Pitt’s India Act, 1784

At a Glance

• What it is The law that put the East India Company’s political work under the control of the British government
• Passed in August 1784, under the government of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger
• Main creation A Board of Control in Britain, which made a system of double government
• Company’s role The Court of Directors kept the commercial affairs
• Governor-General’s Council Cut to three members
• New term The Company’s lands were called the “British possessions in India” for the first time
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Polity: Historical Background

Where Does It Fit in British Rule?

British rule in India is usually studied in two phases: the Company Rule (1773-1858) and the Crown Rule (1858-1947). The Regulating Act, 1773 opened the first phase, and Pitt’s India Act, 1784 was the next important law in it. It gave the British government a direct hand in the Company’s political work, and its system lasted until 1858.

Why Was Pitt’s India Act Passed?

The Regulating Act, 1773 had not worked well. The council had often opposed the Governor-General, and the Supreme Court and the Council had quarrelled over their powers. The Act of Settlement, 1781 fixed part of the trouble, but Parliament still wanted firmer control over the Company.

In 1783 the India Bill of the coalition government, in which Charles James Fox was a leading minister, was rejected by the House of Lords. The new government of William Pitt the Younger then brought a modified bill, and it became law in 1784. This is why the Act carries his name. Its full title speaks of the better regulation and management of the affairs of the East India Company and of the British possessions in India.

Timeline

• 1773 The Regulating Act brings the Company under British Parliament’s supervision
• 1781 The Act of Settlement settles the quarrels between the Supreme Court and the Council
• 1783 Fox’s India Bill is rejected by the House of Lords
• 1784 Pitt’s India Act creates the Board of Control
• 1786 A new Act gives Lord Cornwallis the power to override his council
• 1793 The Charter Act extends this power to later Governor-Generals

What Did Pitt’s India Act Provide?

Commercial and political functions were separated

The Act drew a line between the Company’s commercial and political functions. The Court of Directors was allowed to manage the commercial affairs. A new body, the Board of Control, was created to manage the political affairs. This arrangement is called a system of double government.

The Board of Control

The Board had Privy Counsellors, not more than six in number, appointed as “Commissioners for the Affairs of India”. They included a Secretary of State and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and at least three of them were needed to form the Board. The Board could oversee and give directions on everything the Company’s civil and military government did, and on its revenues, in the British possessions in India. It could see all the Company’s papers, and the Directors’ despatches to India needed its approval. Its head, the President, soon became in effect the minister for the Company’s affairs.

Secret Committee

The Court of Directors set up a Secret Committee to work as a link between the Court and the Board.

A smaller Council

The Governor-General’s Council was reduced to three members, one of whom was the Commander-in-Chief of the King’s army in India. If the members were equally divided, the Governor-General had two votes: his own and a casting vote. A smaller council made ties and deadlock less likely than under the 1773 Act.

Rules for the Company’s servants and policy

• Civil and military officers had to give the Court of Directors a full list of their property in India and in Britain within two months of joining.
• Officers found guilty of corruption could face punishment, including dismissal.
• The Act declared that schemes of conquest and extension of dominion in India were repugnant to the wish, honour and policy of the British nation.
• It provided for a special Court of Judicature to try persons accused of offences committed in the East Indies.

Why Is Pitt’s India Act Important?

The Act was important for two main reasons.

• A new name for Company lands: For the first time, the Company’s lands in India were officially described as the “British possessions in India”.
• Supreme control with the British government: The British government was given supreme control over the Company’s affairs and its administration in India.

It also began the dual control that ran until the Government of India Act, 1858 ended the Company’s rule. In the double system, the Company was represented by the Court of Directors and the Crown by the Board of Control.

What Were Its Limitations?

• Hazy boundaries: The limits between the Board of Control and the Court of Directors were not clear, so the two could pull in different directions.
• Two masters: The Governor-General had to serve both the Company and the Crown.
• No power to override: He still could not overrule his council in special cases. Lord Cornwallis asked for this power in 1786, and another Act gave it to him.
• Indian welfare ignored: The Act dealt with the structure of British government, and said little about the welfare of the Indian people.

How Does It Compare With the Regulating Act, 1773?

What Came Next?

Next came the Act of 1786. When Lord Cornwallis was offered the post of Governor-General of Bengal, he asked for two things: the power to set aside his council’s decision in special cases, and the office of Commander-in-Chief as well. The Act of 1786 granted both. The Charter Act of 1793 then extended the overriding power to all future Governor-Generals and Governors of presidencies, and gave the Governor-General more control over Bombay and Madras.

Key People and Terms

• William Pitt the Younger Prime Minister whose government passed the Act
• Charles James Fox A leading minister of the coalition government whose India Bill was rejected by the House of Lords in 1783
• Lord Cornwallis Governor-General of Bengal from 1786; he got the power to override his council
• Board of Control The body in Britain that managed the Company’s political affairs
• Court of Directors The Company’s governing body, which managed its commercial affairs
• Double government The system in which the Company and the Crown shared control
• Secret Committee A group of Directors that linked the Court with the Board
• British possessions in India The new name for the Company’s territories

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Pitt’s India Act gave the British government supreme control over the Company’s affairs and its administration in India. Use these points to add depth to an answer.

• The Crown steps in: The Board of Control could supervise and direct all civil, military and revenue operations, and the British government gained supreme control over the Company’s affairs in India. Its President soon became in effect the minister for the Company’s affairs.
• Double government and its flaw: The limits between the Court of Directors and the Board of Control were not clear, and the Governor-General had to serve both the Company and the Crown. These flaws remained until the Government of India Act, 1858 abolished double government.
• Concern about conduct and expansion: The Act required officers to disclose their property and made corruption punishable. It also declared that schemes of conquest and extension of dominion were against the wish, honour and policy of the British nation.
• A smaller council, but no override yet: The council was cut to three members, and the Governor-General had two votes if the members were equally divided. The power to override the council came only with the Act of 1786, on Cornwallis’s demand.