Indian Councils Act of 1861
Context:
- After
the 1857 revolt, British wanted Indians to help run the country.
- Passed
3 laws (1861, 1892, 1909) to include Indians in governance.
Key
Features:
- Involved
Indians in Law-Making:
- First
time Indians were part of the law-making process.
- Viceroy
(British head in India) picked 3 Indians as advisors (e.g., Raja of
Benaras).
- Power
to Provinces:
- Gave
back law-making power to Bombay and Madras (earlier, all power was with
the central British government).
- Reversed
the trend of central control since 1773.
- Later,
provinces got full internal freedom (by 1937).
- New
Councils Created:
- Bengal
(1862), North-Western Provinces (1886), Punjab (1897) got their own
law-making councils.
- Viceroy’s
Control & Departments:
- Viceroy
could set rules for meetings.
- Introduced “portfolio
system”: Each council member managed specific departments (like
education, finance) and made decisions for their area.
- Emergency
Powers:
- Viceroy
could pass temporary laws (ordinances) without the council’s approval
during emergencies.
- These
laws lasted 6 months.
Why
Important?
- First
step to include Indians in governance.
- Started
sharing power between British and provinces