the British rule. They also represented
the interests of different social groups in Britain in different stages. During the first
stage of the British rule in lndia till 1813, British interests lay mainly in
the East India Company's monopoly of trade with India, and the elimination of
other European competitors,
the control over financial resources, through taxation,
Both these objectives could be fulfilled without having to disturb the existing
institutions and administrative apparatus. British rulers at this stage were not very
different from that of traditional rulers, interested mainly in the appropriation of
agricubural surplus. No attempt was, therefore, made to create a uniform
administrative structure or even to renovate the old one at fhis stage. No basic
changes were introduced in the judicial system and administration. Whatever little
changes were made in the field of administration were only made a t the top of the
structure of revenue collection and were linked to the objective of smooth revenue
collection. A modern judicial system or a uniform administrative structure for lndia
was ndt seen as necessary at this stage, since it was not considered relevant for the
fulfilmlent of British objectives during the first stage of british rule in India.
This saenario changed considerably after 1813. As you are aware, the British
economy and society were going through a major transformation, caused maiqly by
the Industrial Revolution. The mercantilist trading corporations were now giving
way to the Industrial bourgeoisie which had became the dominant force in the British
society. The East lndia Company was gradually losing its monopoly over lndian
trade. The British interests in India no longer represented the interests of the
company but of the Industrial capitalist class. The interests of the British
industrialists by in using India as
a mlarket for their manufactured industrial good,
a source of raw material (like Jute, Cotton etc.) for their industries, and
foodgrains, opium etc. for export.
All this required much greater penetration into Indian economy and society and
controll over Indian trade not only with ~ r i t a i nbut
' with other countries also. India
was now expected to play a new role. It was perhaps not possible to perform the
new r ~ l ewith the traditional administrative institutions. They had to be changed and
transformed t o suit the new requirements. And hence started the process of Administration and Law
transforming Indian administration the details of which you will study in the next
section. Similarly, the entire legal structure had to be overhauled to promote modern
business, create a market economy, free commercial relations and t o regulate the
various economic transaction smoothly with the help of modern laws. And hence
started the process of the transformation of Indian administration and judiciary, the
details of which you will need in the following section.
I
Check Yoilr Progress 1
1 ) What according to util~tar~ans,
were the problems o l the Indian society, and
what was the way out? Write in ten lines.
2) Why did the British g o in for administrative reforms in the 19th century'?.IWrite
....
in ten lines.
24.3 INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

Having discussed the dominant British ideas on the question of law and
administration, let us now look at the framework of administrative institutions that
evolved in the 19th century, and the extent to which the ideas discussed above, were
incorporated into this framework.
24.3.1 ' The Judicial system

The building up of an adequate structure of administration started taking shape from
1793 under Cornwallis, and continued, with interruptions. down the 19th century.
During Cornwallis Governor Generalship important changes were made in all the
branches of administration including the judicial system. These changes involved a
divorce of revenue from civil administration. i.e.. the separation of judicial from
executive functions and the multiplication of judicial courts.
Impact of British Rule : The separation of civil and revenue administration meant, that the collector hitherto
Polity and Society the holder of judicial and revenue responsibilities was now deprived of his judicial
functions and concerned mainly with revenue. The collection of revenue and the
administration of justice were now to be carried out by separate officials appointed
for that purpose. There was now a coltector responsible for the collection of revenue
and a judge Magistrate with civil and criminal jurisdiction, Broadly the structure of
the new judiciary was something like this
Civil Courts
Sadar Diwani Adalat

Provincial Court 1-1V
District Courts Presided over by a District Magistrate trom Civil Services
Registrar's Court 1
Subordinate Courts (Presided over by lndian Judges called Munsif and Amins)
Criminal Courts
Sadar Nizarnat Adalat (Sadar Fauzdari Adalat in Madras, Bombay)

Court of Circuit (Presided over by Civil servants)
Local Courts (Presided over by Indian Magistrates, called Principal Sadar
Amin in Madras)
This system of a hiera;chy of courts was tried and implemented first in Bengal which
had assumed the states of a Laboratory for the British rule where they could make
experiments in the field of administration, and they extend it to the rest of the
country. Before we proceed further, let us try and understand the chart above. The
Sadar Diwani Adalat and Sadar Nizarnat Adalat formed the top of the pyramid and
were situated in Calcutta. Below these were the provincial courts of appeal (in the
case of civil courts) and the courts of circuit (in the case of criminal courts) which
were established in the towns of Calcutta, Dacca, Murshidabad and Patna. Below
these were the registrar's courts and all those were presided over only by the
Europeans. The participation of Indians was confined to subordinate positions such
as Munsifs. Amins; the Qazis and the Pandits who merely advised the judges on the
existing Mohammedan and Hindu laws.
Thus was laid the foundation of a new judicial structure in India. In years that came
this structure grew and evolved. Many changes are made in it and it was
subsequently applied to other parts of India. Let us at this stage look at some of the
important characteristics of the judicial structure developed in lndia in the 19th
century.
One important feature of the system of law that was erected was that enough
tolerance was displayed toward the existing traditional and religious laws. The
criminal courts did not altogether abolish the Muslim criminal law but applied it in a
somewhat modified form, so as to make it less harsh. Similarly the civil courts also
did not do away with the customary laws which had been followed by the local
people. Evidently at this stage the East lndia Company was not bent upon an
overhauling of the system. Only a partial modification was attempted. The existing
institutions of justice and also revenue appropriation were not dismantled.
Another feature of the new judicial system was the establishment of a whole network
of laws through the process of enactment of laws and codification of old laws. This
was well in keeping wifh the 19th century British passion for the codification of laws.
The traditional system had been based on I) customary laws based on traditions and
social practices, 2) religious laws based on Shastras and Shariat, and 3) laws flowing
from the will and authority of the rulers. As against this, the British created a new
system of laws. They introduced regulations, codified the existing laws and
systematised and the laws were now open to judicial interpretations and subsequent
amendment. Through the Charter Act of 1,833, all law making authority was vested in
the Governor General-in-Council. In the same year, a Law Commission was
appointed. Headed by. Lord Macaulay, it prepared the Indian Penal Code which was A h i n i s t r a t i u n and Law
applicable throughout the country. Thus there came into being, for the first time, a
set of laws which included into its fold every Indian.
The two main theoretical principles underlying the entire judicial system were the
notions of the Rule of Law and Equality before law.
The Rule of Law for lndia was a n integral part of utilitarian thinking on Law. They
posited the Rule of Law as the possible solution t o the three main problems :
1) Tremendous discretionary power in the hands of the individuals who were likely
t o misuse it;
2) lack of definition of individual rights, and
3) the existence of a large body of unwritten laws without any clear direction.
The Rule of Law meant that the administration was now to be carried out strictly
according to certain laws which defined the rights, privileges and obligations of the
people, and not according to the personal desires of the rulers. It also meant that in
theory at least, nobody was above law. Even the official. and those who supervised
law, were in theory, accountable to the same set of laws and could be brought before
a court of law for violating any law. The law once formulated, could place
restrictions on the actions of the rulers. However, the laws formulated and
interpreted were such that they contained enough space for the oppression of the
people. As it happened, various bureaucratic misdeeds, did not require a violation of
law, they could be done well within the legal rights of the officials. Qespite the
theoretical principle of "rule of law", there remained domains of action. e.g. by the
police o r army, which remained unaffected by restrictions which should have
followed from the principles. A great deal of extra-legal continued to be exercised by
the police and civil-servants. In fact, under the Rule of Law, legality itself became a n
instrument of power and oppression.
Equality before law meant that in theory all the citizens irrespective of their caste,
status etc. were now placed at a n equal footing in the eyes of the law. The concept of
equality before law did not of course, include Europeans into its fold. Separate
courts and laws were set up for them. In criminal cases they could be tried only by
the European Judges. In reality total equality before law could not possibly be
implemented. But it did bring about a national equality among.lndians.
In practice, the Indian people had t o pay a heavy price for the undeniably laudable
principles of the Rule of Law and Equality before Law. Justice became very
expensive and therefore out of reach for most people. Now the stamp fee had t o be
paid which was very costly. It cost Rs. 1,000 t o start action in a court on a property
worth Rs.50,000. Moreover, the new laws were quite complicated and most people
could not understand or interpret them. Lawyers, therefore, had t o be employed and
that added t o the expenses. T o seek justice people now had t o come t o the district
towns or the provincial centres. Also the legal process generally became very lengthy
and sometime law suits dragged on for years. T o take one example a zamindari in
~ a d i a went
s into litigation in 1832 t o settle some inheritance and d2bt suits. The
l
- Judgment was finally delivered only as late as in 1896 i.e. after 64 years.
However, the judicial system introduced in India did have the merit of saving in
motion the process of the unification of India. Now it was possible t o conceive of
I India, in judicial terms at least, as one unit. The British formulated and used the idea
of legality as a n instrument of controlling India. But later, in the 20th century, the
same instrument of Jegality was t o be used by the leaders of the national movement
to defend civil liberty and right t o challenge government authority within the limits
of law.
24.3.2 Administrative System

The main aim of the British administration in lndia was the maintenance of law and
order and the perpetuation of the British rule. A fairly adequate body of written laws
had already been created t o facilitate the tasks of the administration. The three main
pillars of the British administration in lndia were
the civil service
the Army, and
Impact 01 British Rule : the Police.
Polity and Society Let us briefly see the composition and functions of each of them.
The Civil Service

The main job of the civil service was to translate law into action and the collection
of revenue. The term 'civil services' was used, for the first time by the East lndia
Company mainly to demarcate its civilian employees from their military and
accesiastical counterparts. The service was initially only commercial in nature but
was late transformed into a public service.
From the very beginning it was a graded post-the gradations being-Apprentices,
writem, factors. junior merchants then finally senior merchants. It was from senior
merchants that appointments for higher services including the Governor were made.
This iystem of grading continued till 1839.
The appointment to these services was the sole prerogative of the court of Directors
of the East lndia Company. These nominated civil servants indulged in corruption.
bribery and illegal private trade. Cornwallis tried to check this corruption. arising
out of apolicy of patronage practised by the court of Directors. He imposed certain
restrictions on the civil servants (like forbiding private trade) but increased their
salaries as a compensation. For instance. the collector of a district was to be paid
1500 a month, besides one per cent commission on the revenue collected from his
distri~t.At this stage, the company's service was perhaps the highest paid service in
the World.
All this, however, failed to solve the twin problems of corruption and inefficiency.
Lord-Wellesly. who arrived in 1798 took significant stepts in this direction. He
introduced the idea of a suitable training for the civil servants in India. He felt that
the foundation of the training of the civil servants should be laid in England and
further training imparted in India. This was founded the Fort William College in
Calcutta on 24 November 1800, where the civil servants were to reveive training in
literature. science and languages in India. After five years, an East lndia College was
established at Hailybury for imparting two years, training to young officers for the
civil services. Indian Civil Services for the next fifty years or so remained the
product of the Hailybury College.
The method of recruitment. however. remained through the system of patronage in
the hands of the court of Directors who were free to nominate their sons and
nephews for the services.
The idea of 'competition' for recruitment (as against nomination practised earlier)
was introduced for the first time by the Charter Act of 1833. But it was to be a very
limited competition and could be termed as nomination-cum-competition for
recruitment. The Court of Directors were to first nominate four times the number of
civil servants required. These nominated candidates had to go through a competitive
examination. through which one fourth could ultimately be selected to join the
coveted Civil Services.
But gradually the demand for open Public competition started gaining ground. The
Charter Act of 1853 ultimately took away the power of the court of Directors to
make nominations and made a provision for open competition. For regulations
regarding age, qualification and subjects for the competitive examination a
committee was appointed headed by Macauly which was to submit its
reconimendations to the Board of control. Subsequently the college at Hailybury was
abolidhed in 1858 and the competitive examinations became the sole responsibility of
the Civil Service Commission. This competitive examination was to be held annually
in England and it was therefore, virtually impossible for an Indian to compete in it.
In late 19th century there began a demand that the competition examination should
be held in India.
The afficers of the civil serviCes were employed both in the control officer and the
district. The chief Officer in the district was the collector who was initially
responsible exclusively for the collection of revenue. He had t!le authority to decide
all disputes related to the boundary and the rent. He was assisted by a Tehsildar who
was ah Indian. After the reforms of 1831 the offices of the Magistrate (you have
head about him in sub-section 24.3.1) and the local chief of Police were also
transferred to him. This gave him total authority in the district. Given the large size Administration and Law
of some of the districts, a post of Deputy Collector, placed between the Collector
and the Tehsildar in the hierarchy was also created after 1831. This was soon
converted into an uncovenanted post which meant that experienced lndians could be
employed as Deputy Collectors.
The lndian Civil Services in years to come, developed into one of the most efficient
and powerful civil services in the world. Its members played a very crucial role in the
framing of the British Policies in lndia and also in maintaining and running the
mighty British empire in lndia. After 1947, independent lndia inherited this system
of Civil Services, which continue in its essentially original form even today.
The A m y and the Police

Very little need be said about the other two pillars of British administration. The
bulk of the Company's army consisted of lndian soldiers. In 1857 the lndians
constituted about. 86% of the total strength of the Company's army. The main reason '
for this large share of Indians, lay in the expenses involved in maintaining an
exclusively British army. Also, given the Company's expansionary policy company's
need to maintain a large army. How Company to rely on an army largely India. ,
However, the officers of the army, as in other branches of administration, were

exclusively British. The highest an lndian could reach was the post of a Subedar.
The army played a crucial role in the expansion of British dominions over the lndian
rulers. However, after the conquest over lndia was over and the rivalry with foreign
powers eliminated. Keeping lndia under subjection became the main task of the
army. A secondary task was to fight England's wars with the Russian, or the French
or with lndian neighbouring countries.
Police, the third Pillar of the British administration was created by Cornwallis. So
far, the function of the Police was performed-by Zamindar through their armed
retainers. They were now stripped off their power, their armed retainers were
disbanded and in its place, a police force was set up. This force was entirely at the
command of the government of the. East lndia Company. This force was grouped
into Thanas, headed by a Daroga who was an Indian. These thanas were initially
under the general supervision of the District Judge. Later the post of District
Superintendent of Police was created to head the police organisation in the district.
Finally the organisation of the police force was handed over to the civil service and
the collector in the district also controlled the police. The main task of the police
was to handle crime and also to prevent conspiracy against the British rule. Later, in
the 20th century the police was employed in a big way to suppress the growing
national movement.
24.3.3 Extent of Indian Participation

(One noticeable feature of the judicial and adminjstrative reforms introduced by the
British was the absence of lndians from responsible offices. This was well in
harmony with the utilitarian thinking on the lndian question represented mainly by
Mill. Moreover Cornwallis, the initiator of these reforms in lndia did not seem to
have much faith in the efficiency and sincerity of the Indians. The field for their
employment was therefore. 'narrowed to subordinate positions such as the Amin and
Police Daroga. This policy of excluding lndians was applied to almost every branch
of the government like army. Police, Civil Services, judiciary and engineering. In fact
it had officially been laid down in 1793 that all higher posts in administration worth
a salary of 500 a year or more could be held only by an Englishman. This was so
mainly because the British were convinced that an administration based on British
ideas, institutions and practices could be firmly established only by Englishmen. The
dominant British thinking of that time seemed to be in favour of providing good
administration for the Indians, not one run by them.
However, after 1813 under Hastings, there started the process of the gradual
lridianisation of the lower branches of services, mainly the judiciary. As the judicial
system was made more extensive, more lndians were included in it. The argument
given was that if justice had to be made locally available then local people should be
involved in it. Bentinck advocated the inclusion of lndians on the grounds of
Impact o f British Rule : or~ehtingadministration t o the local needs, which could only be defined by the
Polity and Society Indians themselves.
A major reason for lndianisation was the expenses involved. The wars fought under
Hastings, especially the Anglo Burmese war produced a financial crises. This crises
was compounded with the need to make administration more extensive. The
extension of the covenanted services (services held by the Erigl~shmen)was virtually
impossible. So, on the one hand there was the need to make the administration more
extenslve. And on the other hand, was their inability to bear the cost of the extensive
administration, by British standards. The only way out was to recruit lndians in
large numbers to fill subordinate posts as they were cheaper and easily available
compared to Englishmen. This did not threaten the British aspirants for the lucrative
Indians posts, as they did not want to compete for the subordinate jobs in India.
It was mainly for this reason that the claims of the Indian people for a share in
administration were being publically recognised, and the British Government was
. also providing the justification in terms of justice, moral*obligation, and local needs
etc. A regulation of 1831 placed in the hand of the Indian Judicial officers a large
share of the judicial responsibility. Bentinck was succeeded by Auckland who
increased the power and salary of the Indian Judges.
But it must be remembered that the top posts, involving decision-making authority .
wert reserved strictly for the British till the late 19th and early 20th centuries when
the lndians started making a n entry into the coveted civil services.

I ) Write five lines on each of the following
i) Rule of Law.
...........................................................................
ii) ~ ~ u a l i t y ' b e f o rLaw.

e
.........................................................
.........................................................
.........................................................
.........................................................
iii) Police
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
................................................................................
>....,
....................................................................................
iv) Army
.....................................................................................
........................................................................................
..............................................................................................
.......................................................................................
....................................................................................
Read the following statements and mark right ( d ) or wrong ( X ) Admiriisrmtion and Law
2)
i) Under the new judicial system, the civil and revenue adminlstrat~onwere'
separated from each other.
ii) The existing traditional and religious laws were abolished from the very
beginning under the new system.
iii) The lndian Penal Code was applicable only in Bengal.
iv) lndian participation in the British Services was confined to lower ranks only.
2-4.4 LET US S U M UP
P
In the 19th century India started a process in which new legal and administrative
institutions came into being, grew and took a definite shape. This process was a
product of certain British ideas on the Indian problems from the early 19th century
Q onwards, as well as certain changes in British interests pressing for administrative
reforms. The result was network of laws applicable throughout the country and a
vast administrative structure to implement the laws. This structure was truly modern
i'n nature and pan-Indian in its spread. Its impact, clearly visible only in the 20th
century was somewhat ambivalent in nature. To the British Government it provided
the channels for control over the Indian people, and for greater penetration into
India. To the Indians on the other hand, it provided the ground on which a protest
could be launched and the authority of the British could be challenged.

EXERCISES

1) See Sub-sec. 24.2.1
2) In your answer you should refer to thechanges in the British interests thereby
necessitating a comprehensive administrative structure in the 19th century. See
Sub-sec. 24.2.2.
I) i) and ii) See Sub-sec. 24.3.1 iii) and iv) See Sub-sec. 24.3.2
-
UNIT 25 SOCIAL POLICY A N D INDIAN

RESPONSE
Structure
25.0 Objectives
25.1 Introduction
25.2 Historiography of Colonial Policy Formation
25.3 Early Social Policy of the British
25.4 Changes in Colonial Social lntervention
25.4.1 lntanticide
25.4.2 Sati
25.4.3 Shvery
25.5 The British Policy and the lndian Response : An Assessment
25.6, Let Us Sum Up
25.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
25.0 OBJECTIVES
Aftdr reading this Unit you will learn :
the factors which shaped the colonial social policy
the early social policy of the British in lndia
svbsequent British intervention in lndian social practices, and
the impact of British social policies, and the lndian response.
25.1 INTRODUCTION
Tha latter half of the 18th century saw the English East lndia Company emerge as a
victorious commercial military power in Bengal after its victories a t the Battles of
Plassey and Buxar. The remaining decades of the 18th century and the early 19th
century witnessed the slow and halting transformation of the British Company from
trader-conquerors t o rulers. This shift necessitated the establishment of institutional
inftjastructures and a definite policy perspective for governing the subject population.
This process was marked by an initial dependence on pre-colonial institutions and
mekhanisms of rule, followed by ad hoc modifications in them, finally culminating in
reordering af the institutions of government.
Economic and intellectual developments in-Britain, combined with the requirements
and limits of the newly established colonial government of lndia provide the context
for the formulation of state policies i n colonial India.
25.2 HISTORIOGRAPHY OF COLONIAL POLICY

FORMATION
T h t study of colonial policy becomes important t o understand the state's
intervention in society. Early British administrators and subsequent lndian
nationalist economists like R.C. Dutt, who commented on British policies in lndia,
in spite of their opposing views shared certain common assumptions. Both viewed
the colonial state as a monolithic entity which had the power t o effect
transformations in lndian society if it chose to. Following from this assumption it
was logical t o focus on the upper levels of the state machinery to understand the
direction and nature of state policy.
Later, Marxist writers such as R a j n ~Palme Dutt in their study of British policy
formulation focused o n the requirements of the metropolitan economy. Another
I noticeable stream in the historiography of this subject has focused on the multiple
ideological influences on colonial policy makers as the dominant determinant of
policy formulation. More recent studies at the regional and district levels have tried
to counter the earlier preoccupation with the monolithic colonial state as the prime
variable in the framing of policies. These works attribute great significance to local
power configurations in determining the final outcome of state policies.
Social Policy and
lndian Response
25.3 EARLY SOCIAL POLICY OF THE BRITISH

The term social policy covers wide range of policies pertaining to law. education, ,
family, criminality, status ranking, social information gathering and various other
similar kinds of state intervention for the collective life of the governed population
with the object of regulating it. Given the extremely wide coverage of the term 'social
policy' and the fact that some of these areas have already been covered in earlier
Units, we shall concentrate in this Unit on British attitudes towards certain lndian
attention and action in early colonial period. It may be mentioned at the outset that
most of our discussions refer largely to Bengal. Being the headquarters of the
Company's government in lndia and its early subjugation to British rule, Bengal
provided a laboratory where the government developed many of its early state
policies. Bengal was also the region where there existed a substantial number of
educated middle class people who played a role in evolving a social policy. The
economic activities of the British in Calcutta and the spread of western education
among its upper classes contributed to the exhilaration of social and cultural life in
the city. he' Western educated Bengali elite, therefore. actively discussed and
responded to British policies. apart from trying to shape its formulation.
Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of lndia, was in favour of creating an
English bureaucracy, which would be well versed in lndian languages and responsible
to lndian traditions. In 1784 Hastings noted that "Every accumulation of knowledge
and especially such as is obtained by social communication with people over whom
we exercise dominion founded on the right of conquest, is useful to the stage : it is
the gain of humanity ......" For Hastings the mastery over traditional lndian
languages provided the key to understanding lndia and communicating with the
subject population. With this end in mind he drafted a proposal for creating a
professorship in Persian at Oxford. Civil servants were encouraged to learn Persian
and Hindustani before coming to India. Since the Company took official action on
the issue of language training only as late as 1790, Hastings as an immediate
solution. gathered around himself a group of civil servants who we're dedicated to the
study and translation of lndian texts on law and jurisprudence. To encourage such
activity. Hastings offered attractive financial inducement for translation exercises.
Under his patronage Bengali became the first Sanskrit based vernacular to be studied
systematically by Englishmen. Nathaniel Halched, a close aide of Hastings compiled
and translated into English a set of Hindu customary and religious laws. In 1788 he
published a Grammar of the Bengali Language.
Hasting's efforts at reproducing Company documents in lndian languages promoted
the beginning of printing and publishing in Calcutta. Warren Hastings was also
instrumental in founding the Asiatic Society which was to help in 'rediscovering' the
early traditions of Indians. The establishment of the Calcutta Madrassa was another
step in this direction.
The cultural and social policy during Hasting's governor generalship has often been
explained as one inspired by the ideology of British Orientalism. It must be kept in
mind that this ideology also fitted in with the requirements and limits of the British
empire in India. Knowledge about the subject population, their social customs,
manners and codes were essential prerequisites for developing. Permanent
institutions of rule in lndia, Hasting's policy to rule the conquered in their own way
and resist anglicization reflected a combination of Orientalist conceptions and
elements of political pragmatism. Early British oficial reports on the conditions of
the Malabar on the West Coast exhibit the above discussed tendency to view native
social practices sympathetically even when they differed from Western norms. For
instance late 18th century reports describe the Nair custom of matriliny and
polyandry without contempt. Company officials reported on polyandry amongst Nair
Impact of British Rule : women. explaining it as a consequence of the marital profession of the Nayar males.
Polity and Society
Later in the nineteenth century matrilineal inheritance came to be viewed as
'unnatural' and Nayar female polyandry was condemned as 'concubinage' and
'immoral'.
Check Your Progress I

1) What are the various trends in historical writings on colonial policy formulation?
Write in 50 ~ c ~ r d s .
2) Wha: u a s the cultural a n d social policy of the Hnt~shduring Warren Hastirigs

Governor (jeneralship'? Write in ten line>.
25.4 CHANGES IN COLONIAL SOCIAL

INTERVENTION
Sinct the end of Hasting's tenure as governor-general the attitude and policies of the
lndian Government slowly and hesitatingly but progressively moved in the direction
of cautiously intervening in lndian social institutions. Orientalism which was the
characteristic feature of Hastings period now came to be criticized by a variety of
ideological streams which shared the belief that lndian society needed urgent
modernization and westernization. The Evangelical challenge led by William
Wilberforce and Charles Grant (who later became the President of the Company's t
Board of Control) asserted that Hinduism was based on superstition. idolatory and
the tyranny of the priests. Their avowed objectives were to modernize lndians by
Christian missionary proselytization. The 'Radicals' headed by Jeremy Bentham.
James Mill and John Stuart Mill based their ideas on utilitarian nations of reason
and science. They advocated happiness of the greatest number rather than liberty as
the aim of good government. The protection of individual life and property were
seen as the means to achieve this goal.
These contending ideologies provided the ideological determinants of policy
formulations. Pragmatic considerations of not provoking widescale resentment and
revolt acted as severe constraint in the wRolesale application of Western ideals on
India. We shall now turn tb detailed study of some specific instances of
governmental intervention in social practices.
25.4.1 Infanticide
The first traditional social custom which was suppressed by the British lndian
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 Social Policy and
Rajputs, the Jats, the Mewatis and the Rajput Rajkumars of Benares gave rise to the Indian Response
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. Duncan knew that in the prevailing social system female children
were an economic liability to their families and he promised monetary compensation
by the Government if the Rajkurnars abandoned this practice.
Reverend Ward in his book A View of the History, Literature and Religion of the
Hindoos provides a detailed description of the practice of infanticide in Bengal.
William Carey, a missionary in the College of Fort William vehemently argued for
abolishing these customs. A member of the Governor General's Council who was
sympathetic to the Serampore Missionaries pointed out these social evils to
Wellesley. Carey after consulting Hindu pundits submitted a petition to the
government for immediately suppressing these practices. 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 V1 of 1802.
The abolition of infanticide which appears to have been effective in Bengal did not
result in any significant opposition by the public. Probably its limited practice in
Bengal and the absence of religious sanction allowed the British to stamp it out
easily. The banning of infanticide in other parts of India does not appear to have been
effective, as this practice continued even after its prohibition.
In the case of suppression of infanticide the initiative for change came for local level
officials and missionaries. The Governor General gave his assent only after
ascertaining the views of the Hindu pundits and the unlikely possibility of such a
measure causing public hostility.
25.4.2 Sati
The next significant state intervention in Indian social life was the suppression of
widow burning or sati. This practice was widespread in all the three Presidencies at
the beginning of the 19th century with the larger number of reported incidents being
in the lower districts of Bengal.
OFFICIALLY REPORTED INCIDENTS O F SAT1 IN THE LOWER PROVINCES
. 1815-1823
No. of incidents
Calcutta
Dacca
Murshidabad
Patna
Benares
Bareilly
Total
Widow burning was practised not only by the Brahmans but also other castes.
However, in proportion to the total population the incidence of Sati was very
limited. For example during the 1825 cholera epidemic when more than 25,000
people died, the total number of widow burnings amounted to only 63 in Bakarganj
district of Bengal.
As early as 1795 Colebrook tried to demonstrate that this practice constituted a
departure from the authentic Vedic tradition. Though Sati had been a vogue from
very ancient times in India, a number of Indian rulers including Akbar, Jahangir,
Guru Arnardas, the Maratha chief Ahalya-bai, the Peshwas, the King of Tanjore and
the Portuguese in Goa tried to discourage this practice.
Impact of British Rule : No sustained and systematic effort was made to suppress this inhuman practlce till
Polity and Society the 19th century. While the other European companies in Bengal had banned widow
burruing 'in their territories, the Calcutta Supreme Court disailowed it only in one
part of the city.
The Igovernment's early attitude towards this practice can be seen when in 1789,
Brooke, the collector of Shahabad disallowed an act of Sati. Referring the case of
Governor-General Cornwallis, he noted "The rites and superstitions of the Hindu
religion should be allowed with the most unqualified tolerance, but a practice at
which human nature shudders cannot permit without particular instruction"
Cormwallis replied asking him not to employ coercive methods and try and persuade
the people to stop this practice. In 1797 the Midnapore District Magistrate who
stopped the burning of a child widow was asked by the Governor General to avoid
coercion and use persuasion.
Led by William Carey, the Serampore Missionaries conducted a survey on widow
burqing in the vicinity of Calcutta. Carey got the pundits employed by the college of
Fort William to collect Hindu shastras containing information on Sati. After
studying these he concluded that whereas Hinduism did not forbid it, it did not
make it -obligatory either. Carey then sent a memorial to Wellesley for curbing Sati.
In 1805 Wellesley asked the Judges of the Nizamat Adalat to find out to what extent
the practice of Sati was based on Hindu religion. The Pundits of the court declared
that forcible burning of widows was not permitted. The court also noted that %ti
being widely practised and popular among Hindus, any measure to abolish it would
result in considerable dissatisfaction amongst them.
In 1813 after some vacillation the governmen't fixed the minimum age for a widow to
become Sati at sixteen years and declared that a mother of a child less than three
yearb could not become Sati unless another person undertook to look after the child.
In 1819 and 1821 two Judges of the Supreme Court pleaded for an immediate
suppression of Sati arguing that such a measure would not result in any serious
public resentment. This plea was rejected by the government. In 1821 Lord Hastings
refused to authorize the total abolition of Sati fearing it would incite religious
fanalticisms. Hasting's successor Lord Amherst was against the prohibition of Sati
becaluse he feared that such a measure would have immediate adverse repercussions
on the sepoys of the army. The Bombay government and Charles Metcalfe in Delhi
were also not in favour of immediately suppressing this custom.
While the government dithered over this issue the Westernized Bengali intelligentsia
led by Rammohan Roy actively agitated for the abolition of Sati. In 1818 he sent a
petition to the government urging them to abolish this practice and counter
orthodox Hindu demands against prohibition. A vigilance committee was organized
to slirictly implement the age restrictions on the practice of Sati. Rammohan engaged
in a polemical debate with the supporters of Sati such as Kasinath Tarkavagish
(18 IY), wrote pamphlets and newspaper articles to mobilize public opinion against
this customs. He used his journal Sambnd Kaumudi to further his campaign, with
papers like Samachar Darpan and B q a d u t supporting him. The Samachar
Chandrika became the organ of his orthodox Hindu opponents. s
Meanwhile the Christian missionaries attracted English public attention to the evils
of %ti and the urgent need for its prohibition by the government, in Britain. The
Parliament instructed the Indian government to publish all the available information
on %ti.
In spite of the mounting demand for its abolition in India and Britain the
parljament, and the company authorities in England did not want to take any
decision themselves, not knowing what reaction it would produce in India. Finally it
was left to Bentinck, the Governor-General to legislate against Widow burning in
December 1829.
The abolition of widow-burning by the government did not result in any visible
disaffection or resentment among the Indians. As in the case of infanticide, the
initiative for banning widow burning came mainly from the Western educated Indian
intelligentsia, Christian missionaries and individual administrators. The marked
procrastination by the Company's government in abolishing it was mainly due to its
extreme fear of inciting a violent Indian reaction.
25.4.3 Slavery . Social Policy and
Indian Response
Slavery was another institution which came under attack in British India. Slavery as
a system of labour exploitation was prevalent in lndia till its abolition in 1843. The
extent and economic significance of the slave labour in general economic terms,
however, varied greatly from region to region. In Bombay and Calcutta slaves
constituted an article of trade; Arab traders brought slaves from Arabia and Africa
for sale. In order to survive famines, such as the one in 1803, a large number of poor
offered themselves in the slave market.
In Madras. unlike the other two presidencies, predial slavery was very important.
This form of slavery was very significant in the region's agricultural production.
Malabar. Coorg and Canara were the chief areas where widespread predial slavery
existed.
Procrastination was once again the most evident feature in the Government of lndia
attitude towaqds the abolition of slavery. As early as 1774 the Government was
concerned about this practice. Evangelical propaganda against slavery led by
Wilberforce helped in focusing public attention in Britain on the evils of slavery in
India. Though Britain abolished slave trade in her dominions in 1820. the Company
in lndia acknowledged the legality of slavery on the grounds that it was a traditional
practice with religious sanction.
The Charter Act of 1832 directed the lndian Government to ameliorate the condition
of slaves "assoon as extinction shall be practicable and safe, and should prepare
drafts of laws and regulations for the purposes aforesaid."
This led to the appointment of the lndian Law Comm.ission of 1835. Though its
primary task was to frame a Penal code. the law commission drew up an anti-slavery
Report in 1841. The Law Commission requested the government that some of.its
members be permitted to conduct local level enquiries into the practice. The
government refused this request.
In 1839 the Law Commission submitted a Draft Act whereby inflicting corporal
punishment on slaves was made a penal offence. Before taking any action on the
Draft Act the Commissioners discussed the possibility of such a measure exciting
public disaffection. Regulation X of 181 1 (prohibition of import of slaves by land),
Regulation IV of 1832 (prohibition of inter provincial movement of slaves) and the
practical abolition of slavery in Delhi were reviewed and seen to have had no hostile
repercussions. Several members of the commission were against immediate passing
of the Act and letters were sent to ascertain the views of the Bombay and Madras
governments on the issue. The Bombay government did not feel the need for any
special law and the Madras administration also doubted the expediency of such an
Act.
Under pressure of parliamentary opinions. the law commission was again asked to
frame a new Act which after considerable delay on the part of the lndian
Government was passed as Act V of 1845, abolishing slavery in lndia.
The impact of the Act suppressing slavery was however very limited. The most
crucial provision in the Act merely stated that no claim to the labour of a slave was
to be recognized in a British court of law and that a government official could no
longer force a slave to return to his master.
The more important factor in the decline of slavery was the generation of souices of
alternate employment in the later 19th-century in plantation and public works.
25.5 THE BRITISH POLICY A N D THE INDIAN .

RESPONSE : AN ASSESSMENT
The above discussion suggests significant shifts in British attitude towards lndian
traditions and culture. The changing servitor role of the lndian colony and the
pragmatic political considerations of the lndian government produced the context
which defined the direction of state policies in India.
Impact of British Rule The conscious attempts at state intervention in India's social practices and customs
Polity and Society were extremely limited in their impact. However, the colonial government by altering
the political configuration of precolonial India did trigger off significant structural
social changes. The British consciously denied political power and privileges to the
precolonial ruling Indian groups while recognising their social and caste status.
Education was also an important instrument of social changes, perhaps more
effective than legislation. (See Unit 21).
The small Western educated Bengali intelligentsia epgaged in debates with the state
on policy matters, responded to policy changes and independently tried to bring
about social changes in Bengal. This groups of intelligentsia which included
personalities like Rammohan Roy and Keshub Chandra Sen were impressed by
Britain's progress and convinced that Indian society needed urgent social change. At
the same time the resisted anglicization as well as Christian missionary attempts to
convert Indians.
Intellectuals like Rammohan Roy offered to their countrymen a reformed Indian
religion, vedantism, free of superstition and priesthood. The Brahmo Samaj, which
was their organizatienal form coupled Hindu reformation with an adoption of
progressive Western values. Unfortunately the Brahmos and the Bengal reformist
groups could mot extend their campaign beyond the restricted Western educated'
urban Bengali population. The message of social reform, however, spread gradually
to many parts of India and brought about reform movement under Indian initiative,
independent of governmental support. (See Units 26 and 27).
It may therefore be reiterated that the pragmatic considerations of the British Indian
government acted as a strong check to the translation of reformist ideas into state
policies in India. Social and religious institutions were an area in which the
government intervened with great caution. Even the policy of limited state
intervedtion in social affairs, surveyed above, suffered a total reversal in the period
after the 1857 revolt. From then onwards social reform was left mainly to indigenous
initiative.
Cheek Your Progress 2

I ) What were the reasons for the changes that took place In the colon~al\dciai
policy in the period after Warren Hastings?
2) Write on the development and the impact of British policies with refsre~lceto
Sati, Infanticide. and slavery.
Some Useful Books
for this Block
25.6 LET U S S U M U P
After reading this Unit we hope that you have grasped the various ideological and
material factors which provided the direction for British social policy in India. The
Government of lndia cautiously intervened in Indian social practices under pressure
from individual administrators. missionaries and Indian social reformers. However,
the impact of these policies (except in the field of education) was extremely limited
and did not provoke any significant lndian response. In the post 1857 period even
these limited efforts at social changes were consciously abandoned by the colonial
government.

EXERCISES
\
Check Your Progress I

I) See Section 25.2
2) See Section 25.3

I) You should gather your information from Section 25.3 and 25.4 and then
compare the two.
2) See Section 25.4
SOME USEFUL BOOKS FOR THIS BLOCK

Datta K.K.(ed.), A Comprehensive History of lndia Volume XI.
Chandra, Bipan, Modern India.
Kopf. David. British Orientalism and the Bengal Renaissance
Stokes. Eric, English Utilitarians and India

Unit 23 Constitutional DEVELOPMENTS (1757-1858) : 23.0 Objectives

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23.3 THE REGULATING ACT, 1773

23.4 PITT'S INDIA ACT, 1784

Check Your Progress 1

23.5 CHARTER ACT OF 1793

23.6 CHARTER ACT OF 1813

23.7 CHARTER ACT OF 1833

Check Your Progress 2

23.8 CHARTER ACT OF 1853

23.9 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT. 1858

Check Your Progress 3

1 23.10 LET US SUM UP

23.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress 2

Check Your Progress 3

24.2 THE BACKGROUND

24.2.1 British Thinking on Administration

the making of a civil society).

24.3 INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

24.3.1 ' The Judicial system

Sadar Diwani Adalat

Sadar Nizarnat Adalat (Sadar Fauzdari Adalat in Madras, Bombay)

24.3.2 Administrative System

The Civil Service

The A m y and the Police

However, the officers of the army, as in other branches of administration, were

24.3.3 Extent of Indian Participation

Check Your Progress 2

ii) ~ ~ u a l i t y ' b e f o rLaw.

24.5 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress 1

UNIT 25 SOCIAL POLICY A N D INDIAN

25.2 HISTORIOGRAPHY OF COLONIAL POLICY

25.3 EARLY SOCIAL POLICY OF THE BRITISH

Check Your Progress I

2) Wha: u a s the cultural a n d social policy of the Hnt~shduring Warren Hastirigs

25.4 CHANGES IN COLONIAL SOCIAL

25.5 THE BRITISH POLICY A N D THE INDIAN .

Cheek Your Progress 2

25.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress I

Check Your Progress 2

SOME USEFUL BOOKS FOR THIS BLOCK

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