The Revolt of 1857 proved to be a turning point in Indian History. Because it ended the traditional leadership in India. It was because of the Doctrine of Lapse of Dalhousie which ended the rule of Princely state. Now India came under the direct control of Britishers.
Also in the Revolt of 1857, the educated middle class did not take participate. As they were having faith in the British Constitution. This was also one of the many factors of the failure of the Revolt of 1857. After 1857, the power center changed from the East India Company to the British Crown. So, here came the first act after crown rule, the Government of India Act 1858.
Government of India Act 1858
The important features of the Government of India Act 1858 were,
End of Dual Government
India was basically the achievement of the East India Company. But the financial crisis during the period of Warren Hastings (1770-1780s) gave the opportunity to British Crown to have profits of the achievement of East India Company.
1773, saw the coming of the Regulating Act while 1784 saw the birth of the board of control. Therefore from 1784 to 1857, there were two masters of India,
- Court of Directors, on behalf of the East India Company.
- Board of Control, on behalf of the British Crown.
This led to the extreme exploitation of India during this period. The Government of India Act 1858 ended this dual government. So, India now came under the command of the Secretary of State with its 15 members council. The first Secretary of State was Charles Wood. Though this was a new element of the act still it caused frustration among the masses. The reason is explained in the below diagram,
Appointment of Indian Civil Service Commissioner
The story of Modern civil services started from the covenanted civil services in 1765 during the period of Cornwallis. Initially, the selection of civil servants was the monopoly of the court of directors. As civil servants are policymakers and they were selected by the court of directors so they bothered about the interest of East India Company.
This was the cause of contention for the Board of Control. Therefore Parliament took the steps to overrule the interference of EIC officials from the civil services. So, by the Charter Act of 1833, talent became the basis for the selection of civil services. But monopoly was still in the hand of the court of directors.
So, next came the Charter Act of 1853 declared examination as the basis of examination. Finally, with the revolt of 1857, the challenge from EIC was over forever. British Crown adopted civil services as a new name ie India Civil Services. But public service commission in India was established by the act of 1919.
Therefore from 1858 to 1919 management and regulation of civil services were done by the Indian Civil Services Commissioner. This also caused some frustration for the people.
Causes of Frustration
The examination of Civil Services started in 1853. But 1st Indian Civil Servant was Satyendra Nath Tagore in 1864, after 11 years. The reason behind this was the examination pattern. The examination pattern was framed as such that it became a hurdle and challenge for the Indian. Example,
- The examination center was only in England.
- Latin was a compulsory language.
- Horse riding was compulsory.
So, now the major demand of moderate leaders was the Indianisation of higher services.
Responsible Government??
According to the provisions of the Government of India Act 1858, Secretary of States can be sued for his actions in India. In this way, Secretary of State was brought under the ambit of law. This was the beginning of responsible government in India. But this also caused frustration for the people.
This was because in 1858, 90% people were illiterate and India was a slave country. So, it was not possible for the people to stand up against highest authority. In this way, the Government of India Act 1858 laid the foundation of constitutional development in India.
Though it gave a shock to the educated middle class. So, as a reaction middle class started promoting political organization to protest against the misrule of the British Crown. So, this led to the coming of the next act in 1861. About which, we shall discuss this in the upcoming post.
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