9. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT, 1858 ("Act for the Better Government of India")

9. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT, 1858 ("Act for the Better Government of India")

Background: Passed in the aftermath of the Revolt of 1857; ended Company rule and transferred power to the British Crown. Introduced by PM Lord Palmerston / passed under Lord Derby's ministry (Sec of State: Lord Stanley).

Key Provisions

• Ended the rule of the East India Company; transferred all powers of government, territories, and revenues to the British Crown.
• Rule of India by and in the name of the British Crown/Monarch — India to be governed by and in the name of Her Majesty.
• Abolished the Board of Control and Court of Directors (double government ended).
• Created a new office: Secretary of State for India — a member of the British Cabinet, based in London, with complete authority and control over Indian administration; responsible to the British Parliament.
• Secretary of State assisted by a 15-member advisory council called the Council of India (India Council) — purely advisory, no real power.
• Governor-General of India given the new title/additional designation of "Viceroy of India" — direct representative of the Crown in India. First Viceroy: Lord Canning (who was already Governor-General).
• Established a new, streamlined administrative machinery — unified administration under the Crown, ending the dual system.
• Redistribution of powers between home (British) government and government in India.

Significance/Impact

• Marks the formal end of East India Company rule (1600–1858) and the beginning of direct Crown/British Government rule (1858–1947).
• Centralized administration under a single British Cabinet minister (Secretary of State).
• Introduced a system of accountability to the British Parliament.
• Did NOT introduce any representative institution or increase Indian participation — purely an administrative reorganization; no legislative reforms.

Key Facts / Quick Revision Points

• Year: 1858
• Ended: EIC rule (started 1600 as a trading company)
• Created: Secretary of State for India (in London) + Council of India (advisory, 15 members)
• First Viceroy of India: Lord Canning
• Title added: Governor-General also became Viceroy
• No legislative/representative reform — purely administrative transfer of power

Additional Notes

• Queen Victoria's Proclamation of 1 November 1858 (read out at Allahabad) accompanied this Act — it promised religious non-interference, equal treatment of Indians in government service (in principle), and honouring existing treaties with princely states — often confused with the Act itself in exam options, but the Proclamation was a royal announcement, not an Act of Parliament.
• The Company's 24,000-strong European troops were merged into the British Crown's army; the Indian Army was substantially reorganised post-1857 (higher ratio of British to Indian troops, artillery kept almost exclusively under British control).
• The Secretary of State for India was made a member of the British Cabinet and was paid out of Indian revenues — a long-standing nationalist grievance (India paying for its own subjugation), highlighted later by Dadabhai Naoroji's "Drain of Wealth" theory.