The Council of India was the name given at different times to two separate bodies associated with British rule in India. The original Council of India was established by the Charter Act of 1833 as a council of four formal advisors to the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

at Fort William. The ''Governor-General in Council'' was subordinate only to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...

's Court of Directors and to the British Crown. In 1858 the Company's involvement in India's government was transferred by the

Government of India Act 1858 The Government of India Act 1858 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (21 & 22 Vict. c. 106) passed on 2 August 1858. Its provisions called for the liquidation of the British East India Company (who had up to this point been rulin ...

to the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

. The Act created a new governmental department in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(the

India Office The India Office was a British government department established in London in 1858 to oversee the administration, through a Viceroy and other officials, of the Provinces of India. These territories comprised most of the modern-day nations of ...

), headed by the cabinet-ranking Secretary of State for India, who was in turn to be advised by a new Council of India (also based in London). But this new council of

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, which assisted the Secretary of state for India contained 15 members while the erstwhile council of India contained 4 members only and was referred to as Council of four. After the establishment of the Council of 15, the Council of four was formally renamed by the Act (s. 7) as the Council of the Governor General of India.Sometimes it was also called Executive council of India.

Governor-General's council (1833-1858)

The 1773 Act provided for the election of four counsellors by the

's Court of Directors. The Governor-General had a vote along with the counsellors, but he also had an additional

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

. The decision of the Council was binding on the Governor-General. The '' Council of Four'', as it was known in its early days, did in fact attempt to impeach the first Governor-General, Warren Hastings, but in his subsequent trial by Parliament he was found to be not guilty. In 1784, the Council was reduced to three members; the Governor-General continued to have both an ordinary vote and a casting vote. In 1786, the power of the Governor-General was increased even further, as Council decisions ceased to be binding. The Charter Act 1833 made further changes to the structure of the Council. The Act was the first law to distinguish between the executive and legislative responsibilities of the Governor-General. As provided under the Act, there were to be four members of the Council elected by the Court of Directors. The first three members were permitted to participate on all occasions, but the fourth member was only allowed to sit and vote when legislation was being debated. In 1858, the Court of Directors ceased to have the power to elect members of the Council. Instead, the one member who had a vote only on legislative questions came to be appointed by the Sovereign, and the other three members by the Secretary of State for India.

Secretary of State's Council

The Council of the Secretary of State, also known as the India Council was based in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament ...

. In 1907, two Indians Sir Krishna Govinda Gupta and Nawab Syed Hussain Bilgrami were appointed by Lord Morley as members of the council. Bilgrami retired early in 1910 owing to ill-health and his place was taken by Mirza Abbas Ali Baig. Wikisource:Page:The Indian Biographical Dictionary.djvu/41 Other members included Raja Sir Daljit Singh (1915-1917), C.Rajagopalachari (1923-1925), Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana (1924-1934) and

Sir Abdul Qadir Abdul Qadir (15 March 1872 – 9 February 1950) was a Pakistani jurist, newspaper and magazine editor and a Muslim community leader in British India. He was former judge of Lahore High Court. He led the famous Muslim organization, Anjuman-i-Him ...

The Secretary of State's Council of India was abolished by the Government of India Act 1935.

Members of the Council of India in London

References

{{reflist

Governor-General's council (1833-1858)

Secretary of State's Council

Members of the Council of India in London

See also

References

Further reading