Modern History Set 135
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π British Acts β’ 1773
Q.1) Which British Act transformed the Governor of Bengal into the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’ and established a Supreme Court at Calcutta?
Ans > Regulating Act of 1773
- Assertion of Crown Control: The Regulating Act of 1773 was the very first major step taken by the British Parliament to assert control and heavily regulate the affairs of the East India Company in India. This was prompted by the immense corruption of company officials and the disastrous Bengal famine.
- Centralization of Power: The act centralized power by elevating the Governor of Bengal (Warren Hastings) to the newly created position of Governor-General of Bengal, effectively subordinating the presidencies of Bombay and Madras. To assist him, an Executive Council of four members was established.
- Judicial and Administrative Reforms: It led to the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta in 1774, with Elijah Impey serving as its first Chief Justice, to exercise jurisdiction over British subjects. Crucially, it strictly prohibited company servants from engaging in private trade or accepting presents and bribes from the local population.
- Accountability to Parliament: It required the Court of Directors to report on revenue, civil, and military affairs, although the act eventually failed to clearly define the exact powers of the Supreme Court versus the Governor-General, leading to future conflicts.
π British Acts β’ 1784
Q.2) Pitt’s India Act of 1784 established a system of “double government.” Which new body was created in London to guide and control the political affairs of the Company?
Ans > Board of Control
- Rectifying Previous Flaws: Pitt’s India Act of 1784 was specifically enacted to rectify the glaring administrative defects of the Regulating Act of 1773. Named after the British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, it established the infamous system of “double government” which lasted until 1858.
- System of Double Government: The act clearly distinguished between the commercial and political functions of the East India Company. While the existing Court of Directors was allowed to continue managing the company’s commercial privileges, a brand new body called the Board of Control was created in London to guide and heavily supervise all political, military, and revenue affairs.
- Administrative Restructuring: This Board consisted of six members, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer and a Secretary of State. In India, the Governor-General’s council was strategically reduced to three members to give the Governor-General a stronger hand in overriding his council when necessary.
- Assertion of British Sovereignty: For the very first time, the company’s acquired territories in India were officially referred to as the “British possessions in India,” clearly signifying that the British government was asserting direct, supreme control over the East India Company’s Indian administration.
π British Acts β’ 1813
Q.3) The Charter Act of 1813 ended the East India Company’s monopoly over trade in India, EXCEPT for the trade in tea and trade with which country?
Ans > China
- Ending the Trade Monopoly: Because the Continental System of Napoleon closed European ports to British trade, British merchants aggressively demanded the opening of Indian trade. Consequently, the act officially abolished the general trade monopoly of the East India Company in India, throwing open Indian trade to all British merchants.
- The China Exception: However, the British Parliament strictly retained the Company’s highly lucrative monopoly over the trade in tea and its entire trade operations with China, ensuring the EIC still generated significant revenue.
- Christian Missionaries and Sovereignty: It explicitly asserted the undisputed sovereignty of the British Crown over the Indian territories held by the Company. Furthermore, it officially allowed Christian missionaries to enter India for religious proselytization, deeply concerning orthodox Indian communities.
- Investment in Education: In a landmark move, it directed the company to spend a minimum sum of one lakh rupees annually on the revival of literature, the promotion of knowledge, and the introduction of modern sciences among the inhabitants of the British territories.
π British Acts β’ 1833
Q.4) The Charter Act of 1833 centralized administration by elevating the Governor-General of Bengal to the ‘Governor-General of India’. Who was the first to hold this title?
Ans > Lord William Bentinck
- Complete Loss of Commercial Status: Enacted during the peak of the Industrial Revolution when Britain desperately needed India as a massive captive market, the East India Company completely lost all its remaining commercial privileges (including the China trade). It was transformed into a purely administrative and political body governing on behalf of the Crown.
- Ultimate Centralization: The act represented the final step towards total centralization in British India. It elevated the Governor-General of Bengal to the ‘Governor-General of India’ (Lord William Bentinck being the first), vesting him with exclusive and absolute civil and military powers.
- Legislative Restructuring: This officially deprived the powerful presidencies of Madras and Bombay of their independent legislative powers. It also added a new Law Member, Lord Macaulay, to the Governor-General’s executive council for legal drafting.
- Attempted Open Competition: The act famously attempted to introduce a system of open competition for civil services, declaring that no Indian should be denied office based on religion, color, or birth (Section 87). However, this faced fierce opposition from the Court of Directors and failed to materialize initially.
π British Acts β’ 1853
Q.5) Which legislative act introduced, for the very first time, the principle of an open competitive examination for the recruitment of civil servants (ICS)?
Ans > Charter Act of 1853
- Separation of Powers: This was the last of the series of Charter Acts passed by the British Parliament between 1793 and 1853. It marked a highly significant constitutional landmark by officially separating the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General’s council for the very first time.
- The Mini-Parliament: It created a separate six-member Indian (Central) Legislative Council. This new legislative wing functioned essentially as a mini-Parliament, adopting the exact same procedures as the British Parliament.
- Open Civil Services: Most importantly, it officially introduced an open competition system for the selection and recruitment of civil servants. This finally threw open the prestigious covenanted civil service to Indians and completely stripped the Court of Directors of their massive patronage powers. The Macaulay Committee was appointed in 1854 to implement this.
- Indefinite Extension: The act extended the Company’s rule but notably did not specify a timeframe, unlike previous charters which gave 20-year extensions. This clearly indicated that the Indian administration could be entirely taken over by the British Crown at any time.
π British Acts β’ 1858
Q.6) Following the Revolt of 1857, the Government of India Act 1858 transferred power directly to the British Crown. It created a new cabinet position in London known as what?
Ans > The Secretary of State for India
- End of Company Rule: Passed in the direct aftermath of the brutal 1857 Mutiny (First War of Independence), this monumental act is often officially referred to as the Act for the Good Government of India. It entirely liquidated the East India Company.
- Direct Crown Control: It formally transferred all sovereign powers, territories, and vast revenues directly from the Company to the British Crown. The system of double government was completely abolished by dissolving both the Board of Control and the Court of Directors.
- The Secretary of State: Instead, it created the powerful new office of the Secretary of State for Indiaβa senior member of the British cabinetβvested with complete authority and absolute control over the Indian administration. He was assisted by a 15-member advisory Council of India based in London.
- The Viceroy of India: Furthermore, it significantly changed the designation of the Governor-General of India to the Viceroy of India. The Viceroy served as the direct, personal representative of the British Crown in India, with Lord Canning serving as the very first Viceroy.
π British Acts β’ 1861
Q.7) The Indian Councils Act of 1861 introduced a significant administrative reform by giving statutory recognition to which system introduced by Lord Canning?
Ans > The Portfolio system (Cabinet system)
- Associating Indians: Following the massive shock of the 1857 revolt, the British rapidly realized the absolute necessity of associating Indians with the administration to prevent future uprisings. Consequently, Lord Canning nominated three Indians to his newly expanded legislative council: the Raja of Benaras, the Maharaja of Patiala, and Sir Dinkar Rao.
- Process of Decentralization: The act reversed the aggressive centralizing tendency started by the Regulating Act of 1773 and peaking in 1833. It did so by actively restoring crucial legislative powers to the Bombay and Madras Presidencies, initiating the vital process of administrative decentralization.
- The Portfolio System: It gave formal statutory recognition to the ‘portfolio system’ previously introduced by Lord Canning in 1859. Under this system, individual members of the Viceroy’s council were made solely responsible for specific departments, laying the deep historical foundations for the modern cabinet government in India.
- Emergency Ordinances: Crucially, it empowered the Viceroy to unilaterally issue ordinances with the exact same force as regular law, without the concurrence of the legislative council, during an emergency. These ordinances were valid for a maximum of six months.
π British Acts β’ 1892
Q.8) The Indian Councils Act of 1892 was a significant step forward because it introduced which of the following rights for legislative council members?
Ans > The right to discuss the budget and ask questions on matters of public interest
- Pressure from the Congress: This act was largely a direct legislative result of the immense political pressure exerted by the newly formed Indian National Congress (founded in 1885), which heavily demanded the expansion and democratic reform of the toothless legislative councils.
- Expanding the Councils: The act moderately increased the number of additional (non-official) members in both the Central and Provincial legislative councils. However, it strictly and carefully maintained the official British majority within these bodies.
- New Legislative Rights: It significantly increased the functions of the legislative councils, granting members the crucial, highly demanded right to discuss the annual financial statement (the budget) and to address specific questions to the executive on matters of public interest.
- Indirect Elections: Furthermore, it introduced the principle of representation for filling some non-official seats based on recommendations from bodies like the Bengal Chamber of Commerce, municipalities, and universities. Although the actual word ‘election’ was carefully avoided in the text, it represented India’s very first tentative step towards a representative government.
π British Acts β’ 1909
Q.9) The Indian Councils Act of 1909 (Morley-Minto Reforms) is notorious for introducing a controversial electoral mechanism that sowed the seeds of communalism. What was it?
Ans > Separate electorates for Muslims
- The Morley-Minto Objective: Popularly known as the Morley-Minto Reforms, named after John Morley (Secretary of State) and Lord Minto (Viceroy). It primarily aimed to rally the political Moderates and placate the Muslim community following the massive unrest caused by the 1905 partition of Bengal.
- Massive Council Expansion: It immensely expanded the size of the legislative councils, with the Central Legislative Council growing dramatically from 16 to 60 members, allowing a non-official majority in the provincial councils for the first time.
- Executive Association: For the very first time, it provided for the direct association of Indians with the powerful executive councils of the Viceroy and Governors, with Satyendra Prasad Sinha becoming the first Indian Law Member.
- Institutionalizing Communalism: Most notoriously, it introduced a highly controversial system of communal representation for Muslims by legally accepting the concept of ‘separate electorates’, where Muslim members were elected exclusively by Muslim voters. This deliberately institutionalized communalism in Indian politics, earning Lord Minto the title of the Father of Communal Electorate.
π British Acts β’ 1919
Q.10) The Government of India Act 1919 (Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms) introduced a bicameral legislature at the center and introduced which new system of governance in the provinces?
Ans > Dyarchy (Dual rule)
- Gradual Responsible Government: Known as the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, following the historic August Declaration of 1917 which explicitly promised the gradual realization of responsible government in India. It relaxed central control over the provinces by demarcating and separating central and provincial subjects.
- Provincial Dyarchy: It introduced a completely new, highly complex system of governance in the provinces known as ‘Dyarchy’ (dual rule). Provincial subjects were rigidly divided into ‘transferred subjects’ (administered by the Governor with the aid of Indian ministers responsible to the legislative council) and ‘reserved subjects’ (administered by the Governor without responsibility to the legislature).
- Bicameralism at the Center: At the center, it introduced bicameralism for the very first time, replacing the Indian Legislative Council with a Council of State (Upper House) and a Legislative Assembly (Lower House), alongside introducing direct elections for a majority of the members.
- Expanding Communal Electorates: It further extended the divisive communal representation by providing separate electorates not just for Muslims, but also for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans, deeply fracturing Indian society.
π British Acts β’ 1935
Q.11) The Government of India Act 1935 proposed sweeping structural changes. It abolished Dyarchy in the provinces and replaced it with what?
Ans > Provincial Autonomy
- A Massive Document: This was a massive, highly complex constitutional document that followed the extensive Simon Commission report, the three Round Table Conferences in London, and the publication of the White Paper. It served as the primary blueprint for the future Constitution of independent India.
- All-India Federation: It proposed the establishment of an All-India Federation consisting of British Indian provinces and princely states as units. However, this federation never actually materialized as the vast majority of princely states flatly refused to join.
- Provincial Autonomy: It completely abolished the deeply flawed system of dyarchy in the provinces and replaced it with ‘Provincial Autonomy’. It established a responsible government where the Governor was mandated to act on the advice of ministers entirely responsible to the provincial legislature.
- Division of Powers: It meticulously divided legislative powers between the Centre and the units into three distinct lists: the Federal List, the Provincial List, and the Concurrent List, placing all residuary powers exclusively in the hands of the Viceroy.
π Independence β’ 1947
Q.12) The Indian Independence Act of 1947, which formally partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan, was based on which plan?
Ans > The Mountbatten Plan (June 3 Plan)
- The Mountbatten Plan: Passed swiftly by the British Parliament in July 1947, this historic act was based entirely on the Mountbatten Plan (the June 3 Plan) which had been reluctantly accepted by both the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League to avoid further massive communal bloodshed.
- End of the Empire: The act formally and legally ended British rule in India, declaring it an independent and completely sovereign state starting from the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947.
- Creation of Dominions: It provided for the painful partition of the subcontinent, creating two new independent dominions: India and Pakistan, officially granting both nations the absolute right to secede from the British Commonwealth if they chose to do so.
- Constituent Assembly Empowerment: It completely abolished the office of the Viceroy and the Secretary of State for India. Furthermore, it explicitly empowered the Constituent Assemblies of both dominions to frame their own constitutions and legally repeal any British act, including the Independence Act itself.
π Law Reforms β’ Commissions
Q.13) Under the Charter Act of 1833, the First Law Commission of India was established. Who was its chairman, playing a pivotal role in drafting the Indian Penal Code?
Ans > Lord Macaulay
- Establishment of the Commission: The First Law Commission of India was established in 1834 under the specific provisions of the Charter Act of 1833. Thomas Babington Macaulay, serving as the first Law Member of the Governor-General’s Council, was appointed as its pioneering chairman.
- Codification of Laws: The primary objective of the massive commission was to thoroughly codify and standardize the incredibly complex, overlapping, and contradictory systems of Hindu, Muslim, and British laws, bringing much-needed uniformity to the judicial system across all British-held territories.
- The Indian Penal Code (IPC): The commission’s most significant and enduring historical achievement was the meticulous drafting of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Although the initial draft was completed in 1837, the IPC was subject to extensive revisions and was only officially enacted in 1860, finally coming into force in 1862.
- Enduring Legal Legacy: This monumental legal framework effectively replaced the varying religious criminal laws that previously governed the land and remains the foundational criminal code of the Republic of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to this day.
π Press β’ Administration
Q.14) The highly unpopular Vernacular Press Act, aimed at gagging the Indian language press, was enacted in 1878 by which Viceroy?
Ans > Lord Lytton
- The “Gagging Act”: Enacted during the viceroyalty of Lord Lytton, who was widely known for his highly reactionary and imperialistic policies. Popularly dubbed the “Gagging Act,” it was specifically designed to aggressively suppress the fiercely critical vernacular (Indian language) press.
- Suppressing Famine Criticism: The primary catalyst for the act was the vernacular newspapers relentlessly exposing the British government’s catastrophic administrative failures and callousness during the devastating widespread famine of 1876-1877, which killed millions.
- Draconian Powers: The act granted sweeping, unchecked powers to district magistrates, allowing them to instantly confiscate printing presses, paper, and materials without any prior judicial approval if a vernacular newspaper published anything deemed “seditious” or likely to incite public dissatisfaction.
- Racial Discrimination and Resistance: The act sparked massive outrage because it blatantly discriminated between English and vernacular presses, applying strict censorship only to the latter. In a legendary act of defiance, the *Amrita Bazar Patrika* converted into an English-language newspaper overnight to escape its provisions. It was repealed by Lord Ripon in 1882.
π Judiciary β’ Administration
Q.15) The controversial Ilbert Bill (1883), which sought to allow Indian magistrates to preside over cases involving European offenders, was introduced during the viceroyalty of whom?
Ans > Lord Ripon
- Drafting the Bill: Drafted by Sir Courtenay Ilbert, the Law Member of the Viceroy’s executive council, during the highly liberal tenure of Lord Ripon. The bill aimed to rectify a glaring inequality in the colonial legal framework.
- Racial Discrimination in Courts: Before the introduction of this bill, British subjects in India enjoyed a massive racial privilege: they could only be tried by European magistrates and judges, even if a senior Indian judge was presiding in the same district.
- The “White Mutiny”: The Ilbert Bill aimed to empower senior Indian magistrates to preside over criminal cases involving European offenders. This relatively minor legal adjustment sparked the infamous “White Mutiny,” a massive, highly organized, and viciously racist backlash from European tea planters and civil servants.
- Watering Down and Fallout: Buckling under immense, hostile pressure from the European community, the government heavily watered down the bill, allowing Europeans to demand a jury of at least half Europeans. This deep humiliation severely disillusioned Indian nationalists and directly accelerated the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885.
π Protests β’ Repression
Q.16) In 1919, the British passed the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, leading to widespread national outrage. What was the popular name for this Act?
Ans > The Rowlatt Act
- The Sedition Committee: Officially titled the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, it was based heavily on the recommendations of the Sedition Committee headed by British judge Sir Sidney Rowlatt, tasked with evaluating the threat of nationalist terrorism in India.
- Draconian Police Powers: It was hurriedly pushed through the Imperial Legislative Council despite the unanimous, fierce opposition from all Indian members. The act armed the colonial government with draconian, extraordinary powers to arrest anyone suspected of involvement in ‘terrorist’ activities and detain them in prison without a trial for up to two years.
- “No Dalil, No Vakil, No Appeal”: It effectively suspended fundamental civil liberties and Habeas Corpus, popularizing the nationalist cry of “No Dalil, No Vakil, No Appeal” (No argument, no lawyer, no appeal) due to its denial of basic legal representation.
- The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: The sheer brutality of the act prompted Mahatma Gandhi to launch his first all-India mass political strike, the Rowlatt Satyagraha. The ensuing massive protests in Punjab culminated directly in the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre ordered by General Dyer on April 13, 1919.
π Labor β’ Trade
Q.17) The Trade Disputes Act of 1929 severely restricted the working-class movement by making which of the following activities illegal?
Ans > Sympathetic strikes and strikes meant to coerce the government
- Rise of Trade Unionism: The late 1920s witnessed a massive surge in radical trade unionism in India, deeply influenced by communist ideologies and the success of the Russian Revolution, leading to numerous paralyzing industrial strikes across major manufacturing cities like Bombay.
- Curbing Worker Power: To fiercely curb this growing working-class political power and economic disruption, the British colonial government enacted the Trade Disputes Act in 1929. The legislation severely restricted the fundamental rights of the labor movement.
- Banning Sympathetic Strikes: The act made sympathetic strikes (where workers strike in solidarity with other workers’ disputes) and strikes explicitly aimed at coercing or intimidating the government entirely illegal and punishable by imprisonment.
- Mandatory Conciliation: Furthermore, it mandated the establishment of Courts of Inquiry and Boards of Conciliation to investigate and forcibly settle industrial trade disputes. It severely penalized lightning strikes in critical public utility services like railways and water supply, requiring a mandatory one-month advance notice.
π Freedom Struggle β’ Revolution
Q.18) In 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly to protest against the Trade Disputes Act and which other draconian bill?
Ans > The Public Safety Bill
- The Assembly Bombing: On the historic date of April 8, 1929, prominent Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) revolutionaries Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt bravely hurled two smoke bombs from the visitor’s gallery into the Central Legislative Assembly in New Delhi.
- “To Make the Deaf Hear”: Their explicit intention was not to cause physical harm or kill anyone, but rather, as their widely distributed leaflets stated, “to make the deaf hear.” The bombs were specifically designed to be loud but harmless to human life.
- Protesting Draconian Bills: They were fiercely protesting the authoritarian passage of the draconian Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Act. The Public Safety Bill was designed to brutally crush the rising trade union movement by allowing the government to deport foreign communist organizers without trial.
- Courting Arrest: Instead of attempting to flee the ensuing chaos, both men stood their ground, shouting “Inquilab Zindabad” (Long Live the Revolution) and peacefully courted arrest. Their subsequent trial deeply galvanized the Indian youth and turned them into legendary national martyrs.
π Labor Reforms β’ 1881
Q.19) To regulate the working conditions of child laborers, the First Indian Factory Act was passed in 1881 during the viceroyalty of whom?
Ans > Lord Ripon
- The Beginning of Labor Law: Enacted during the liberal viceroyalty of Lord Ripon, the First Indian Factory Act of 1881 marked the very beginning of formal labor legislation in British India. The act was primarily driven by pressure from Lancashire textile magnates who feared unfair competition from cheap Indian labor.
- Focusing on Child Labor: It specifically targeted the horrific working conditions of child laborers in rapidly expanding Indian cotton and jute mills. The act strictly prohibited the employment of children below 7 years of age in any factory environment.
- Working Hours and Rest: For children between the ages of 7 and 12 years, it limited their grueling working hours to a maximum of 9 hours a day, alongside mandating a one-hour rest interval and four specific holidays per month.
- Significant Exemptions: It also required the dangerous fencing of heavy machinery to prevent accidents. However, it was highly limited in scope, applying only to factories with 100+ workers and completely exempting the notoriously abusive British-owned tea and coffee plantations, severely limiting its overall impact.
π Social Reforms β’ 1891
Q.20) The Age of Consent Act of 1891, which raised the marriageable age of consent for girls from 10 to 12 years, was heavily championed by which Parsi reformer?
Ans > Behramji M. Malabari
- Champion of the Act: A monumental piece of social reform legislation in colonial India, the Age of Consent Act of 1891 was heavily championed by Behramji M. Malabari, a prominent Parsi journalist, poet, and tireless social reformer operating from Bombay.
- Raising the Legal Age: The act legally raised the age of consent for sexual intercourse for all girls, whether married or unmarried, from 10 to 12 years. Violating this law was severely punishable as a criminal act of rape.
- The Phulmoni Dasi Case: The immediate legislative catalyst for the act was the highly publicized and profoundly tragic death of Phulmoni Dasi, an 11-year-old Bengali girl who died from severe hemorrhagic injuries caused by marital rape by her 35-year-old husband, Hari Mohan Maiti.
- Orthodox Backlash: The legislation faced massive and ferocious opposition from orthodox Hindu nationalists, most notably Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Tilak argued that while he opposed child marriage personally, a foreign imperial government had absolutely no right to forcibly interfere in the religious texts and intimate social customs of the Hindu populace.
π Social Reforms β’ 1856
Q.21) The Hindu Widow Remarriage Act was drafted by Lord Dalhousie but formally passed in 1856 during the tenure of which Governor-General?
Ans > Lord Canning
- Legalizing Remarriage: Formally enacted on July 25, 1856, this transformative legislation legally validated and protected the remarriage of Hindu widows across all jurisdictions administered by the East India Company, declaring such marriages legitimate and the children of such unions legitimate heirs.
- Vidyasagar’s Crusade: The act was the direct, triumphant culmination of a relentless, years-long social campaign spearheaded by the legendary Bengali polymath and reformer, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. He meticulously researched ancient Sanskrit scriptures to prove conclusively to orthodox society that widow remarriage was highly sanctioned.
- Dalhousie to Canning: While the initial draft of the highly controversial legislation was prepared during the expansionist tenure of Lord Dalhousie, it was ultimately passed into law by his successor, Lord Canning, mere months before the outbreak of the massive 1857 Mutiny.
- Forfeiture of Property: To partially appease furious orthodox elements, the act included a punitive clause mandating that a widow would completely forfeit any existing inheritance rights to her deceased husband’s ancestral property upon remarrying, although she retained full legal rights in her new marriage.
π Social Reforms β’ 1829
Q.22) The famous “Decree of 1829” legally abolished the practice of Sati. Which British Governor-General passed this regulation?
Ans > Lord William Bentinck
- Banning the Practice: The Bengal Sati Regulation of 1829 fundamentally altered Indian social history by legally banning the horrific practice of Satiβthe ritual immolation of a widow on her deceased husband’s funeral pyre. It declared the practice strictly illegal and punishable as a severe case of culpable homicide.
- Lord William Bentinck: The regulation was courageously enacted by Governor-General Lord William Bentinck, a utilitarian reformer who defied massive warnings from his own officials about potential military mutinies and civil unrest from orthodox factions if he interfered with religion.
- Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s Role: Bentinck was heavily supported and intellectually armed by the tireless anti-Sati crusade of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the visionary founder of the Brahmo Samaj. Roy attended numerous cremations to physically stop the practice and published extensively to prove that Sati was a later societal corruption, not a mandatory Vedic injunction.
- Expansion of the Ban: The sweeping ban was initially applied only to the Bengal Presidency, where the practice was most rampant, but was later aggressively extended to the Madras and Bombay Presidencies in 1830, marking the first major British social intervention in India.
π Social Reforms β’ 1850
Q.23) The Lex Loci Act (Caste Disabilities Removal Act) was passed in 1850. What was its primary provision?
Ans > It allowed Hindu converts to Christianity to inherit their ancestral property.
- Protecting Converts’ Rights: Officially known as the Caste Disabilities Removal Act, the Lex Loci Act of 1850 was a deeply controversial law passed during the aggressive tenure of Lord Dalhousie. The primary provision boldly declared that no person would forfeit their civil rights or property simply by renouncing their traditional religion.
- Overturning Personal Law: Prior to this act, under orthodox Hindu and Muslim personal laws, a religious convert (typically to Christianity) was treated as socially dead and instantly stripped of all familial inheritance and excommunicated from their caste.
- Missionary Lobbying: Christian missionaries operating in India heavily lobbied the British government to pass this specific act to eliminate the massive financial disincentives that were preventing wealthy, upper-caste Indians from converting to Christianity.
- A Cause for the 1857 Mutiny: The legislation caused immense, seething resentment among orthodox Indians, who universally viewed it as a blatant imperial conspiracy to violently Christianize the subcontinent. It became one of the primary social and religious grievances that significantly fueled the massive 1857 rebellion.
π Education β’ 1854
Q.24) Wood’s Despatch of 1854 is famously known as the “Magna Carta of English Education in India”. It recommended the establishment of universities based on the model of which institution?
Ans > London University
- The Magna Carta of Education: Drafted by Sir Charles Wood, the President of the Board of Control, this exhaustive document is universally celebrated as the “Magna Carta of English Education in India.” The despatch systematically organized the entire Indian educational structure, creating a hierarchical link from primary schools to universities.
- Language of Instruction: It explicitly declared that the overarching aim of British educational policy was the widespread diffusion of European arts and sciences. It pragmatically recommended the use of vernacular languages at the primary level, Anglo-vernacular in high schools, and strictly English for higher university education.
- University Model: Crucially, it recommended the immediate establishment of massive affiliating universities in the presidency towns of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras. These universities were to be strictly modeled on the University of London, primarily acting as examining bodies rather than teaching institutions.
- Grants-in-Aid System: It also heavily advocated for a comprehensive ‘grants-in-aid’ system to encourage private enterprise in education and stressed the vital importance of female and vocational education, leading to the creation of the Department of Public Instruction in every province.
π Education β’ Commissions
Q.25) The Hunter Education Commission of 1882 was appointed by Lord Ripon primarily to evaluate the progress of education and heavily recommended state support for which sector?
Ans > Primary and Secondary Education
- Evaluating Wood’s Despatch: Appointed by the liberal Viceroy Lord Ripon, the commission was chaired by Sir William Wilson Hunter, a prominent civil servant. Its primary mandate was to critically evaluate the actual progress of education in India since the sweeping recommendations of Wood’s Despatch of 1854.
- Shift Towards Primary Education: The commission made a startling observation that higher university education was siphoning off disproportionate state attention and funding. Therefore, it strongly and urgently recommended that the primary duty and special care of the state should be drastically shifted toward primary education for the impoverished masses.
- Local Board Control: Furthermore, it initiated administrative decentralization by recommending the complete transfer of control, management, and funding of primary schools to the newly established local district and municipal boards.
- Privatization of Higher Education: For secondary and higher education, the commission suggested that the government should gradually withdraw direct support and instead heavily encourage private Indian enterprises through an expanded grants-in-aid system, paving the way for nationalist educational institutions.
π Education β’ Commissions
Q.26) The Sadler Commission (1917) was appointed specifically to investigate the problems of which major university?
Ans > University of Calcutta
- Focus on Calcutta University: Officially designated as the Calcutta University Commission, it was appointed under the chairmanship of Dr. Michael Ernest Sadler (Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds) to specifically study and report on the deep-rooted structural problems plaguing the massive University of Calcutta.
- Nationwide Impact: However, the commission’s brilliantly comprehensive recommendations were so profound that they were ultimately applied to shape and reform the entire university system across all of British India.
- The 10+2+3 Precursor: The commission astutely concluded that for any meaningful improvement of university higher education, the drastic improvement of secondary school education was an absolute prerequisite. It famously recommended a structured 12-year school course, proposing the creation of ‘intermediate’ colleges before a student could enter a university degree program.
- Unitary Residential Universities: It also strongly advocated for the establishment of highly centralized, unitary, and residential teaching universities (like those in Aligarh, Banaras, and Dacca) to replace the sprawling, inefficient, and purely examining affiliating university models, significantly enhancing academic quality.
π Education β’ 1904
Q.27) Lord Curzon appointed the Raleigh Commission in 1902 to inquire into the conditions and prospects of universities in India. This led to the passing of which controversial act?
Ans > The Indian Universities Act (1904)
- The Raleigh Commission: Following the highly controversial recommendations of the Universities Commission of 1902 (Raleigh Commission), Viceroy Lord Curzon aggressively passed the Indian Universities Act of 1904. Curzon’s officially stated goal was to elevate the severely falling academic standards of higher education.
- Tightening Government Control: However, the legislation was heavily designed to tighten government administrative control over the increasingly independent universities, which Curzon viewed as massive, dangerous breeding grounds for political agitation and nationalist sentiment.
- Altering University Senates: The act drastically reduced the number of elected fellows in university senates, heavily packing them instead with government-nominated members. It granted the colonial government sweeping veto powers over the universities’ internal regulations and syllabus design.
- Nationalist Opposition: It made the structural conditions for affiliating private Indian colleges significantly stricter. Indian nationalists, led by figures like G.K. Gokhale, fiercely opposed the act, correctly viewing it as a deliberate, calculated imperial attempt to stifle the rapid growth of Indian political consciousness and sabotage indigenous educational efforts.
π Labor β’ Commissions
Q.28) The Whitley Commission, officially known as the Royal Commission on Labour, was appointed in 1929 to investigate the working conditions in Indian industries. By what other name is it commonly known?
Ans > The Royal Commission on Labour
- Investigating Labor Conditions: Officially titled the Royal Commission on Labour, it is more commonly known as the Whitley Commission after its chairman, John Henry Whitley. It was tasked with conducting a massive, comprehensive investigation into the deplorable working and living conditions of millions of Indian laborers in industrial factories and agricultural plantations.
- Exposing Systemic Poverty: The commission’s exhaustive and damning report, published in 1931, exposed severe systemic issues. It highlighted horrific extreme poverty, chronic multi-generational indebtedness, appalling lack of sanitary housing, and highly dangerous working environments with minimal safety standards.
- Major Recommendations: It made profound, wide-ranging recommendations, including the statutory legal recognition of trade unions, the mandatory establishment of conciliation machinery to peacefully settle industrial disputes, and the implementation of crucial welfare measures like maternity benefits and strict regulation of working hours.
- Legislative Impact: Its shocking findings heavily influenced the passing of significant protective labor laws in the subsequent decade, most notably the Payment of Wages Act of 1936, which sought to end arbitrary wage deductions and delays by factory owners.
π Freedom Struggle β’ 1927
Q.29) The Simon Commission (1927) was heavily boycotted by Indians because it was an all-white commission. What was its official mandate?
Ans > To review the working of the Government of India Act 1919 and suggest further constitutional reforms
- The Statutory Mandate: Officially constituted as the Indian Statutory Commission, it was appointed by the British conservative government two years ahead of the statutory schedule to thoroughly review the constitutional reforms introduced by the Government of India Act 1919 and determine if India was ready for further self-governance.
- The All-White Insult: Chaired by Sir John Simon, the commission consisted entirely of seven British Members of Parliament. The absolute, glaring exclusion of any Indian members to decide the political destiny of India caused massive, unified national outrage across the entire political spectrum.
- “Simon Go Back”: This led to highly organized, widespread boycotts by both the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, greeting the commission everywhere with black flags and the famous slogan “Simon Go Back.” During one such massive protest in Lahore, veteran nationalist Lala Lajpat Rai was severely beaten by police and tragically succumbed to his injuries.
- The Final Report: Despite the fierce boycott, the commission published its final report in 1930, recommending the complete abolition of provincial dyarchy in favor of representative government, which eventually formed the core of the Government of India Act 1935.
π Independence β’ 1946
Q.30) To break the political deadlock and discuss the transfer of power, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee dispatched the Cabinet Mission to India in 1946. Which of the following British officials was NOT a member?
Ans > Lord Mountbatten
- Objective of the Mission: Dispatched to New Delhi in March 1946 by British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, the mission’s primary objective was to break the severe, paralyzing political deadlock between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power to a unified India.
- Composition of the Mission: The high-powered mission comprised three senior British cabinet ministers: Lord Pethick-Lawrence (Secretary of State for India), Sir Stafford Cripps (President of the Board of Trade), and A.V. Alexander (First Lord of the Admiralty). Crucially, Lord Mountbatten was not a member; he arrived later as the final Viceroy.
- Rejecting Pakistan: The Cabinet Mission entirely rejected the Muslim League’s demand for a separate sovereign state of Pakistan, arguing it would not solve the complex communal minority problem and would destroy the country’s defense and communication infrastructure.
- The Three-Tier Proposal: Instead, it proposed a highly complex, three-tiered federal structure with a very weak central government, leaving maximum autonomy to grouped provinces. It also successfully laid down the concrete democratic procedure for forming the Constituent Assembly to draft independent India’s new constitution.
π Quick Summary β Modern History Set 135
- Regulating Act (1773): Elevated Bengal Governor to Governor-General; established Supreme Court.
- Pitt’s India Act (1784): Created the Board of Control for political affairs (Double Government).
- Charter Act (1813): Ended EIC monopoly except for tea and trade with China.
- Charter Act (1833): Centralized power; Lord William Bentinck became First Governor-General of India.
- Charter Act (1853): Introduced open competitive examination for civil services (ICS).
- Govt of India Act (1858): Crown rule began; created Secretary of State for India position.
- Indian Councils Act (1861): Recognized Lord Canning’s Portfolio (Cabinet) System.
- Indian Councils Act (1892): Granted legislative members the right to discuss the budget.
- Indian Councils Act (1909): Morley-Minto reforms introduced separate electorates for Muslims.
- Govt of India Act (1919): Montagu-Chelmsford reforms introduced Dyarchy in the provinces.
- Govt of India Act (1935): Abolished provincial Dyarchy and introduced Provincial Autonomy.
- Independence Act (1947): Based on the Mountbatten (June 3) Plan for partition.
- First Law Commission: Chaired by Lord Macaulay; drafted the Indian Penal Code.
- Vernacular Press Act (1878): Enacted by Lord Lytton to gag the Indian-language press.
- Ilbert Bill (1883): Introduced by Lord Ripon; sparked the European “White Mutiny”.
- Rowlatt Act (1919): Repressive law allowing imprisonment without trial, causing national outrage.
- Trade Disputes Act (1929): Made sympathetic strikes illegal to curb labor movements.
- Assembly Bombing (1929): Bhagat Singh protested the Public Safety Bill & Trade Disputes Act.
- First Factory Act (1881): Passed by Lord Ripon to regulate child labor.
- Age of Consent Act (1891): Championed by Behramji M. Malabari to raise marriageable age.
- Hindu Widow Remarriage Act (1856): Drafted by Dalhousie, passed by Lord Canning.
- Abolition of Sati (1829): Banned by Governor-General Lord William Bentinck.
- Lex Loci Act (1850): Protected inheritance rights of Hindu converts to Christianity.
- Wood’s Despatch (1854): Recommended establishing universities based on the London University model.
- Hunter Commission (1882): Recommended heavy state support for primary and secondary education.
- Sadler Commission (1917): Investigated problems specifically at the University of Calcutta.
- Indian Universities Act (1904): Passed by Lord Curzon based on the Raleigh Commission.
- Whitley Commission (1929): Also known as the Royal Commission on Labour.
- Simon Commission (1927): Boycotted all-white panel sent to review the 1919 Act’s constitutional reforms.
- Cabinet Mission (1946): Consisted of Pethick-Lawrence, Cripps, and Alexander (Not Mountbatten).
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