General Knowledge of Modern India: Government of India Act of 1858 AD - In August 1858, the British Parliament passed an act and ended the Company's rule in India. By this act the control of the governance of India was handed over to the British Emperor. At this time Victoria was the Queen of Britain. The supreme body of Britain was the British Parliament, to which the British government was responsible. All the work done by the British government was done in the name of the emperor. A minister of the Government of Britain, who was called the India Secretary, was entrusted with the responsibility of the Indian Government. Since the Government of Britain was responsible to the Parliament, the supreme body for India was also the Parliament of Britain. By this act, the Governor General of India came to be called the Viceroy, which meant the representative of the Emperor. A proclamation was made by Queen Victoria, which was read by Lord Canning in the court of Allahabad on November 1, 1858.
Government of India Act of 1858 AD
- The proclamation promised respect to the rights of all Indian kings and banned the expansion of British territories in India.
- It promised to respect the ancient rights and traditions of the people and follow the policy of justice, harmony and religious tolerance.
- It declared that every person, without distinction of caste and religion, would be entitled to admission to the administrative services only on the basis of his qualifications and education.
- In the declaration, on the one hand the kings were assured of security and on the other hand they also promised to provide opportunities for development to the middle class.
- But gradually it was proved that the equality of opportunity which was talked about in the proclamation was not implemented. In the name of respect for the ancient traditions of India, the British adopted the policy of protecting social evils. Therefore, very little attention was paid to social reforms by the foreign rulers and whenever Indian leaders demanded these reforms, they were opposed.
- After 1858 AD, the interests of Indians were again made subordinate to the interests of Britain. In the struggle between Britain and other imperialist powers, India was used as a medium for the fulfillment of the economic interests of Britain. In other parts of the state, the interests of the British Empire were fulfilled and for the fulfillment of the costly wars waged against other countries.
Cause
The proclamation made by Queen Victoria was the result of the rebellion of 1857 AD and in this proclamation it was assured that there would be no discrimination against the Indian people on the basis of caste, religion, color and race. Indian kings also believed in this. It was assured that their prestige, rights and dignity would be respected and no encroachment would be done on their subordinate areas.
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Modern India