History (Modern India History :- Government Of India Act, Indian Councils Act, Lord Lytton)

Modern India History :- Government Of India Act, Indian Councils Act, Lord Lytton

Government of India Act of 1858

 *Indian administration was transferred to British crown instead of East India company

 *general was titled Viceroy of India, Hence Lord Canning got the unique opportunity to be the Gov. general as well as Viceroy of India

 *The viceroy was to be assisted by an executive council whose members were to act as the heads of various departments, as well as viceroy’s official advisors

 *In England, the Court of Directors and Board of Control were abolished & replaced by Secretary of State for India and India Council.

 *The Secretary of State would be a member of the British cabinet. Sir Charles Wood was made the first Secretary of State for India.

 *India Council consisting of 15 members would assist him.

 *All initiatives and final decisions rested with the secretary and the council was only advisory in nature.

 *Thus the dual system introduced by Pitt’s India Act of 1784 came to an end

Queens Victoria’s proclamation → Magna Carta of Indian people

 *Lord Canning proclaimed the new government at Allahabad in Nov 1858 in accordance with the Queens Victoria’s proclamation viz.

 - Disclaimed any further expansion of territory, Promised religious tolerance

 - Endorsed the treaty made by the Company with Indian prince and promised to respect their rights, dignity and honour

 - Pledged equal treatment of all her subjects

 - Equal and impartial protection of law

Indian Councils Act of 1861

 *A fifth member, who was to be a jurist was added to viceroy’s executive council

 *Governor-General’s Executive Council was enlarged into a Central Legislative Council

 *Six to twelve “additional members” were to be nominated by the Governor-General.

 *Not less than half of these members were to be non-officials/Indian members

 *Thus a provision was made for the inclusion of Indians in the Legislative Council

 *Functions of these members were strictly limited to making legislation (subjected to viceroys approval)

 *They were forbidden from interfering in the matters of the Executive Council.

 *They did not possess powers of administration and finance.

 *Legislative Councils were also established in the provinces.

 *The number of additional members in the provinces was fixed between four to eight

 *By means of this act people of India came to be involved in the law making process

Lord Mayo 1869-1872

 *For the first time in my Indian history census was held in 1871

 *Opening of the Rajkot College in Kathiawar and the Mayo College at Ajmer for political training of Indian princes.

 *Establishment of Statistical Survey of India.

 *Establishment of Department of Agriculture and Commerce.

 *Introduction of state railways.

 *In 1872, a convict Sher Ali stabbed him to death at Port Blair.

Lord Northbrook (1872-1876)

 *Deposition of Gaekwad in 1874

 *The famous Kuka movement

 *Visit of Prince of Wales

 *Abolition of income tax

 *Famine in Bihar and Bengal in 1873-1874

Lord Lytton 1876 – 1880

 *Famine of 1876-78 had resulted from the failure of two monsoons

 *Outbreak of cholera and fever added to the misery of the suffering population.

 *Foundation of the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College was laid by Lord Lytton in 1877 at Aligarh

Royal Titles Act (1877)

 *Queen Victoria assuming the title of ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’ or Queen Empress of India at Delhi Darbar.

 *Delhi Darbar, also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times at the height of the British Empire viz.

 - 1877 for Queen Victoria

 - 1903 for Edward 7 and Alexandra

 - 1911 for George 5 & Mary

First Famine Commission (1878-80)

 *1st Famine Commission (1878-80) was appointed under Sir Richard Strachey

 *It advocated including provision of funds for famine relief and construction work in annual budget.

Vernacular Press Act (1878)

 *Empowered magistrate to secure an undertaking from the editor, publisher and printer of a vernacular newspaper that nothing would be published against the English Government

 *If done so, Equipment of press would be seized, hence crushed Freedom of Indian press

Arms Act 1878

 *Prevented Indians to keep armaments without appropriate license

 *Europeans & Anglo Indians were exempted from these acts

Uniform salt tax

 *Introduced uniform salt tax throughout British India

 *Abolished many trade import duties which adversely affected Indian Industries & its economy.

Second Anglo Afghan War

 *Britishers emerged victorious

 *Famous for Treaty of Gandamak

 *Afghan policy of British resident at Kabul

 *This was aimed to thwart expansion by the Russian Empire into India

History (Modern India History :- Revolt Of 1857)

Modern India History :- Revolt Of 1857

Causes for Revolt of 1857

British Expansionist Policies

 *Annexation policy

 *Doctrine of lapse

 *Restrictions on Royal families (Subsidiary alliance)

Economic Exploitation

 *High land revenue

 *Heavy Taxation

 *Discriminatory tariff policy against Indian products

 *Destruction of traditional handicrafts industry

 *Heavy Mechanization & Huge drain of wealth

- Karl Marx remarked in 1853, “It was the British intruder who broke up the Indian handloom and destroyed the spinning-wheel. England began with depriving the Indian cottons from the European market; it then introduced twist into Hindustan and in the end inundated the very mother country of cotton with cottons”

Socio-Cultural Reasons

 *Racial overtones and a superiority complex by British towards the native Indians

 *Government’s decision to tax mosque & temple lands

 *Legislative measures, such as the Religious Disabilities Act, 1856, which modified Hindu customs, for instance declaring that a change of religion did not debar a son from inheriting the property of his heathen father

 *The attempts at socio-religious reform such as abolition of sati, support to widow-remarriage and women’s education were seen by a large section of the population as interference in the social and religious domains of Indian society by outsiders

 *To the religious Hindu of the time, crossing the seas meant loss of caste. In 1856 Lord Canning’s Government passed the General Service Enlistment Act which decreed that all future recruits to the Bengal Army would have to give an undertaking to serve anywhere their services might be required by the Government which caused resentment.

Political Exploitation

 *Zamindars, the traditional landed aristocracy, often saw their land rights forfeited with frequent use of a quo warranto by the administration.

 *Low salaries + Low prospects of promotion + abolition of foreign bhatta

 *The Indian sepoy was equally unhappy with his emoluments compared to his British counterpart.

 *A more immediate cause of the sepoys‘dissatisfaction was the order that they would not be given the Foreign Service allowance (Bhatta) when serving in Sindh or in Punjab.

 *The annexation of Awadh, home of many of the sepoys, further inflamed their feelings.

Immediate Reasons

 *The reports about the mixing of bone dust in Atta (flour) and the introduction of the Enfield rifle enhanced the sepoys‘growing disaffection with the Government. The cartridge of the new rifle had to be bitten off before loading and the grease was reportedly made of beef and pig, the sepoys felt their religion was in grave danger

 *The greased cartridges did not create a new cause of discontent in the Army, but supplied the occasion for the simmering discontent to come out in the open

Beginning of Revolt of 1857

 *Started by Mangal Pandey on 29th march 1857, refusing to use greased rifle cartridges (Greased composed of fat taken from beef & pig) & killing his officer at Barackpore, Bengal

 *Mangal Pandey was hanged & his regiment disbanded with sepoy guilty of rebellion punished

 *A chain reaction started & in May 1857, at Meerut 85 sepoys were sentenced imprisoned for refusing to use greased cartridges

 *Hence sepoys break out in open rebellion; shot their officers; released fellow sepoys & headed Delhi.

 *Next Morning, Army captured Delhi & proclaimed Mughal king Bahadur Shah Jafar, Emperor of India

 *But real power lied with general Bakht Khan who had led the revolt of Bareilly troops and brought them to Delhi

Famous Leaders of the Revolt

Kanpur :- Revolution led by Nana Shaheb with the help of his lieutenants Tatya Tope & Azimulla

Lucknow :- By Beghum of Avadh, Hazrat Mahal, with the help of peasants, zamindars & sepoys

Jhansi :- By Rani lakshmi bai (Widowed queen of Gangadhar rao) along with Tatya tope

Bihar :- Led by Kunwar singh (a ruined zamindar)

Bareilly :-   By Khan Bahadur

Faizabad :-   By Maulvi Ahmadullah

Suppression of Revolt

 *The British captured Delhi on September 1857 after prolonged and bitter fighting

 *Bahadur Shah was taken prisoner & was exiled to Rangoon where he died in 1862

 *Thus the great House of Mughals was finally and completely extinguished

 *Finally Revolt came to an end in 1858 with British victory & Lord canning proclaimed peace over India

Causes of Failure of Revolt of 1857

 *Revolt failed to embrace whole India

 *only 1/10th of Indian population & 1/4th of Indian area came under its impact

 *Different sections of society like moneylenders, educated men & merchants were against the revolt

 *Superiority of British resources viz. Rifles, Communication, Transport etc.

 *Lack of proper plan & strategy to move ahead with the movement

 *The electric telegraph kept the commander-in-chief informed about the movements and strategy of the rebels.

Points of Prominence

 *1857 revolt Shook the very foundation of British Government

 *Led to Hindu – Muslim unity

 *Common man rose to fight against the government which imparted the consciousness of belonging to one country among people

 *Racial hatred and suspicion between the Indians and the English was aggravated

History (Modern India History :- Lord Dalhousie 1848-1856)

Modern India History :- Lord Dalhousie 1848-1856

Lord Dalhousie 1848-1856

 *Shifted the headquarters of Bengal Artillery from Calcutta to Meerut

 *Simla was made the permanent headquarters of the army & summer capital

 *formation of Gurkha regiments took place in his reign

 *Youngest Governor General of India (36 Years), & also known as

 - Father of Indian Telegraph

 - Father of Indian Railways

 - Father of Indian Postal system

 - Father of Indian Engineering Services

 - Maker of modern India

 *Followed Policy of Annexation viz.

 - Annexed Punjab (2nd Anglo Sikh war)

 - Annexed Burma via. second Burmese war

 - Annexed Avadh →Offended Muslims & Indian soldiers (Mostly from Avadh)

 - Doctrine of Lapse 

Doctrine of Lapse

 *This policy was based on difference in principle b/w right to inherit property & right to govern

 *Alliance King without heir can not adopt an heir for kingdom

 *Lapsed Satara, Jaitpur and Sambhalpur, Udaipur, Nagpur, Jhansi, & Awadh in given order

 *Annexed states were monitored by chief commissioners with introduction of centralized control called non-regulation system for modern centralized states

Reforms & Developments

Telegraph     

 *In 1852, Under superintendence of O’Shaughnessy 4000 miles of lines were laid down

 *Connected Calcutta, Peshawar, Bombay & Madras telegraphically

 *Proved to be a boon for Britishers in revolt of 1857

Railway     

 *Started “guarantee system” by which the railway companies were guaranteed a minimum interest of five percent on their investment

 *Government retained the right of buying the railway

 *Mainly for Defense, Commercial & Administrative reasons

 *1st railway line – Bombay to Thane 1853

 *2nd Calcutta to Raniganj coal fields 1854

 *3rd Madras to Arakkonam 1856

Postal System :- Laid down foundation of Modern postal system in 1854 with introduction of postal stamps

IES     

 *Created separate public work departments

 *Allotted more funds for cutting canals & roads

 *Upper Gangatic panel was cut in 1854

 *Many bridges were constructed

 *Hence laid foundation of Indian engineering services

Social & Educational     

 *Passed widow Remarriage Act (1856)

 *Recommended the setting up of universities in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras

 *In 1853, competitive examination for the Indian Civil Services began.

 *Educational reforms of Sir Charles wood (1854) are considered intellectual charted of India which provided an outline for Primary, Secondary & Collegiate levels of education.

Woods Dispatch, 1854

 *In 1854, Charles Wood prepared a dispatch on an educational system for India.

 *Considered as “Magna Carta of English Education in India”

 *This document was the 1st comprehensive plan for the spread of education in India.

 - Asked the Government to assume responsibility for education of the masses, thus repudiating the ‘downward filtration theory’, at least on paper.

 - Systematised the hierarchy from vernacular primary schools in villages at bottom, followed by Anglo-Vernacular High Schools and an affiliated college at the district level, and affiliating universities in the presidency towns of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.

 - Recommended English as the medium of instruction for higher studies and vernaculars at school level.

 - Laid stress on female and vocational education, and on teachers training.

 - Laid down that the education imparted in government institutions should be secular.

 - Recommended a system of grants-in-aid to encourage private enterprise.

History (Modern India History :- Lord Hastings & William Bentinck)

Modern India History :- Lord Hastings & William Bentinck

Lord Hastings 1813-1823

 *Gorkha war with Nepal → Treaty of Sagauli + Subsidiary alliance with Nepal

 *Third Anlgo Maratha War

 - Suppression Of Pindaris

 - Full Suppression of Marathas

 *Established Ryotwari System of Land Revenue

 - Mainly in Madras, Bombay & Assam by Thomas Munroe

 - Peasant personally responsible for direct payment of land revenue for 20-40 years

 - 50% land revenue for nor irrigated land & 60% for irrigated land

 *1817 – Establishment of Hindu college at Calcutta For English & western education by Raja Rammohan Roy & David Hare

 *1817 – Government also set up three Sanskrit colleges at Calcutta, Delhi and Agra

 *Encouraged freedom of press & abolished censorship issued in 1799 during Wellesley period

 *The first vernacular newspaper Samahar Patrika published during his time.

Lord Amherst (1823-1828)

 *First Anglo Burmese War (1824-26)

 *Mutiny of Barrackpur (1824)

Lord William Bentinck 1828 – 1835

 *1st true British reformer who worked for the welfare of Indians as his primary duty

 *As been said ‘He acted where others talked’

 *Associated with a great many social reforms viz.

 - Abolished sati system

 - Prevented female infanticide → Made it an offence

 - Banned human sacrifice

 - Reform in the Hindu Law of Inheritance

 - Suppression of Thugs by colonel Sleemen

 *Adopted policy of non-intervention and only annexed states to end misgovernment.

 - Ended misgovernment in Mysore and put it under lord Cubbon

 - Still Cubbon park at Banglore for his services to Banglore

 *Incorporated financial reforms to cut down expenditure viz.

 - Abolished double bhatta system

 - Reduced salaries as increased by Cornwallis to consolidate finance

 - Abolished provincial courts set up by Cornwallis to cut down expenditure

 *Introduced Mahalwari system under James Thompson

 - Mainly in Punjab, Delhi & Central provinces

 - whole village community responsible for revenue settlement

 *Introduced local language in lower courts & English in higher courts replacing Persian.

 *Under Macaulay committee, made English official & literary language of India

 *Laid foundation of Calcutta Medical College – 1835

Charter act (1833)

 *East India company no more a commercial agency but a political agent working under crown

 *General of Fort William → Gov. General of India

 *William Bentinck was the 1st one to become General of India

 *A law member was added to Council of Ministers Gov. General

 *B. Macaulay was the 1st law member to be added in Bentinck council

 *Stated every native of India has equal rights in holding any place, office or employment irrespective of color, religion, cast or place of birth →Indianization of civil services.

Lord Macaulay’s Minute (1835)

 *Imparted that government resources were to be devoted to teaching of western sciences and literature through the medium of English language alone

 *The Government soon made English as the medium of instruction in its schools and colleges and opened a few English schools and colleges instead of a large number of elementary schools, thus neglecting mass education.

Downward filtration theory → The British planned to educate a small section of upper and middle classes, thus creating a class “Indian in blood and colour but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect” who would act as interpreters between the Government and masses and would enrich the vernaculars by which knowledge of western sciences and literature would reach the masses.

Sir Charles Metcalfe (1835-36)

 *He held the post temporarily

 *Removed the restriction on the vernacular press.

Lord Auckland 1836-1842

 *1st Afghan War → A disaster for Britishers with an overall Afghan victory

 *Tripartite Treaty among the English, Ranjit Singh and Shah Shuja of Afghanistan.

Lord Ellenborough 1842-1844

 *Ended Afghan war & withdrew British forces from Afghanistan

 *Annexation of Sindh to the British Empire

Lord Hardinge 1844-1848

 *1st Anglo Sikh war & Treaty of Lahore

 *British emerges victorious

History (Modern India History :- Lord Cornwallis, Richard Colley Wellesley, Subsidiary Alliance)

Modern India History :- Lord Cornwallis, Richard Colley Wellesley, Subsidiary Alliance

Lord Cornwallis (1786 – 1793)

 *Extraordinary Legal Powers to overrule the decision of Council of Ministers (Amendment in Pitts act)

 *Founded Permanent Settlement of Bengal (Zamindari System)

 - Also known as Decennial settlement as farms were given to Zamindars for 10 years

 - Revenue was fixed & non raisable (10/11 part to company & 1/11 to Zamindar)

 - Mainly in Bengal , Bihar & Banaras

 *Laid foundation of Indian administrative services by making appointments on the basis of merit in civil services

 *Purified Civil Services but only for Europeans → Europeanisation of the services

 *All high Indian officials were dismissed and all posts worth more than £500 a year were reserved for Europeans

 *Laid Separation of powers b/w Commercial, Judicial & Revenue officials.

 *Laid 4 provincial courts at Calcutta, Dhaka, Patna & Mursiddabad along with District courts

 *Cornwallis created a Europeanised state within the framework of the Indian tradition

 *1791 – The Sanskrit College, established by Jonathan Duncan at Benaras for study of Hindu law and philosophy

Third Anglo-Mysore War

 *Lord Cornwallis vs Tipu Sultan

 *Marathas and Nizam aided the Britishers

 *Tipu Sultan was defeated & Treaty of Rangpatnam was signed

 *Half of the territories of Tipu were snatched away from Tipu and divided into Marathas, British and Nizam

 *The Raja of Coorg got independences from Tipu

 *Tipu gave 50% of his territory, 3 crore rupees and 2 sons to Lord Cornwallis as hostages

 *To ensure 3 crores were paid in regular installments

Sir John Shore (1793-1798)

 *Was the principal revenue adviser during the regime of the first Governor General of India, Warren Hastings (1772-1785).

 *Most of the reforms in the revenue administration in 1786 and 1790 were introduced by Shore.

 *The Court of Directors was so impressed by Shore’s reasoning and knowledge and his genuine concern for the interests of the company and the people, that he was appointed the Governor General of India in 1793

 *Followed Nonintervention policy with other States / Territories

 *This resulted in the Nizam employing French officers to train his army thus decreasing the English influence.

 *The Marathas and Tipu Sultan also sought the help of the French thus undermining the British

Richard Colley Wellesley– 1798 – 1805

 *Called himself “Bengal Tiger” and reversed the Non intervention policy of John Shore

 *Opened Fort William College at Calcutta to train the Company’s servants in Indian languages & customs; but it was closed in 1802

 *Formulated the Subsidiary alliance to remove French & establish British Power

Subsidiary Alliance

 *Indian states were called the protected states & British, the paramount power

 *Britishers were to save Indian states from external aggression in return of money/ Part of territory to support subsidiary troops.

 *An alliance of British has to maintain a contingent of British troops in his territory commanded by British officers.

 *States had to cut off its connections from other European powers French

 *They were also forbidden to make new political connections even with Indian states without British Permission.

 *States were also to disband their army & Keep a British resident at their court

 *States were also forbid to employ any other Europeans in their court / service without British permission.

 *British to not to interfere in internal affairs of protected states.

 *First alliance was made with Nizam of Hyderabad

Forth Anglo Mysore war with Tipu Sultan

 *In 4th Anglo-Mysore war Tipu was killed & British and Nizams divided his empire making a 5 year old boy “Krishanraja 3” as King

 *Thus, with the end of Fourth Mysore war, Mysore became a princely state with suzerainty of the East India Company.

Noteworthy Points regarding Tipu Sultan

 *Tipu sultan partnered with Turkey, French, Arabia & Kabul and setup his embassies there

 *At Srirangpatnam, a Jacobian club was started with plantation of tree of liberty by Tipu

 *Tipu got a friendship letter from Napolean bonaprte (From Egypt at that time)

 *Words of Tipu – “Better to live like a lion for a day than a lifetime as a sheep”

 *Used the iron cased rockets in the Third and Fourth Mysore war

 *Tipu Sultan wrote Fathul Mujhahidin

Second Anglo Maratha War

 *The main cause of the second Maratha war due to the defeat of the peshwa Baji Rao II by the Holkars, one of the prominent Maratha clans

 *As a result of which he accepted British protection by signing the Treaty of Bassein in December 1802

 *The other Maratha rulers such as the Gwalior’s Scindia rulers and the Bhonsle rulers of Nagpur and Berar did not accept this and they wanted to fight against the British.

 *As a result, the second Anglo-Maratha war broke out in Central India in 1803

Result 

 *Richard Colley Wellesley undertook Maratha Empire by Treaty of Bassein & Treaty of Deogaon

 *He truly made East India company from a trading company to an imperial power in India

 *He converted British Empire in India → British Empire of India.

Lord Minto 1 (1807 -1813)

 *Treaty with Shah of Persia

 *Treaty of Amritsar with Raja Ranjit Singh

 *Charter act (1813) was passed during his period

Charter Act (1793 – 1853)

 *Regulating act of 1793 made compulsory to renew charter act every 20 years (Passed by government in 1793)

 *Charter act (1813) → Provided 1 Lakh annually for promoting knowledge of modern sciences in the country. However, even this petty amount was not made available till 1823, mainly because of the controversy raged on the question of the direction that this expenditure should take

History (Modern India History :- Battle Of Plassey, Battle Of Buxar, Warren Hastings, Regulating Act, Pitts Act)

Modern India History :- Battle Of Plassey, Battle Of Buxar, Warren Hastings, Regulating Act, Pitts Act

Battle of Plassey, 1757

 *Between (Sirajuddaula (Nawab of Bengal) + His French support troop) V/S Robert Clive

 *Treachery by Mir-Jafar + Mohan Lal → Commanders of Nawab’s army

 *Result → Robert clive won & marked Foundation of British Rule in India

 *Mir Jafar became the first titular Nawab of Bengal paving the way for British Empire in India

Battle of Buxar, 1764

 *Between (Nawab of Bengal Mir Qasim + Nawab of Awadh Shuja Uddaula + Mughal emperor Shah Alam 2) V/S East India Company under the command of Major Hector Munro

 *Result → East India Company won

 *Allahabad Treaty was signed

 - Diwani Rights to British to collect taxes on behalf of the Emperor from the eastern province of Bengal-Bihar-Orissa

 - British were given power to decide civil cases.

 *Clive was in England when Battle of Buxar w as fought and won by the British. In 1765

 *Clive returned & became Governor General of Bengal for the second time

 *William Fort at Bengal was founded for governor

Reason for Battle of Buxar

 *The servants of company were indulged in abuse of dastaks in inland trade and not paying duty.

 *Mir Qasim abolished all inland duties to place Indian merchants on the same footing as the English, which angered the British.

First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-1769)

 *In 1767 Mysore was a powerful state under Hyder Ali.

 *In 1769, the first Anglo-Mysore war was fought in which Haider Ali defeated the British

 *Treaty of Madras was signed between them.

 *Haider Ali occupied almost the whole of Carnatic.

Warren Hastings, 1772-1785

 *Unified Diwani Rights, Cut Nawabs annual allowances

 *Established Board of revenue

 *Shifted treasury to Calcutta (became capital of Bengal in 1772)

 *Founded Civil court + Criminal court in each district

 *Founded two Appellate courts viz.

 - Sardar Diwani Adalat for civil cases

 - Sardar Nizamat Adalat for criminal cases 

 *Abolished the system of dastaksc (free passes) → regulated internal trade

 *Enforced a uniform tariff of 2.5 % for Indian and non-Indian goods

 *Started Annual lease / Izaredari system auctioning the land to highest bidder in Bengal

 *In 1781, he founded the Calcutta Madrasa for promotion of Islamic studies. This was the first educational institute established by the Company’s government.

Wars by Warren Hastings

First Rohilla War 

 *Sirajuddaula, Nawab of Awadh vs Rohilla, Afgas settled in Rohilkhand

 *The Nawab was supported by troops of the British East India Company

 *Result → Rohilkhand fell to Awadh, was plundered and occupied

 *The war became a matter of Westminster politics during the Impeachment of Warren Hastings

First Anglo Maratha War

 *Between Mahadji Shinde (Maratha Leader) & British forces at Wadgaon (Pune)

 *British were defeated & signed a treaty of Wadgaon as per the terms of the Marathas

 *Treaty of Wadgaon was held invalid by Warren Hastings, who quoted that the Presidency of Bombay had no legal power to sign such treaty.

 *The Calcutta Presidency sent another force which harassed Mahadji

 *Accordingly a new treaty called “Treaty of Salbai” was signed between the British and the Marathas.  

Second Anglo Mysore war

 *A prolonged war which took 4 years to conclude without victory of any side

 *Haider Ali died in 1782, the battle remained indecisive

 *A peace was finally concluded with Tipu Sultan on the basis of a mutual restitution of all conquests.

 *This was called the “Treaty of Mangalore“

Impeachment of Warren Hastings

 *Warren Hastings was impeached in England on charges related to the Rohilla War, the Case of Nanda Kumar, the treatment of Raja Chait Singh of Benares and the pressures on the Begums of Oudh.

 - Nanda Kumar was an influential official in Bengal. He was hanged to death by the verdict of the Supreme Court at Calcutta for a petty offence of forgery. It was contended that Warren Hastings and the judge of the Supreme Court conspired against Nanda Kumar.

 - Warren Hastings imposed heavy penalty on the Raja Chait Singh of Benares for his delay in payment of tribute and deposed him in an unjust manner.

 - The Begums of Oudh were mother and grandmother of the Nawab of Oudh. Warren Hastings helped the Nawab by sending his troops to the help of Nawab who squeeze money from the Begums.

Regulating Act – 1773

Reasons

 *The Regulating Act of 1773 is called the First step of Government Control in India to regulate the affairs of the East India Company

 *Address the problem of management of company in India.

 *Address the problem of dual system of governance instituted by Lord Clive

 *To control the company, this was so far a business entity but now a semi-sovereign political entity in India

Changes

 *Court of Directors term increased from 1 → 4 years with ¼ retiring every year & not eligible for re-election

 *Made the presidencies of Bombay and Madras as subordinate to the Presidency of Calcutta.

 *Governor of Bengal → Governor General of Fort William for 5 years

 *Council of Ministers of four people to assist Governor General of Fort William

 *Decision to be taken via majority with governor’s vote as casting vote in a tie

 *Governor general → Supreme over other presidencies in peace and war

 *Establishment of Supreme court at Calcutta (1 CJ + 3 Judges) Independent of Gov. General.

 *No Gift/ Cash acceptance by Gov. General or Council or Supreme Court members

Pitts Act – 1784

 *Reduced Council of Ministers from 4→ 3 (Including commander in chief)

 *Formation of Board of control (6 Members) appointed by crown working alongside board of directors

 - Court of Directors – To look after commercial functions & represented the company

 - Board of control – To look after political affairs representing the crown

 *Distinguished between the commercial and political functions of the Company

 *Established a system of double government

 *British Government was given the supreme control over Company’s affairs and its administration in India

History (Medieval India History :- Advent Of The Europeans In India)

Medieval India History :- Advent Of The Europeans In India

Portuguese

 *Vasco-de-Gama reached Calicut via cape of good hope in 1498

 *Was warmly welcomed by Zamorin (Ruler of Calicut)

 *Francis – De – Almeida →  1st Portuguese governor in India

 *In 1510, Albuquerque became governor → Captured Goa from the ruler of Bijapur

 *Goa became capital of Portuguese settlements in India

 *Built fort at Calicut & encouraged his countrymen to marry Indian girls

 *Albuquerque died in 1515 leaving Portuguese as strongest Naval power in India

Dutch (Netherlands)

 *In 1602, Dutch East India company came to India

 *Subsequently they won over Portuguese & emerged as most dominant European trade power

 *Pulicat was their main center in India, later replaced by Nagapattinam

 *1650 (17th century), English began to emerge as big colonial power in India.

 *Anglo Dutch rivalry lasted for 70 years, during which Dutch lost their settlements to British one by one

British

 *English east India Company was established in 1600

 *Charter for the same was issued by Queen Elizabeth of England

 *Captain Hawkins of England arrived at royal court of Jahangir in 1609 seeking permission to establish England trade center at Surat, but was refused by Jahangir due to Portuguese pressure

 *Later in 1613, Jahangir issued a farman (permission letter) to English to establish their trade center hence British established their 1st trading factory at Surat in 1613

 *In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe came to India as ambassador of James 1 (King of England) & obtained permission from Jahangir to settle English trading factories in different parts of India

 *Bombay, Madras & Calcutta became 3 presidency towns of English settlements in India by 1700 with capital Calcutta

French

 *French east India Company was formed in 1664 establishing their 1st factory at Surat →  by Francis Caron

 *Francis Martin founded Pondicherry in 1673 & became 1st governor of Pondicherry

 *Henceforth Pondicherry became headquarter of French possessions in India

- In beginning of 18th century, English & French were competing for their supremacy in India, Mainly in Karnatic & Bengal region. After 3 Karnatic wars, finally French were crushed & limited to Pondicherry

Dane (Denmark Settlements)

 *Settled at Tranquebar & Serampore (Headquater) in Bengal

 *Failed to strengthen themselves in India

 *Sold all their settlements to British in 1845

History (Medieval India History :- Maratha)

Medieval India History :- Maratha

Shivaji (1627 – 1680)

 *Born at Shivner (Father  →  Shahji Bhosale,  Mother  →  Jija Bai)

 *Inherited Jagir of Poona from his father in 1637

 *Continuous fight with Aurangzeb

 *Shaishta khan captured Poona but Shivaji reclaimed it

 *Aurangzeb sent Raja jai Singh of Amber, who besieged Purander fort →  Treaty of Purander, 1665

 *Treaty of Purander →  Shivaji surrendered 23 / 35 forts to Mughals & said to be loyal to Mughal empire

 *In 1674, Shivaji recaptured all his lost territory & crowned himself at Raigarh assuming the title of Chhtrapati

Administration

 *King was pivot at the center, led by COM’s called “Astapradhan”

 Peshwa →  Finance & General administrator (Later became PM)

 Amatya→  Accountant General

 Sar – i – Naubat / Senapati → Military commander

 Waqnavis →  Intelligence & Household affairs

 Sachiv  → Correspondence

 Sumanta →  Master of ceremonies

 Nyayadhish→ Justice Chief

 Pandit Rao  → Charities & Religious admin

 *Appointed his own revenue official “Karkuns” diminishing the power of existing Deshmukhs & Kulkarnis

Taxes

 *From neighboring kingdoms of Mughals & Deccan

 *Chauth   →  1 / 4  of the land revenue to Marathas (for not attacking them & keeping safe)

 *Deshmukhis  →  levy of 1/10  on lands Marathas claimed hereditary rights (Maratha land)
  
Peshwas (1713 – 1818)

 *Balaji Vishvanath  →  Under Maratha ruler Shahu

 *Baji Rao →  Under Maratha ruler Shahu

 *Balaji Baji Rao  →  Became king & ruler of Marathas (Shahu Died)

Agreement with Mughals

 *Balaji Bajirao came into agreement with Mughals in 1752

 *Protection of Mughals in exchange of revenue (Chauth) from Northern provinces

3rd Battle of Panipat

 *Ahmed shah Abdali vs Balaji Bajirao

 *When Ahmed shah Abdali invaded India, Marathas fought for Mughals

 *Balaji Bajirao got defeated & died in 3rd battle of Panipat