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Government of India Act 1858
 
 
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The Government of India Act 1858, actually entitled An Act for the Better Government of India, is an Act
Act of Parliament

An act of Parliament is a statute wikt:enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. It is broadly equivalent to an act of Congress in the United States....
 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
 (21 & 22 Vict. c. 106) passed on August 2, 1858. Its provisions called for the liquidation of the British East India Company
British East India Company

The East India Company was an early England joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the Indies, but that ended up trading with the Indian subcontinent and China....
 (who had up to this point been ruling British India under the auspices of Parliament) and the transference of its functions to the British Crown. Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston

Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Order of the Garter, Order of the Bath, Privy Council of the United Kingdom was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
, then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the head of government Her Majesty's Government....
, 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.

The main provisions of the bill were:

The Act ushered in a new period of Indian history, bringing about the end of Company rule in India
Company rule in India

Company rule in India refers to the rule or dominion of the British East India Company on the Indian subcontinent. This is variously taken to have commenced in 1757, after the Battle of Plassey, when the Nawab of Bengal surrendered his dominions to the Company, in 1765, when the Company was granted the diwani, or the right to collect rev...
 and replacing it with the system of direct rule of an area defined as British India, under the British Crown
The Crown

Throughout the Commonwealth realms, the Crown is an abstract metonymy concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government....
, this rule being known much later as the British Raj
British Raj

British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule....
.






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The Government of India Act 1858, actually entitled An Act for the Better Government of India, is an Act
Act of Parliament

An act of Parliament is a statute wikt:enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. It is broadly equivalent to an act of Congress in the United States....
 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
 (21 & 22 Vict. c. 106) passed on August 2, 1858. Its provisions called for the liquidation of the British East India Company
British East India Company

The East India Company was an early England joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the Indies, but that ended up trading with the Indian subcontinent and China....
 (who had up to this point been ruling British India under the auspices of Parliament) and the transference of its functions to the British Crown. Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston

Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Order of the Garter, Order of the Bath, Privy Council of the United Kingdom was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
, then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the head of government Her Majesty's Government....
, 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.

The main provisions of the bill were:
  • The Company's territories in India were to be vested in the Queen, the Company ceasing to exercise its power and control over these territories. India was to be governed in the Queen's name.
  • The Queen's Principal Secretary of State
    Secretary of State for India

    File:John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn - Project Gutenberg eText 17976.jpgThe office of Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was created in 1858 when Company rule in India ended and British India was brought under direct British administration ....
     received the powers and duties of the Company's Court of Directors. A council of fifteen members was appointed to assist the Secretary of State for India. The council became an advisory body in India affairs. For all the communications between Britain and India, the Secretary of State became the real channel.
  • The Secretary of State for India was empowered to send some secret despatches to India directly without consulting the Council. He was also authorised to constitute special committees of his Council.
  • The Crown was empowered to appoint a Governor-General and the Governors of the Presidencies.
  • Provision for the creation of an Indian Civil Service under the control of the Secretary of State.
  • All the property of the East India Company was transferred to the Crown. The Crown also assumed the responsibilities of the Company as they related to treaties, contracts, and so forth.


The Act ushered in a new period of Indian history, bringing about the end of Company rule in India
Company rule in India

Company rule in India refers to the rule or dominion of the British East India Company on the Indian subcontinent. This is variously taken to have commenced in 1757, after the Battle of Plassey, when the Nawab of Bengal surrendered his dominions to the Company, in 1765, when the Company was granted the diwani, or the right to collect rev...
 and replacing it with the system of direct rule of an area defined as British India, under the British Crown
The Crown

Throughout the Commonwealth realms, the Crown is an abstract metonymy concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government....
, this rule being known much later as the British Raj
British Raj

British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule....
. This era would last until independence was granted to India and Pakistan in August 1947.

See also

  • East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act
    East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act

    The East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act was an Act of Parliament of theParliament of the United Kingdom, passed in 1874, that formally dissolved the British East India Company....
  • British India
  • British Raj
    British Raj

    British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule....
  • Secretary of State for India
    Secretary of State for India

    File:John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn - Project Gutenberg eText 17976.jpgThe office of Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was created in 1858 when Company rule in India ended and British India was brought under direct British administration ....
  • India Office
    India Office

    The India Office was the British government department responsible for the direct administration of British Raj. It was headed by the Secretary of State for India, who was a member of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom's Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
  • Governor-General of India
    Governor-General of India

    The Governor-General of India was the head of the British Raj in India, and later, after Indian Independence Act 1947, the representative of the List of Indian monarchs#Kings of India and Pakistan....
  • Government of India Act 1909
    Government of India Act 1909

    Indian Councils Act of 1909, commonly known as the Morley-Minto Reforms, began when John Morley, the Liberal Secretary of State for India, and the Conservative Governor-General of India, Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, believed that cracking down on terrorism in Bengal was necessary but not sufficient for restoring...
  • Government of India Act 1935
    Government of India Act 1935

    The Government of India Act 1935 was passes during the Interwar period and was the last pre-independence constitution of British Raj. The significant aspects of the act were:...
  • History of Bangladesh
    History of Bangladesh

    Bangladesh became one of the last large nation states in 1971 when it seceded from Pakistan. Prior to the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Bangladesh was a part of India which was ruled the British Empire and Mughal Empires....
  • History of India
    History of India

    The known history of India begins with the Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, from c....
  • History of Pakistan
    History of Pakistan

    The history of Pakistan as a state began with independence from British India on 14 August 1947, although the region has been inhabited continuously for at least two million years; its ancient history includes some of the oldest settlements of South Asia and some of its major civilizations....


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