The Council of India was the name given at different times to two separate bodies associated with

British rule in India The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. The original Council of India was established by the

Charter Act of 1833 The Government of India Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will 4 c 85), or the Charter Act 1833, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, later retitled as the Saint Helena Act 1833. It extended the royal charter granted to the East India Company for an ...

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 Southea ...

'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 ruling ...

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_es ...

. The Act created a new governmental department in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(the India Office), headed by the cabinet-ranking

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India Secretary or the Indian Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of th ...

, 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 so ...

, 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 Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

the first Governor-General,

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-Genera ...

, 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 The Government of India Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will 4 c 85), or the Charter Act 1833, was an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, later retitled as the Saint Helena Act 1833. It extended the royal charter ...

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 A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

. In 1907, two Indians Sir

Krishna Govinda Gupta Sir Krishna Govinda Gupta ( bn, স্যার কৃষ্ণগোবিন্দ গুপ্ত; 28 February 1851 – 20 March 1926) was a noted British Indian civil servant, the sixth Indian member of the Indian Civil Service, a barrister ...

and Nawab

Syed Hussain Bilgrami Nawab Syed Hussain Bilgrami, Imad-ul-Mulk Bahadur, CSI (1842-1926) was an Indian civil servant, politician, educationalist and an early leader of the All India Muslim League. Early life Syed Hussain Bilgrami was born in 1844 in Gaya from an ...

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 Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana KCSI, OBE ( pa, ; 7 August 1900 – 20 January 1975) was an Indian statesman, army officer, and landowner who served as the prime minister of the Punjab Province of British India between 1942 a ...

(1924-1934) and Sir Abdul Qadir 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