Previous Year Question

The Government of India Act, 1858 transferred the Government of India from the East India Company to the British Crown.

After the Revolt of 1857, a fundamental change was made in the administrative system of British rule. The rule of the East India Company was terminated and the administration of India was brought directly under the British Crown.

The explicit purpose of the Government of India Act, 1858 was to establish direct Crown rule in place of Company rule in India. The Act provided that the Indian territories under the East India Company were to be governed in the name of Her Majesty.

The Act ended the old system of dual control based on the Board of Control and the East India Company's Court of Directors. Their administrative powers were transferred to the new Crown-based arrangement.

It also created the office of the Secretary of State for India. He was a member of the British Cabinet and possessed extensive authority over administrative matters relating to India. A 15-member Council of India was established to assist him.

Thus, after 1858, the phase of government by the East India Company ended and the period of Crown Rule began. Administration continued through the Governor-General of India, but ultimate control now rested with the British Crown and the new institutional machinery of the British Government.

The Indian Councils Act, 1861 mainly concerned changes in the legislative councils; the Royal Titles Act, 1876 related to Queen Victoria's imperial title in India; and the Indian Councils Act, 1892 expanded the composition and functions of the legislative councils. None of these transferred the government from the Company to the Crown.