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Parliament and the Company, 1773–1853

मराठीत स्पष्टीकरण

Constitutional development, 1773–1935 · Part 1 / 3 · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

Why Parliament began to regulate the East India Company, the Regulating Act of 1773 and its defects, the Act of Settlement of 1781, Pitt's India Act of 1784 and the double government, the Act of 1786, and the Charter Acts of 1793, 1813, 1833 and 1853 that ended the Company's trade, centralised law-making and opened the civil service to competition.

Each idea is explained first in Marathi (मराठी), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Marathi and revise it in English.

1773 ते 1935 या काळात ब्रिटिश संसदेने केलेल्या कायद्यांच्या साखळीने एका व्यापारी कंपनीच्या राजवटीचे पूर्ण शासनव्यवस्थेत रूपांतर केले. पहिला भाग: ईस्ट इंडिया कंपनी अजून राज्य करत होती पण संसदेला अधिकाधिक जबाबदार होत गेली तो काळ — 1773 चा रेग्युलेटिंग ॲक्ट, 1784 चा पिट्स इंडिया ॲक्ट, 1853 पर्यंत चार चार्टर ॲक्ट. दुसरा भाग: 1858–1919 राजसत्तेचे शासन, परिषदांत भारतीयांचा प्रवेश; तिसरा भाग: 1935 चा कायदा. घर एका दिवसात बांधत नाहीत — वीटेवर वीट; आपल्या संविधानातील केंद्रीय कायदेमंडळ, स्वतंत्र न्यायालये, सनदी सेवा परीक्षा अशा विटा याच कायद्यांत सुरू झाल्या. (→ English: East India Company, Regulating Act, Charter Act · हिन्दी: ईस्ट इंडिया कंपनी, रेग्युलेटिंग एक्ट, चार्टर एक्ट)

In exam EnglishBetween 1773 and 1935 the British Parliament passed a long chain of Acts that turned a trading company's rule into a full system of government for India. This chapter follows that chain in three parts. Part 1 covers the years when the East India Company still ruled but answered more and more to Parliament: the Regulating Act of 1773, Pitt's India Act of 1784 and four Charter Acts that renewed the Company's licence until 1853. Part 2 covers rule by the Crown and the slow entry of Indians into legislative councils from 1858 to 1919, and Part 3 the Government of India Act 1935. The topic matters for Prelims because many features of today's Constitution, such as a central legislature, a high court system independent of the executive and an open examination for the civil service, first took shape in these Acts.

1760 च्या दशकापर्यंत कंपनी फक्त व्यापारी राहिली नव्हती. 1765 मध्ये बंगाल, बिहार, ओरिसाची दिवाणी मिळाल्यावर ती श्रीमंत प्रांताचा महसूल गोळा करत होती; तरी लंडनमध्ये भागधारकांना उत्तरदायी व्यवसाय म्हणूनच चालवली जात होती. नोकर खासगी व्यापार आणि राजांच्या नजराण्यांतून श्रीमंत झाले; कंपनी मात्र कर्जात. 1770 च्या बंगालच्या दुष्काळाने महसूल आणि नाव दोन्हीला धक्का. 1772 मध्ये कंपनीने ब्रिटिश सरकारकडे कर्ज मागितले. संसदेने मदत केली, पण चौकशी समित्याही नेमल्या. गावचा तलाव एका व्यापाऱ्याकडे सोपवला आणि तो पाणी विकू लागला तर ग्रामपंचायत गप्प बसेल का? लाखो लोकांवर राज्य करणारी संस्था पूर्ण खासगी हातांत ठेवता येणार नाही म्हणून पहिला नियंत्रक कायदा आला. (→ English: diwani, Bengal famine of 1770 · हिन्दी: दीवानी, 1770 का बंगाल अकाल)

In exam EnglishBy the 1760s the Company was no longer just a trader. After it received the diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1765, it collected the revenue of a rich province, yet it was still run from London as a business answerable to its shareholders. Its servants in India built private fortunes through trade on their own account and through gifts from Indian rulers, while the Company itself slid into debt. The Bengal famine of 1770, in which a very large number of people died, hurt both its revenue and its name. In 1772 the Company asked the British government for a loan. Parliament agreed to help, but it also appointed committees to look into the Company's affairs, and many members concluded that a body governing millions of people could not be left wholly in private hands. The answer was the first Act to regulate how the Company ruled in India.

1773 च्या रेग्युलेटिंग ॲक्टने पहिल्यांदा संसदेने कंपनीचा प्रदेश कसा चालवायचा ते ठरवले. बंगालचा गव्हर्नर बंगालचा गव्हर्नर जनरल झाला — पहिले वॉरन हेस्टिंग्ज; चार सदस्यांच्या परिषदेसह, बहुमताने निर्णय. युद्ध-शांतीच्या बाबतीत मुंबई, मद्रासचे गव्हर्नर त्याच्या हाताखाली. कलकत्त्यात सर्वोच्च न्यायालय — 1774 मध्ये एलायजा इम्पे मुख्य न्यायाधीश, आणखी तीन न्यायाधीश. नोकरांना खासगी व्यापार, नजराणे, लाच बंदी; संचालकांनी महसूल, मुलकी, लष्करी पत्रव्यवहार ब्रिटिश सरकारपुढे ठेवायचा. वडीलधाऱ्यांनी पहिल्यांदा 'हिशोब दाखव' म्हटले तो दिवस — संसदीय नियंत्रण आणि केंद्रीय प्रशासनाची सुरुवात. (→ English: Regulating Act, Governor-General · हिन्दी: रेग्युलेटिंग एक्ट, गवर्नर-जनरल)

In exam EnglishThe Regulating Act of 1773 was the first time Parliament laid down how the Company's territories in India were to be governed. The Governor of Bengal became the Governor-General of Bengal, the first being Warren Hastings, and he was to govern with a council of four members, decisions being taken by majority. The Governors of Bombay and Madras were placed under him in matters of war and peace with Indian powers. A Supreme Court of Judicature was set up at Calcutta; it began work in 1774 with Sir Elijah Impey as Chief Justice and three other judges. Company servants were forbidden to carry on private trade or to accept presents and bribes, and the directors in London had to place the Company's correspondence on revenue, civil and military affairs before the British government. The Act is remembered as the beginning of parliamentary control over the Company and of a central administration for British India.

कायदा घाईत लिहिला गेला, उणिवा लवकर दिसल्या. गव्हर्नर जनरलला परिषद डावलता येत नव्हती; काही वर्षे फिलिप फ्रान्सिसच्या नेतृत्वाखालील विरोधी बहुमताने हेस्टिंग्जना हरवले. सर्वोच्च न्यायालयाची हद्द कुठवर ते सांगितले नव्हते. प्रसिद्ध प्रसंग: हेस्टिंग्जवर भ्रष्टाचाराचा आरोप करणाऱ्या नंदकुमारांवर बनावटगिरीचा खटला चालवून 1775 मध्ये फाशी. घरच्या कर्त्याला आणि गावच्या पंचायतीला हद्द सांगितली नाही तर भांडण ठरलेले — म्हणून 1781 चा ॲक्ट ऑफ सेटलमेंट: अधिकृत नात्याने केलेली कामे आणि महसूल वसुली न्यायालयाच्या हद्दीबाहेर; वैयक्तिक कायद्याच्या बाबतीत हिंदूंना हिंदू कायदा, मुस्लिमांना मुस्लिम कायदा. (→ English: Act of Settlement 1781, jurisdiction · हिन्दी: एक्ट ऑफ़ सेटलमेंट 1781, क्षेत्राधिकार)

In exam EnglishThe Act was drafted in haste and left gaps that soon caused trouble. The Governor-General had no power to overrule his council, and for some years Hastings was outvoted by a hostile majority led by Philip Francis. Nor did the Act say how far the Supreme Court could reach: whether it could judge the council's official acts, revenue cases, or Indians who were not Company servants. The best-known clash was the case of Nandakumar, who had accused Hastings of corruption, was then tried by the Supreme Court for forgery and was hanged in 1775. To settle such disputes, Parliament passed the Act of Settlement of 1781, also called the Amending Act. It placed the Governor-General and council beyond the Supreme Court's jurisdiction for acts done in their official capacity, kept revenue matters and their collection out of its reach, and directed it to respect Indian customs and to apply Hindu law to Hindus and Muslim law to Muslims in matters of personal law.

1784 चा पिट्स इंडिया ॲक्ट (पंतप्रधान विल्यम पिट द यंगर यांच्या नावाने) ब्रिटिश सरकारला भारताच्या शासनात कायमचा वाटा दिला. सहा आयुक्तांचे नियंत्रण मंडळ — त्यात चॅन्सेलर ऑफ द एक्स्चेकर आणि एक सेक्रेटरी ऑफ स्टेट — मुलकी, लष्करी, महसुली कारभारावर देखरेख करेल. व्यापार आणि नेमणुका कोर्ट ऑफ डायरेक्टर्सकडे. एका शेताचे दोन मालक — एक माल विक्री, दुसरा लागवडीचे निर्णय — तीच 'दुहेरी शासनव्यवस्था', 1858 पर्यंत. 'भारतातील ब्रिटिश अधिकृत प्रदेश' हा शब्दप्रयोग, परिषद तीन सदस्यांची, मुंबई-मद्रास कलकत्त्याला अधिक बांधलेले. (→ English: Pitt's India Act, Board of Control, double government · हिन्दी: पिट्स इंडिया एक्ट, नियंत्रण बोर्ड, दोहरी सरकार)

In exam EnglishThe Pitt's India Act of 1784, named after the Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, gave the British government a lasting share in ruling India. It created a Board of Control of six commissioners, among them the Chancellor of the Exchequer and a Secretary of State, to supervise and direct the civil, military and revenue affairs of the Company's territories. The Court of Directors kept charge of commerce and the right to appoint Company officials. Because authority was now split between a body of the government and the board of a company, this arrangement is called the double government, and it lasted until 1858. The Act also referred to the Company's territories as 'British possessions in India', cut the Governor-General's council to three members, and tied the presidencies of Bombay and Madras more firmly to Calcutta in matters of war, diplomacy and revenue. From now on, the Crown had a definite and continuing hand in the government of India.

नंतर दोन लहान कायदे. कॉर्नवॉलिस भारतात यायला तयार झाले तेव्हा हेस्टिंग्जकडे नसलेले अधिकार मागितले: 1786 च्या कायद्याने विशेष प्रसंगी परिषद डावलण्याचा अधिकार, सरसेनापतीपदही. पहिला चार्टर ॲक्ट (1793) कंपनीची सनद, व्यापारी हक्कांसह, आणखी 20 वर्षे वाढवली; परिषद डावलण्याचा अधिकार पुढच्या गव्हर्नर जनरलांना आणि प्रेसिडेन्सी गव्हर्नरांना; नियंत्रण मंडळाचे पगार भारतीय महसुलातून. खंडाचा करार दर 20 वर्षांनी नवा केला तर दरवेळी मालकाला अटी बदलण्याची संधी — संसदेला तोच फायदा. (→ English: Act of 1786, Charter Act 1793 · हिन्दी: 1786 का अधिनियम, चार्टर एक्ट 1793)

In exam EnglishTwo shorter Acts followed. When Lord Cornwallis agreed to go to India, he asked for powers that Hastings had lacked, and the Act of 1786 allowed the Governor-General to override his council in special cases affecting the safety or interests of the British possessions; it also let him hold the office of Commander-in-Chief. The first of the Charter Acts, in 1793, renewed the Company's charter, and with it its trading rights, for twenty more years. It extended the power to override the council to later Governors-General and to the Governors of the presidencies, and it laid down that the salaries and costs of the Board of Control would be paid out of Indian revenues. The habit of renewing the charter every twenty years mattered in itself: each renewal gave Parliament a regular chance to examine the Company's rule and to reshape it.

1813 पर्यंत ब्रिटनमध्ये कंपनीच्या व्यापारी विशेषाधिकारांविरुद्ध मत. ॲडम स्मिथच्या मुक्त व्यापाराच्या कल्पना, नेपोलियनच्या खंडीय व्यवस्थेमुळे युरोपची बाजारपेठ बंद — ब्रिटिश उत्पादकांना भारतात मोकळेपणाने विकायचे होते. 1813 च्या चार्टर ॲक्टने भारताशी व्यापाराची मक्तेदारी संपवली — चहाचा व्यापार आणि चीनशी व्यापार मात्र कंपनीकडेच. गावात एकच किराणा दुकान होते, आता सर्वांना दुकान टाकायची परवानगी मिळाली तसे. राजसत्तेच्या सार्वभौमत्वाची घोषणा, मिशनऱ्यांना परवानगी, शिक्षणासाठी दरवर्षी किमान एक लाख रुपये — शिक्षणावर खर्च हे आपले कर्तव्य असे कंपनीने पहिल्यांदा मान्य केले. (→ English: Charter Act 1813, monopoly · हिन्दी: चार्टर एक्ट 1813, एकाधिकार)

In exam EnglishBy 1813 opinion in Britain had turned against the Company's trading privileges. British manufacturers and merchants, drawn to the free-trade ideas of Adam Smith and shut out of European markets by Napoleon's Continental System, wanted to sell freely in India. The Charter Act of 1813 ended the Company's monopoly of trade with India, but kept its monopoly of the trade in tea and of trade with China. It asserted the sovereignty of the Crown over the Company's Indian territories while leaving the Company to administer them for another twenty years. After a campaign by evangelical groups in Britain, it allowed Christian missionaries to come to India and preach. It also set aside not less than one lakh of rupees every year for reviving literature, encouraging learned Indians and promoting knowledge of the sciences, the first time the Company accepted that spending on education was part of its duty.

1833 चा चार्टर ॲक्ट हे केंद्रीकरणाचे शिखर. बंगालचा गव्हर्नर जनरल भारताचा गव्हर्नर जनरल झाला — सर्व मुलकी, लष्करी बाबींवर अधिकार; पहिले लॉर्ड विल्यम बेंटिंक. मुंबई, मद्रासच्या गव्हर्नरांचा कायदे करण्याचा अधिकार गेला; संपूर्ण ब्रिटिश भारतासाठी एकच कायदेकर्ता. आधी 'रेग्युलेशन्स', आता 'ॲक्ट्स'. परिषदेत चौथा सदस्य — विधी सदस्य, पहिले मेकॉले. विधी आयोग — मेकॉलेंच्या नेतृत्वाखालील मसुदा 1860 मध्ये भारतीय दंड संहिता. घरातल्या प्रत्येक खोलीचे वेगळे नियम न ठेवता एकाच कर्त्याने नियम लिहावेत तसे. (→ English: Governor-General of India, law member, Law Commission · हिन्दी: भारत का गवर्नर-जनरल, विधि सदस्य, विधि आयोग)

In exam EnglishThe Charter Act of 1833 was the high point of centralisation. The Governor-General of Bengal became the Governor-General of India, with authority over all civil and military affairs, and Lord William Bentinck was the first to hold the title. The Governors of Bombay and Madras lost their power to make laws, and the Governor-General in council became the single law-making authority for the whole of British India. Laws made under this Act were called Acts, whereas the earlier ones had been called Regulations. A fourth member, the law member, joined the council for legislative business, and Thomas Babington Macaulay was the first. The Act also provided for a Law Commission to codify Indian law; the commission under Macaulay drafted what became the Indian Penal Code, enacted in 1860. For the first time one government at Calcutta held legislative and administrative authority over all British territory in India.

त्याच कायद्याने कंपनीचे व्यापारी आयुष्य संपवले — चहा, चीन व्यापाराच्या मक्तेदाऱ्याही रद्द; आता राजसत्तेच्या वतीने विश्वस्तासारखा कारभार करणारी प्रशासकीय संस्था एवढेच. कलम 87: धर्म, जन्मस्थान, वंश, रंग यांमुळे कोणत्याही भारतीयाला कंपनीच्या पदासाठी अपात्र ठरवू नये — सरकारी पदांवर समान संधीचे पहिले कायदेशीर आश्वासन; भारतीय नेत्यांनी दशकानुदशके याचा उल्लेख केला. पण प्रत्यक्षात फार बदलले नाही: 'सर्वांना प्रवेश' असा मंदिरावर फलक लावून गाभाऱ्याचे कुलूप न उघडावे तसे — स्पर्धा परीक्षेचा प्रयत्न संचालकांनी हाणून पाडला, मोठी पदे युरोपीयांकडेच. गुलामगिरी कमी करण्याचे निर्देश; 1843 मध्ये उच्चाटन. (→ English: Section 87, Charter Act 1833 · हिन्दी: धारा 87, चार्टर एक्ट 1833)

In exam EnglishThe same Act ended the Company's life as a trader. Its remaining monopolies, of tea and of the China trade, were abolished, and it became a purely administrative body that held its Indian territories in trust for the Crown. Section 87 declared that no native of India should be disabled from holding any office under the Company because of religion, place of birth, descent or colour. This was the first statutory promise of equal access to public office, and Indian leaders quoted it for decades afterwards. In practice little changed: an attempt to introduce competition into the selection of civil servants came to nothing because the Court of Directors opposed it, and senior posts stayed with Europeans. The Act also directed the government to take steps to mitigate slavery, which was finally abolished in British India in 1843.

1853 चा चार्टर ॲक्ट हा अशा प्रकारचा शेवटचा. पहिल्यांदा गव्हर्नर जनरलच्या परिषदेचे कायदेविषयक आणि कार्यकारी काम वेगळे केले. कायद्यांसाठी सहा नवे 'विधिमंडळ सदस्य' — ती मोठी सभा म्हणजे इंडियन (सेंट्रल) लेजिस्लेटिव्ह कौन्सिल, लहान संसदेसारखी चालली. त्यांपैकी चार मद्रास, मुंबई, बंगाल, आग्रा येथील स्थानिक सरकारांकडून — केंद्रीय कायदेनिर्मितीत पहिल्यांदा स्थानिक प्रतिनिधित्व. वशिल्याच्या नेमणुका बंद, सनदी सेवेसाठी खुली स्पर्धा — 1854 मेकॉले समितीची योजना; भारतीयही परीक्षा देऊ शकत, पण परीक्षा लंडनला. संचालक 24 वरून 18, सहा राजसत्तेनियुक्त. मुदत नसलेली सनद — मालक घर खाली करायला कधीही सांगू शकतो. (→ English: Indian Legislative Council, open competition · हिन्दी: भारतीय विधान परिषद, खुली प्रतियोगिता)

In exam EnglishThe Charter Act of 1853 was the last of its kind. For the first time it separated the legislative and executive work of the Governor-General's council. Six new members, known as legislative councillors, were added for making laws, and the enlarged body, which came to be called the Indian (Central) Legislative Council, worked like a small parliament with its own rules and debates. Four of these new members were appointed by the local governments of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra, bringing local representation into central law-making for the first time. The Act ended the directors' patronage over appointments and opened the covenanted civil service to open competition; a committee under Macaulay drew up the scheme in 1854, and Indians too could now sit the examination, although it was held in London. The number of directors was cut from 24 to 18, six of them nominated by the Crown. Unlike earlier charters, this one ran for no fixed term, so Parliament could end the Company's rule whenever it chose.
The Acts of the Company period at a glance
ActKey changes
Regulating Act 1773Governor-General of Bengal and council of four; Bombay and Madras subordinate; Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774); private trade and presents banned
Act of Settlement 1781Official acts of the Governor-General in council and revenue matters outside the Supreme Court; personal laws respected
Pitt's India Act 1784Board of Control and Court of Directors (double government); 'British possessions in India'; council of three
Act of 1786Governor-General may override council; also Commander-in-Chief (Cornwallis)
Charter Act 1793Charter renewed for 20 years; overriding power extended; Board of Control paid from Indian revenues
Charter Act 1813Trade monopoly with India ended except tea and China; missionaries allowed; Rs 1 lakh a year for education
Charter Act 1833Governor-General of India (Bentinck); all law-making centralised; laws called Acts; Company's trade ended; law member; section 87
Charter Act 1853Legislative and executive work separated; Legislative Council with local members; open competition for civil service; no fixed term

एकत्र पाहिल्यास 1773–1853 च्या कायद्यांत चार कल: (1) कंपनीवर संसदेची पकड घट्ट — 1773 चौकशी, 1784 नियंत्रण मंडळ, 1853 मुदत नसलेली सनद. (2) सत्तेचे केंद्रीकरण — बंगालच्या गव्हर्नर जनरलपासून संपूर्ण ब्रिटिश भारतासाठी कायदे करणाऱ्या भारताच्या गव्हर्नर जनरलपर्यंत. (3) व्यापारी स्वरूप कमी होत 1833 नंतर पूर्ण थांबले. (4) कायदेनिर्मिती प्रशासनापासून वेगळी होऊन 1853 ची परिषद आली. शेवटच्या चार्टर ॲक्टनंतर कंपनी उसन्या वेळेवर राज्य करत होती; 1857 नंतर 1858 च्या कायद्याने भारत राजसत्तेकडे सोपवला. (→ English: Charter Act, centralisation · हिन्दी: चार्टर एक्ट, केंद्रीकरण)

In exam EnglishSeen together, the Acts from 1773 to 1853 show four steady trends. Parliament's grip on the Company tightened, from inquiry and regulation in 1773 to shared rule through the Board of Control in 1784 and an open-ended charter in 1853. Power was centralised, from a Governor-General of Bengal with loose control over the other presidencies to a Governor-General of India who alone made laws for all British India. The Company's commercial character shrank until, after 1833, it no longer traded at all. And law-making slowly separated from administration, producing in 1853 a legislative council that included members chosen by the local governments. The last Charter Act left the Company a ruler on borrowed time. After the Revolt of 1857, the Government of India Act 1858 took the final step and transferred India to the Crown, which is where Part 2 begins.

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Who was the first Governor-General of India?

  1. Warren Hastings
  2. Lord Cornwallis
  3. Lord William Bentinck
  4. Lord Canning
Show answer

Answer: C. Lord William Bentinck

(c) is correct: the Charter Act of 1833 made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India, and Bentinck was the first. (a) is wrong: Hastings was the first Governor-General of Bengal under the Regulating Act. (b) is wrong: Cornwallis was a Governor-General of Bengal, given wider powers by the Act of 1786. (d) is wrong: Canning became the first Viceroy in 1858.

Q2. Consider the following statements about the Regulating Act of 1773:
1. It provided for a Supreme Court at Calcutta.
2. It created the Board of Control to supervise the Company's political affairs.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

(a) is correct. Statement 1 is true: the Supreme Court began work at Calcutta in 1774. Statement 2 is false: the Board of Control was created by Pitt's India Act of 1784. So (b) and (c) are wrong because they accept statement 2, and (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Q3. Which Act ended the East India Company's monopoly of trade with India but kept its monopoly of the tea trade and the trade with China?

  1. Charter Act of 1793
  2. Charter Act of 1813
  3. Charter Act of 1833
  4. Charter Act of 1853
Show answer

Answer: B. Charter Act of 1813

(b) is correct: the 1813 Act opened Indian trade to British merchants but kept tea and the China trade with the Company. (a) is wrong: the 1793 Act renewed the monopoly for twenty years. (c) is wrong: the 1833 Act ended even the tea and China monopolies. (d) is wrong: by 1853 the Company no longer traded.

Q4. Match List I with List II:
List I (Act) — List II (Provision)
A. Regulating Act 1773 — 1. Board of Control
B. Pitt's India Act 1784 — 2. Law member added to the council
C. Charter Act 1833 — 3. Open competition for the civil service
D. Charter Act 1853 — 4. Governor-General of Bengal
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3
  2. A-1, B-4, C-2, D-3
  3. A-4, B-1, C-3, D-2
  4. A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
Show answer

Answer: A. A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3

(a) is correct: 1773 created the Governor-General of Bengal, 1784 the Board of Control, 1833 the law member and 1853 open competition. (b) swaps the 1773 and 1784 Acts. (c) swaps the 1833 and 1853 Acts. (d) wrongly links the law member to 1773 and the Governor-General of Bengal to 1833.

Q5. With reference to the Charter Act of 1833, consider the following statements:
1. The Governors of Bombay and Madras lost their power to make laws.
2. The East India Company's commercial activities were brought to an end.
3. The first open competitive examination for the civil service was held under it.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 and 2 only

(a) is correct. Statements 1 and 2 are true. Statement 3 is false: the 1833 Act's attempt at competition came to nothing; open competition came with the Charter Act of 1853. So (b), (c) and (d) are wrong because each includes statement 3.

Q6. The legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General's council were separated for the first time by

  1. the Regulating Act of 1773
  2. Pitt's India Act of 1784
  3. the Charter Act of 1833
  4. the Charter Act of 1853
Show answer

Answer: D. the Charter Act of 1853

(d) is correct: the 1853 Act added six legislative councillors and created a separate law-making body. (a) is wrong: the 1773 Act set up a single council of four for all business. (b) is wrong: the 1784 Act reduced the council to three and created the Board of Control. (c) is wrong: the 1833 Act added a law member but did not separate the two functions.

Q7. Consider the following statements about the Act of Settlement of 1781:
1. It exempted the Governor-General and council from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for acts done in their official capacity.
2. It directed the Supreme Court to apply English law to Indians in all matters, including personal law.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

(a) is correct. Statement 1 is true. Statement 2 is false: the Act directed the court to respect Indian customs and to apply Hindu law to Hindus and Muslim law to Muslims in personal matters. So (b) and (c) are wrong because they accept statement 2, and (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Q8. The Company's territories in India were described as 'British possessions in India' for the first time in

  1. the Regulating Act of 1773
  2. Pitt's India Act of 1784
  3. the Charter Act of 1813
  4. the Charter Act of 1833
Show answer

Answer: B. Pitt's India Act of 1784

(b) is correct: Pitt's India Act of 1784 used the term while setting up the Board of Control. (a) is wrong: the 1773 Act regulated the Company's government but did not use this description. (c) is wrong: the 1813 Act asserted the Crown's sovereignty, which is a different provision. (d) is wrong: the 1833 Act came much later and made the Company a purely administrative body.

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