INDIAN POLITY
The British Government has introduced a series of constitutional reforms to regulate and control the affairs of India. These constitutional reforms were guided towards ensuring responsible governance in India. The emergence of India as an independent and sovereign democratic republic has its roots in the history of British rule in India.
The evolution of Indian polity and Constitution can be better understood, only if we start with brief reviews of constitutional development during British rule.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
* The very genesis of Indian Constitution can be traced from 1773 as it was first constitutional intervention by the British Government to control and regulate the affairs of East India Company in India till 1858 was basically that of the East India Company because after that British Government took the governance of India in its hands directly.
* With rising activities and responsibilities of the company, need was felt to regulate and control the affairs which resulted in various enactments by British Parliament.
* The period of British constitutional experiment in India can be divided into two phases for better understanding that is constitutional experiments during the rule of the East India Company (1773 - 1857) and the constitutional experiments under the British crown (1857 - 1947).
CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT UNDER EAST INDIA COMPANY
Regulating Act (1773)
The Governor of Bengal was elevated to the position of the Governor-General of Bengal.
The Parliament got the right to intervene in the affairs of the company. The dual government was abolished. A supreme Court was set-up at Calcutta headed by Elijah Impey.
Pitt's India Act (1784)
The act established six commissioners for the affairs of India. This body known as the Board of Control was to exercise an effective control over the Board of Directors, who possessed the charge of the administrations of the company.
The control of the Governor-General in council over the presidencies of Chennai and Mumbai was clearly defined and rendered more effective.
The Charter Act (1973)
The power of the Board of Control were concentrated in the hands of the President, who virtually became the Cabinet Minister for India.
The salaries of the members of the Board of Control and that of the President were to be drawn from the Indian exchequer.
The Charter Act (1833)
Asserted the crown’s sovereignty over British India. Company’s monopoly over trade was abolished except trade with China, allotted money to promote education in Indian masses. Christian missionaries were permitted.
The Charter Act (1833)
The act abolished the trading activities of the company and henceforth, it became a purely administrative body.
The Governor-General of Bengal was designated as the Governor-General of India.
William Bentinck thus became the first Governor-General of India.
Abolition of the power of different presidencies to make law for themselves and giving power to the Governor-General in council to make laws.
In order to enable the council to discharge the important functions efficiently, a new member with expert knowledge of law was added to it.
The Charter Act (1853)
The number of directors were reduced and the power of patronage was taken away from them by instituting an open competitive examination for the recruitment of civil servants.
The approval of the crown was made necessary for all appointments of councilors, both central and provincial.
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