The announcement of contemplated changes in the Government of India, has naturally given rise to various suggestions as to the policy

to be adopted in the future Administration of that portion of the British Empire.

The expansion of the British Empire at the end of the eighteenth century simply concurred in the point of time with the loss of those American provinces which had therefore formed the bulk of our colonial domain.

1853 charter

The company was to continue to govern India in trust for the crown until Parliament should direct otherwise. While renewing the charter parliament took care to curtail the power and privileges of the company. The Charter Act of 1853 cut down the numbers of Directors from 24 to 18, of whom six were to be appointed by the crown. The Directors were deprived of their patronage over Indian appointments as the covenanted civil service was now thrown to competition.

The provisions of 1853 Act were: 1. The Governor-General was empowered to nominate a vice-president of his council. 2. Discussion as regards measures to be taken was thrown open to the public. 3. Different legislative measures to select committees for examination were entrusted. 4. It was made necessary that the consent of the Governor-General be sought for all legislative purposes. 5. Provinces were allowed to be represented in the Central Legislative Council and it was provided that each province should send its own representative. 6. Provision of appointing a separate governor for the presidency of Bengal was made. 7. The court of Directors were empowered to constitute a new presidency. 8. Monopoly of the Court of Directors on appointments and patronage was taken away and it was provided that further vacancies would be filled by competitive examination. In 1854, a committee, with Lord Macaulay as President was appointed for the purpose. 9. The number of Directors was reduced to 18, of them 6 were to be nominated by the crown.

10. With a view to examining and putting into shape the reports of Acts left by the Indian Law Commission and to recommending appropriate legislation the crown was authorized to appoint a Law Commission in England. 11. Renewal of the power of the company to retain position of the Indian Territories in trust of Her Majesty, her hiers and successors, only until Parliament would otherwise provide.

Administration of Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856) The period of Lord Dalhousies administration, which extended to eight years, was rendered memorable, not less by administrative reforms and material progress, than by its political results. He simplified and lubricated the whole machinery of the Government. He had an unconquerable aversion to what he considered the cumbersome and obstructive agency of Boards, and he considered individual responsibility to be the secret of success in public business. He abolished the Board of Customs, Salt and Opium, and transferred its duties to the Board of Revenue which he, unhappily, left standing A. The Military Board, 1850 The Board was not only viciously constituted, but loaded with duties, which could not have been efficiently performed by it, even if its organization had been perfect. After a complete investigation of the subject, he withdrew from its control, in the first instance, the Army Commissariat, one of the most important departments of the army, on the efficiency of which its movements in the field depend. It was placed in the hands of a Commissary-General; and the practice of keeping accounts in Persian, which had lingered for nearly a century was at the same time abolished, and they were ordered to be rendered at once in English:

B. Public Works Department, 1852 The Board had likewise been laden with the superintendence of all public works, and in no department of duty had our failure been more palpable and more flagrant. The Court of Directors became at length fully alive to the scandal of this neglect, and ordered a Commission of enquiry to be appointed at each Presidency. It was on the receipt of their report that Lord Dalhousie proceeded to reorganize the system, root and branch. The

charge of the works was withdrawn from the Board which was then abolished and a Public Works Department became one of the institutions of Government, with a separate Secretary, not only to the Government of India, but to that of each Presidency1. The responsibility of management was vested in a Chief Engineer, assisted by executive officers and subordinates appointed from England, and youths trained in the College of Roorkee, and at the corresponding colleges founded in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. This was, in fact, to supply the need which had long been felt in India of a civil engineering establishment. , it was ordered that a schedule of all the undertakings which it was proposed to commence, or to carry on during the year, at each Presidency, and under each commissionership now designated the budget should be submitted at the beginning of the year to the Government of India. Funds were supplied with a lavish hand. C. Education, 18481855 The cause of education received special encouragement from Lord Dalhousie. Mr. Thomason, the enlightened Governor of the north-west provinces, had established a Government vernacular school in each revenue division of certain districts under his charge. The experiment was attended with such signal success, that Lord Dalhousie resolved to extend the system to the whole of the north-west provinces as well as to Bengal and the Punjab. . At the suggestion of Mr. Bethune, the legislative Member of Council, who devoted his time and his purse to the cause of female education, Lord Dalhousie officially announced that the education of females was considered by the British Government an object of national importance, and he was the first GovernorGeneral who had the courage to proclaim this doctrine in the teeth of native prejudices. On the death of Mr. Bethune, he took on himself the support of the female school established by him. D. Revenue, finance, commerce, 184855 The revenue of India was advanced during Lord Dalhousies administration from twenty-six to thirty lacs of rupees. The wars in which the Government of India had been engaged, with little interruption for more than ten years, had absorbed thirty crores of rupees, and entailed an annual
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deficit; but for some little time after they had ceased there was a trifling surplus. The deficiency which appeared again during the last two years of Lord Dalhousies rule, was occasioned by the copious expenditure which he authorized in the department of public works for the improvement of the country. During the period of eight years now under review, the commerce of Bombay was developed to an extraordinary extent, and that of Calcutta was doubled. . The apprehension which was entertained of interruption to the commerce of Calcutta from the silting up of the Hooghly led him to contemplate the establishment of an auxiliary port, and after careful surveys, he fixed upon the Mutlah, a channel in the Soonderbuns, twenty-eight miles east of Calcutta, which presents every facility of navigation for the largest vessels. Lord Dalhousie likewise gave every encouragement to the project of a bridge across the Hooghly, at Calcutta, which, after the establishment of the railway, became an indispensable necessity. Boring operations were commenced under his auspices; but twelve years have since been allowed to elapse without any further progress in a work, which, if he had been in power, would long have been completed. E. Character of Lord Dalhousies Administration, 1856 Eight years of incessant toil in the service of his country had completely exhausted his constitution, and after a painful and lingering illness of more than four years, he sunk into the grave on the 19th December, 1860. His administration marks a new and important era of civilization in India. The principle of uninterrupted progression which has since characterized the movements of Government is due to the impulse which he communicated to it. He grasped the largest projects for the improvement of the country, and his views of policy were of imperial magnitude. He communicated vigour to the administration by exacting a rigid performance of duty from all under him, and he set them the example of his own intense application to public business, to which, by a noble devotion, he sacrificed leisure, ease, comfort, and even health. He investigated every question that came before him with great patience and diligence, and with a scrupulous desire to be right. F. The evolution of British policy concerning India following the failure of the 1857 revolution: The revolution had a very deep impact on Indian society and British policy. After the revolution, the first concern of the British was to re-establish their rule on a firmer

footing. They began by carefully separating those who stood with them and those who took part in the revolution. They generously rewarded the former, and meted out fearsome punishment to the latter. The British media at that time was vociferously demanding that those Indians who had revolted against them should be treated like wild animals undeserving of any human consideration; they should be punished so brutally that their future generations might not ever entertain even the thought of rebellion against the British2. Following this policy, the British carried out large-scale oppression through much of north India. The stories of oppression of that time make one tremble even now.

On the other hand, those who had stood by the British were handsomely rewarded. The Sikh states of east Punjab, which had provided crucial help in the re-conquest of Delhi, were given many honours and privileges. In 1861, when the Indian Council Act was enacted, the Raja of Patiala was one of only three Indian to be accommodated in the Council. But, the British were very careful in choosing the groups that they wanted to reward. At that stage, they were not yet willing to bring the English-educated Indians into positions of power or responsibility. By that time, a class of English-educated Indians had developed only in Bengal. Many such educated persons from Bengal had been incorporated into the British administration, mainly as clerks, and appointed in different parts of India; the Bengali settlements in all those cities and towns of north India, which became the centres of British administration, were a consequence of that process. The educated Bengalis had supported the British during the revolution, as we have seen earlier. But, the British did not trust the Bengalis. They consciously decided to keep them out of all positions of power. They were not incorporated in the Assemblies and, within the administration, they were relegated to lower positions, mainly in judicial and revenue departments. After 1857, the British redefined their goals in India. Earlier they thought of withdrawing, but now they began talking of and planning for a permanent stay in India. They began to assert that they had conquered India through the sword and would continue to rule over it through the sword. They also began to count the tremendous advantages that had accrued to them through their conquest.3 It had given them the

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stature of a world power. The wealth of India and the opportunities of investment that it offered were crucial in making Britain and her people wealthy. In the immediate aftermath of 1857, the British were in no mood to give up these advantages or to share the administration of India with Indians. The British in fact kept the key levers of power in their own hands till the end. At different stages, Indians were given representation, but all control remained with the British. Even in the Act of 1935, which purported to considerably expand Indian representation, effective power was kept with the Governors. That was why Congress was initially reluctant to accept the Act, though later they acquiesced as a consequence of carefully thought out strategy.

After 1857, the internal British discussion was all about keeping India under control through force and keeping the Indians out of the centres of power. But for public consumption, the British also presented a fade of reconciliation. The Queens proclamation granting Indians the status of equal subjects of the Empire and promising non-interference in their religious affairs, amongst other things, was an attempt in that direction. Incidentally, the proclamation was issued on November 1, 1858. The rebellion and the revolution in Avadh and in Madhya Bharat continued till 1859. Tantiaa Tope was hanged in 1859. But the British were convinced of their victory already towards the end of 1858.4

The revolution had made the British conscious of the importance of modern means of communication. Steamships and telegraph had proved crucial in ensuring their victory. After 1857, the British expended major effort on expanding telegraphs, railways and postal system to have a better grip of the country.5 And they determined to carry out a similar expansion of English education to substantially expand the numbers of the emerging English-speaking class.

www.factsofindia.in/1857revolt last visited on 19.03.2013

G. Mutiny and Revolt 1857-58 The English Company had been ruling more and more of India for a century since Clive's conquest of Calcutta in 1757. The British may have had economic success, but the people of India were suffering from ruined industries, oppressive land tax, and lack of education for most of the people. The law courts were not impartial; police were more feared than respected; and prisons were wretched. The large Indian population had become passive and had little influence on administration. English officials were not very accessible to people, who could not present their grievances as they had before. British administration was less personal, slower, delayed, and frequently changing. Most Indians did not understand English law, and Muslims particularly disliked the use of English instead of Persian in the courts. Worst of all, Indians were systematically excluded from higher offices in government and the military. Even well educated Indians could not sit on legislative councils or be given covenanted service.

The Charter Act of 1813 had unleashed proselytizing Christian missionaries, and gradually Indians came to fear that the British wanted to convert all of India to Christianity. Sayyid Ahmad Khan complained that the famine of 1837 had been used to make orphans Christians, and some believed the Government was reducing people to poverty so that they would adopt Christianity. Many rebellions had broken out in various places since the end of the Maratha wars in 1818. Bhils revolted in 1819, 1825, 1831, and 1846. Rumors about the Burma War 1824-26 stimulated rebellions in various places. In 1830 and 1831 revolts broke out in Vizagapatam. Hindu College students began demanding more offices for Indians in 1843, and ten years later Ram-gopal Ghosh called for opening the civil service to Indians. Kolhapur revolted in 1844 as did the Khonds two years later. Moplah insurrections occurred four times between 1849 and 1855. That year the Santals began a revolt that went on for two years. The Company's army had English officers with natives called sepoys (from sipahi for soldier) as most of the rank and file. The Indians in the army outnumbered the British by more than five to one; but all the top officers were British, and most of the expenditures were for them. Sepoys complained of low salaries and little chance for promotion. Hindus objected that going outside of India violated their caste rules, and Muslims did not want to fight those of their religion in

Afghanistan and other places6. The Madras governor promised the Bengal army a special allowance for going to Sind; but this was not fulfilled because it was against Bengal regulations. In 1856 the new Governor-General C. J. Canning implemented the General Service Enlistment Act requiring all new recruits to serve abroad; he did not think it would cause bad feelings. In Awadh more than 60,000 troops had been recently dismissed with small gratuities, and ill Commissioner James Outram was replaced by the insensitive Coverley Jackson, who ignored complaints, delayed paying grants and pensions, treated Talukdars harshly, approved heavy assessments on cultivators, and lived in the ex-king's palace. That month Brahmin sepoys at Dumdum became concerned that the new Enfield rifles required them to bite open cartridges that were smeared with grease from the fat of hogs and cattle. Muslims are forbidden to eat pork, and Hindus do not eat beef. The rumor spread to Barrackpur, where they complained to General Hearsey. He let them use their own grease, and the Government approved. However, the Adjutant-General wired back that such concessions would increase the suspicion; he said that the sepoys had been using cartridges greased with mutton fat for years. The sepoys suspected that cow and pig fat were being used in order to convert them to Christianity, and they began to set fire to officers' bungalows at Barrackpur. On March 29 Mangal Pandey of the 34th NI shot at two officers, tried to shoot himself, and was put in the hospital. Other sepoys said that he had taken too much bhang (cannabis). He and another were tried and executed, and later many called the mutineers Pandeys. The 34th was disbanded, but discontent and acts of arson spread. On May 2 the 7th Awadh regiment refused to bite the greased cartridges. Commissioner Henry Lawrence learned of threats to kill officers, and he persuaded the mutineers to lay down their arms. Rumors also spread that bone dust from cows was being put in flour and wells. At Mirat forty miles north of Delhi, 85 troopers from the Third Cavalry had refused to touch the cartridges on April 24. They were tried by a court martial and sentenced to ten years. On parade before other unarmed sepoys they were stripped of their uniforms and shackled as armed British soldiers watched. 7On the Sunday night of May 10 while the British were in church, sepoys from the Third Cavalry released their comrades from jail. The 20th and 11th

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infantry regiments seized their muskets and killed Col. Finnis. After that, the sepoys and freed convicts killed Europeans, plundering and burning their houses. The sepoys decided to go to Delhi, but the British commander did not pursue them. The Sepoys from Mirat reached Delhi at dawn, entered the Red Fort, and proclaimed elderly Bahadur Shah II emperor. Delhi had only three regiments of sepoys; they joined the mutiny, killed officers, and plundered Europeans, who fled. A few British officers led by Lt. George Willoughby managed to explode much of the ammunition magazine. The uprisings spread down the Ganges to Bihar and south to Gwalior, Jhansi, and Bundelkhand. The Madras and Bombay presidencies were fairly free of revolt, which was concentrated in Delhi, Awadh, and Rohilkhand.

Rohilkhand had no British regiments and was taken over by mutineers in Bareilly on May 31. Khan Bahadur Khan was the grandson of Rohilkhand's deposed nawab, and he had tried to warn the British commissioner of the coming mutiny. He quickly joined the mutiny as Bahadur Shah's viceroy and ordered all the English executed. He began organizing revenue collection and appointed Hindus as well as Muslims. However, communal conflict erupted, and Hindu officers were despoiled. Sepoys plundered the rich and looted the shops. Khan Bahadur Khan governed Rohilkhand for nearly a year. He hired the poor, raising an army of 40,000 troops.

In Bengal only troops at Dacca and Chittagong mutinied. Several mutinies broke out briefly in Bihar led by Kunwar Singh, but the Deccan was quiet except at Kolhapur. Mutiny attempts at Ahmadabad in Gujarat and Hyderabad in Sind failed, and the one at Karachi was quickly put down. The mutinies were generally spontaneous and local without coordination. After killing and plundering, many sepoys went home with their loot; some mutineers set out for Delhi as the center of the revolt8. Maulavi Ahmadulla of Faizabad had actually called for a holy war against the English infidels in January 1857, but the Muslims in Madras did not really act on this. So Ahmadulla went north. Sambalpur was ripe for rebellion because British annexation had raised their taxes from 8,800 rupees to 74,000. Imprisoned Surendra Sal was freed and led the revolt there that lasted
8

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1862.

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In the Punjab most of the sepoys were disarmed. At Lahore 600 Europeans disarmed 2,500 sepoys on May 13. Some resisted at Firozpur. At Peshawar the 55th regiment fled; of the 120 caught 40 were executed by cannons. John Lawrence was in Rawalpindi and worked to raise loyal troops to retake Delhi. The English officers took control of the forts at Phillaur, Govindgarh, Kangra, Attock, and Multan.9 Gurkha regiments disobeyed and seized the treasury at Kasauli; but they returned to their barracks when their demands were met. News of the mutiny stimulated raiding by the Ranghar and Gujar tribes. Lt. Col. John Nicholson and Frederick Cooper led forces that tracked down mutineers and executed hundreds of prisoners to deter revolt in the Punjab. Brigadier Hodson recruited 200 Punjabis for each of 74 regiments; half of them were Sikhs. However, only Jat Sikhs were recruited, as the lower castes were excluded; Mazhabis were hired to build roads and dig canals. By the end of August 1757 a total of 34,000 Punjabi troops had been raised. Ahmad Khan led an uprising in Multan in September that lasted two months. George Lawrence managed to keep the Rajputana region under control. General Campbell assembled a large army of 30,000, including Sikhs, Punjabis, and 9,000 Gurkhas led by Jang Bahadur himself, for the retaking of Lakhnau. This was accomplished on March 21, 1858; but while they looted and destroyed Lakhnau, about 60,000 armed rebels scattered throughout Awadh. Governor-General Canning proclaimed that all proprietary rights in Awadh would be confiscated except for six he named and others who could prove their loyalty. As James Outram predicted, this had the effect of causing the Talukdars to fight a guerrilla campaign instead of helping to restore order.10 Outram mitigated its effect somewhat by circulating a letter that cases of land confiscated after annexation would be reheard. Ellenborough, President of the Board of Control, was so outraged by the proclamation that he wrote a scathing letter to Governor-General Canning in which he reminded him that influential landowners had been deprived of their property and that the hostilities in Awadh had "rather the character of legitimate war than that of rebellion."3

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The widowed Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi had had her kingdom annexed by Dalhousie. When the sepoys mutinied in Jhansi, they slaughtered dozens of Europeans; they threatened the Rani, took her money, and departed for Delhi, leaving her in charge of the administration. She wrote two letters to the commissioner of Saugor, who asked her to govern Jhansi on behalf of the British. She fought against an invasion by the chiefs of Orchha and Datia by forming an alliance with the rebel raja of Banpur. She sent more letters to the British that were not answered. Jhansi was attacked by Hugh Rose's army of about 6,000 on March 30 when Tantia Topi arrived with 20,000 men. Rose managed to attack them, causing Tantia to flee. Then his British forces stormed the fort at Jhansi on April 4 and slaughtered about 5,000 people. The Rani escaped dressed as a man. She and Rao Sahib were joined by Tantia Topi near Gwalior and won over Sindhia's army to take that fort, proclaiming Nana Sahib peshwa. However, Rose defeated these rebels at Gwalior. Rani Lakshmi Bai was one of the few rebel chiefs to be killed in battle, and Rose called her the bravest of the rebels. Tantia was eventually captured, tried, and hanged in April 1859. Rao Sahib was not arrested and hanged until 1862.

Campbell's army defeated Khan Bahadur Khan's army of 40,000 near Bareilly on May 5, 1858, ending the rebellion in Rohilkhand. Maulavi Ahmadulla, Begam Hazrat Mahal, and other rebel leaders continued to fight. After Ahmadulla proclaimed himself king and threatened Shahjahanpur, the Governor-General offered a reward of 50,000 rupees for his arrest. The Maulavi was shot dead at Powain on June 5, and the raja cut off his head and took it to the Shahjahanpur magistrate, who paid him the reward. That month Canning passed an Act to control the Calcutta press that equally applied to English as well as Indian publications. The Arms Act of September required licenses for firearms, swords, and other weapons.11 His Clemency Resolution was designed to stop the indiscriminate hanging of sepoys for merely being part of a mutinous regiment, but the vindictive derisively called him "Clemency Canning."

Ben Madho was defeated, but he left a fort with 15,000 men and continually managed to escape. Colin Campbell had to destroy 1,572 forts in order win back the province of Awadh. He organized 5,000 police to help civil authorities after his army departed. On November first a full
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pardon was promised to all rebels who had not murdered British subjects and would return to their homes by the end of December. Most of the remaining rebels were driven toward the border region of Nepal by the end of 1858. Jang Bahadur announced that Nepal would not give refuge to rebels, and more than 2,000 were turned over to the British. Nana Sahib took refuge in the jungles of Nepal and probably died there. Many in England and India wanted more vengeance, but the Governor-General wisely limited the prosecutions. Later Viceroy Curzon commended Canning's clemency because the government that punishes revengefully loses the respect of its subjects.

The India Bill of August 1858 ended the century of rule by the East India Company, replacing the Court of Directors and Board of Control by putting the British government in charge using a secretary of state and a council of fifteen with a majority having ten years experience in India. On November 1, 1858 Queen Victoria proclaimed that Canning would be the first viceroy and that they would respect the rights of native princes and ancestral land-owners; they would not discriminate on the bases of religious faith or observances; all were to have equal and impartial protection of the law; those in authority must abstain from interfering with religious belief or worship; all Indian subjects regardless of race or creed, should be admitted to offices according to the qualifications of education, ability, and integrity. The Queen's proclamation was called the Magna Carta of the Indian people.12 Provisions of Government of India Act, 1858 The British, in the form of East India Company, came to trade but found themselves in the role and position of a ruler. India was ruled by the company from the 1600- 1858 before the Company was wound up and the governance passed into the hands of the Crown i.e. the British Government. In the year 1858 when the British Crown assumed sovereignty over India from East India Company, and Parliament enacted the first statute for the governance of India under the direct rule of the British Government,--the Government of India Act,1858. This Act transferred the government, territories and revenue of India from the East India Company to the British Crown.13 In other words the rule of the Company was replaced by the rule of Crown in India. The powers of the British Crown were to be exercised by the Secretary of State for India. Thus
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the Board of Control and Court of Directors were replaced by this new office. The Secretary of State was a member of the British Cabinet and was assisted by Council of India, having fifteen members. The Council was composed exclusively of people from England, some of whom were nominees of the crown while others were the representatives of the Directors of the East India Company. The Government of India Act 1858 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom 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. Lord Palmerstone, 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 this Act are: (a) 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. (b) 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 appointed 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. (c) 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. (d) The Crown was empowered to appoint the Governor General of India and the Governors of the Presidencies. (e) It also provided for the creation of the Indian Civil Service under the control of the Secretary of State. (f) 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 that of direct rule by the British Crown, known as the British Raj.

After-effect of 1858: Observers like Cunningham have remarked that the assumption of the Government of India by the Crown was rather a formal than a substantial change, yet it may be said that it changed the entire outlook of Britishers and Indians as regards popular government in India. It created a consciousness in India which converted into a definite sentiment of strong nationality which emerged in the Indian people at a later stage. The proclamation assured that the Indian princes for the preservation of their existing territories by the declaration that the British government did not desire any extension of its territories and would respect the dignity and honour of the Native Princes. There was equality to Indian subjects with respect to British subjects. But all this was short lived. Britishers extradite the local peoples as before which never came into light and it became a tension for the peoples to live under them. This led to the rise of Indian Councils Act, 1861 which cited many rules and regulations for the benefit of the peoples. It never intended to nullify the rules of the 1858 Act, but it stood firm on its stand.