The Government of India Acts

The Acts of Parliament, including those with different titles, which established the governing structure of colonial India. The Acts of Government were necessary when the East India Company began to administer the territory in the late 18th century, and until the mid-19th century, their main purpose was to strengthen the British government's involvement in the company's board of directors in London and to streamline the company's governance in India.

This period includes the Regulatory Act of 1772, which appointed a Governor-General of Bengal and ordered him to report his reports to the Board of Directors to the relevant cabinet ministers; the so-called "Pitt's India Act" of 1784, which established a supervisory body (the Board of Indian Affairs) including two cabinet ministers and stipulated for the appointment of the Governor-General, Governors, and military commanders from outside the company; the Patent Act of 1813, which abolished the East India Company's monopoly on trade with India and brought the territory under British sovereignty; the Patent Act of 1833, which abolished the company's trading functions and made it a colonial company, changed the Governor-General of Bengal to a Governor-General of India, and granted legislative powers to the "Governor-General in Council"; and the Patent Act of 1853, which introduced a system of open examinations for higher civil posts in India.

The 1858 Improvement Act for the Government of India Act, which came after the Indian Mutiny (Sepoy Mutiny), abolished the East India Company, established the Secretary of State for India and the Council of India in the British government, appointed the Governor-General as Viceroy, and made India a Crown colony. Several Indian Council Acts after 1861 stipulated the organization of the Executive Council of the Governor-General and Governors-General, and the Legislative Council, which consisted of additional members. The nationalist movement demanded the strengthening of the Legislative Council's powers and the participation of popularly elected members in it, and the British made a series of partial concessions while reserving the final decision-making power of the Governor-General and Governors. The 1892 Act appointed half of the additional members to be non-civil servants, adopted indirect elections for some of them, and granted the Legislative Council the right to question the budget. The 1909 Act (Morley-Minto Reforms) added representatives of the business community to the Legislative Council, introduced sectarian seats and separate elections for Muslims, but increased the number of popularly elected members and granted the Legislative Council the right to decide on the budget. The 1919 Act (Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms) adopted a bicameral system for the central legislature, increased the number of popularly elected members at the national and state levels, introduced direct elections with a diverse range of interest representatives and sectarian elections, and transferred some state affairs to Indian state ministers based on state legislative councils, partially responding to the nationalist movement's demand for responsible government. The 1935 Act established a federal system that included princely states, and introduced responsible government at the central and state levels while reserving the final decision-making power of the Governor-General and state governors, but the provisions related to the central government were never implemented, and state autonomy did not function fully due to the political turmoil during World War II.

[Minoru Takabatake]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

植民地インドの統治組織を定めた、イギリス議会の諸制定法の総称で、名称の異なる法律をも含む。統治法は、東インド会社が18世紀後半に領土経営を行うに及んで必要となったもので、19世紀なかば過ぎまでは、ロンドンの会社取締役会に対するイギリス政府の介入を強化し、インドにおける会社の統治機構を整序するのがその主目的であった。

　ベンガル総督を置き、総督の取締役会あて通報の、関係閣僚へ報告を命じた1772年の規制法、閣僚2名を含む監督庁（インド問題委員会）の設置と総督、知事、軍司令官の社外からの任用とを定めた1784年のいわゆる「ピットのインド法」、東インド会社のインド貿易独占権を撤廃し領土をイギリスの主権下に置いた1813年特許法、会社の貿易機能を廃して植民地経営会社とし、ベンガル総督をインド総督に改め、「参事会における総督」に立法権を付与した1833年特許法、インド高等文官職の公開試験制度を導入した1853年特許法がその時期に属する。

　インドの大反乱（セポイの反乱）後の1858年のインド統治改善法は、東インド会社を廃止してイギリス政府にインド大臣とインド省参事会を設け、総督を副王に併任してインドを国王植民地とした。1861年以後の数次のインド参事会法は、総督および州総督の行政参事会と、それに付加議員を加えて構成する立法参事会との組織を規定した。立法参事会の権能強化とそれへの民選議員の参加とが民族運動の要求として提起され、イギリスは総督と知事の最終決定権を留保しつつ部分的譲歩を重ねた。1892年法は付加議員の半数に非官吏をあて、その一部に間接選挙を採用し、立法参事会の予算質疑権を認めた。1909年法（モーリー・ミントー改革）は経済界の利益代表を立法参事会に加え、ムスリムの宗派指定議席と分離選挙を導入したが、民選議員を増員し、立法参事会の予算に関する決議権を認めた。1919年法（モンタギュー・チェルムズフォード改革）は中央立法府に二院制を採用し、中央と州を通じて民選議員数を増員し、多様な利益代表や宗派別選挙を伴いながらも直接選挙制を導入し、州所管事項の一部を、州立法参事会に基礎を置くインド人州大臣に移管して、民族運動の責任政府樹立要求に部分的に応じた。1935年法は藩王国をも含む連邦制を規定し、総督と州知事の最終決定権を留保のうえで、中央と州の責任政府を導入したが、中央政府関係の規定はついに実施されず、州自治も第二次世界大戦時の政情混乱のため十分には機能しなかった。

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