Robert Clive established British rule in Bengal through military victories like the Battle of Plassey in 1757. He introduced the dual system of governance where the Nawab nominally ruled but the East India Company exercised actual control. Lord Cornwallis later established the permanent settlement, granting zamindars hereditary rights over the land revenue. During Dalhousie's rule, the doctrine of lapse was used to annex princely states if the ruler did not have a male heir, leading to tensions. The British employed strategies like divide and rule and subsidiary alliances to maintain their grip over India by playing different groups against each other.

1. Alliances and balance of
power in British India
Colonial India

2. INTRODUCTION
• India was the colony of British
• Every colonist have to maintain balance of power in colonial country
• For this purpose British in India introduce some social economic and
political reforms
• They want to overcome the internal and external threats
• For that purpose use different tactics

3. Governors-General And Viceroys

4. Robert Clive in India
• 1742- Entered into Company Service
• 1751- Appointed as Captain in Army- Successful Siege of Arcot
• Active role in the Carnatic Wars
• Won the Battle of Plassey -1757
• 1757-1760 Became the Governor of Bengal
• February 1760 – Left for England
• 1765- Returns Back to India
• 1765-1767- Governor of Bengal

5. Political Settlement
• Settlement with Oudh
• Met Shuja-ud-daula (Nawab Wazir of Oudh and signed agreement called Treaty of
Allahabad (16th August 1765).
• Treaty of Allahabad: Nawab surrenders Allahabad and Kora to Emperor Shah
Alam.
• Nawab agrees to pay Rs. 50 laks to company as war indemnity.
• Nawab confirms Balwant Singh, zamindar of Benaras, in full possession of his
estate.

6. • Settlement with Shah Alam-II
• Emperor issued the firman dated 12th August 1765 granting to the company in perpetuity the Diwan of
Bengal, Bihar, Orissa in return Company making annual payment of Rs. 26 laks to him.
• Political settlement- Bengal
• The Dual System of Government.
• Robert Clive wanted that all powers should pass into the hands of the Company and leave nothing to for
Nawab except the name and shadow of authority.
• “ Masked Government” Company was excised the Diwani and the Nizamat through its agent who were
Indians but actual power remained in the hands of the Company.
• Administration having the rule of the Nawab and Company came to be known as Dual System of Bengal.

7. Demerits
• Administrative System Break Down.
• Decline of Agriculture.
• Disruption of Trade and Commerce.
• Ruination of Industry and Skill Moral degradation.
• Law and order deteriorated.
• Company’s servants used to receive secret presents at the cost of poverty in
India

8. II: WARREN HASTINGS (1772-1785)
• Warren Hastings was the first Governor of Bengal (Presidency of Fort
William).
• In 1750 he joined the British East India Company as a clerk and sailed out to
India, reaching Calcutta in August 1750.
• In 1814 he made a Privy Counsellor.

9. Important Events
• He introduced Administrative Reforms
• Revenue Reforms,
• Commercial Reformsand Judicial Reforms,
• other than these reforms some other incident also took place during his time such as
• The Rohilla War,
• Trail of Nandha kumar,
• Regulating Act of 1773,
• First Maratha War 1772-1782 and
• Second Mysore War.

10. 1780-1784 Administrative Reforms
• End of Dual System of Government.
• The Company taken over the administration of the Province
• The treasury was shifted from Murshidabad to Calcutta.
• The Nawab’s pension was reduced from 32 lakhs to 16 lakhs.

11. Revenue Reforms
• Collectors were appointed for revenue collection and administration.
• Collectors were helped by the native officials.
• Board of Revenue was established.
• Kora and Allahabad was taken from Mughal Empire and sold it to Nawab Wazir of Oudh.
• Commercial Reforms
• Five Customs House were established- Calcutta, Hugli, Murshidabad, Patna and Dacca.
• The uniform reduction of 2 ½ percent in duties on all goods except salt and tobacco.

12. Judicial Reforms
• Provincial Court of Diwani Adalat for all civil cases.
• Sadar Diwani Adalat at Calcutta.
• The three provinces of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

13. III: CORNWALLIS (1786-1793)
• Introduced Permanent Settlement of Bengal (also called Zamindari system).
• It was an agreement between East India Company and Bengali landlords to
fix revenues to be raised from land.
• He introduced Police reforms according to which each district was divided
into 400 square miles and placed under a police superintendent.
• Introduction of Civil Services in India.
•

14. Public Reforms
• Servants to be honest and upright Able to pay good salary to the servants of
the company
• He reduced the number of officers but increased the salaries of others.
• Private trade was completely prohibited
• High post were allotted to the Europeans
• He was convinced that the Indians were unworthy of trust and they could
not be allowed to fill in any but the humblest offices in the government

15. Judicial and Police Reforms
• The number district were reduced 36 to 23- appointed collector to collect taxes and
also not exercise as magistrate.
• Collector was made as judge of the Mofussil Diwani Adalat and given the power to
forward case upto Rs.200.
• Established four courts of circuit.
• The three provisions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa were divided into four divisions.
• Provisional courts were established.

16. Police Reforms:
• Police powers were taken away from Zamindars.
• Divided the districts into small areas and placed under a Superintendent under the supervision of a
representative of the Company. Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793)
• Introduced in the region of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
• Fixed the share of the land revenue.
• Zamindars were appointed to collect revenue.
• Zaminadars received the revenue 9/10th to Viceroy and 1/10th to himself.
• Under this system the zamindar was recognized as the owner of the land who had the power to mortgage
and sell the land.
• Land revenue was fixed but the rent realized by cultivator remained unsettled.

17. IV: WELLESLEY (1798-1805)
SUBSIDIARY ALLIANCE
• Annexation Policy.
• Any state which entered the alliance had to give money or some territory for maintenance
of British army in the state.
• Not to enter into alliance with any other power.
• Would not employ non-English Europeans.
• Allow British Resident to stay in the state.
• In case of conflict, agree to the English decision.
• Acknowledge Company as “Paramount Power”
• The state was protected by the Company

18. Lord Hashtings (1813-1823)
• Mostly indulge in wars
• Gurkha war 1814-16
• Third Anglo Maratha War 1817-19
• Pindari War
• Battle of Khadki
• Abolition of Censorship by Lord Hastings

19. Abolition of Censorship by Lord Hastings
• One of the important events during the tenure of Lord Hastings was
abolition of Censorship.
• This was basically because of his dislike towards “unnecessary” imposition
of restrictions on Press.
• But as a precaution, he issued some guidelines prohibiting company’s policies
in the newspapers.
• The result was that many fresh newspapers came up. India’s first Vernacular
newspapers Samachar Darpan was started in 1818.

20. VI: WILLIAM BENTINCK (1828-1833)
• Reforms
• Financial Reforms
• Judicial Reforms.
• Administrative Reforms.
• Educational Reforms
• Social Reforms.
• Public Works Reforms
• Charter Act of 1833

21. Financial Reforms
• Appointed Two Committee to inquire the expenditure on civil and military affairs of the
Company.
• Accepted the recommendations and abolished many sinecure jobs, cut down the allowances and
reduced the salaries of the civil servants but no change in the military affairs.
• Abolished Provincial Courts of Appeal and Circuit. According to Bentinck, “these courts served
as resting places for those members of the service who were deemed unfit for higher
responsibilities”
• An attempt was made to increase the revenue of the Company by regulating the opium trade.
• Assumption of Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by the Company, grants of revenue free
lands had been made to individuals.
• Regulations 1828 confirmed the grants.

22. Judicial Reforms
• System was suffered due to delay, expense and uncertainty.
• To carry the judicial reforms- Bentinck was assisted by Charles Metcalfe, Butterworth Bayley and Holt
Mackenzie.
• 1829- Abolished Provincial Courts of Appeal and Circuit.
• 1829 Regulation provided that the magistrates were to have the power of awarding punishment of two year’s
imprisonment.
• Regulations of 1831 was provided to appoint Indians in the Zila Courts and City Courts and try cases upto
Rs.300, judges known as Munsifs.
• Decided to setup a separate Sadar Diwan Adalat and Sadar Nizamat Adalat at Allahabad.
• Regulation of 1832 introduced the jury system in Bengal.
• He abolished the use of Persian as Court language and ordered the use of vernacular language.

23. Administrative and Educational Reforms
• Indians were appointed in clerical posts.
• Introduced three grades of Indian judges and the highest of them called Sadar Amins were
given a salary of Rs. 750.
• Legal officers added into the Governor General’s Council after the Charter Act of 1833.
• Appointed Board of Revenue at Allahabad for the North-Western Province.
• Educational Reforms: Macauley became law member, Macauley miniute was submitted,
English was made as Medium of Instruction from 1835.
• 1835, Medical College was opened at Calcutta.
• Given importance to the western and vernacular system of education

24. Social Reforms
• Aboltion of Sati in 1829 by Saratha Act

25. VII: LORD DALHOUSIE 1848-56
• The accession of Lord Dalhousie inaugurated a new chapter in the history of
British India. He functioned as the Governor-General of India from 1848-1856.He
belonged to an aristocratic family of Scotland. Earlier he had served as the
President of the Board of Trade. He is regarded as one of the greatest Governor-
General of India. His eight years rules are full of important events in every sphere.
• He was great both in war and peace. He introduced a number of reforms which
paved the way for the modernization of India and also earned the title, “Maker of
the Modern India”. He believed that, “the promotion of civilization meant the
promotion of western reforms, that western administration and western institutions
were as superior to Indian as Western arms had proved more potent.”

26. Administrative Reforms:
• Dalhousie’s chief aim was the consolidation of British rule in India.
• So he adopted the principle of centralization.
• For the newly acquired territories he devised the ‘Non-Regulation System”
• under which commissioners were appointed to deal with the administrative problems.
• They were made responsible to the Governor-General in the Council.
• He handed over all other powers relating to justice, police, and land revenue to the District Magistrates.
• Dalhousie also made provision for the appointment of a Lieutenant Governor of Bengal.
• By the Parliamentary Act of 1853, the Governor-General was relieved of his functions as the governor of
Bengal.

27. Military Reforms
• After the conquest of Punjab, Sindh and Avadh, the frontiers of the company were extended and the
military interest of India was transferred to the North.
• Thus Dalhousie shifted the headquarters of the Bengal Artillery from Calcutta to Meerut.
• The army head-quarter was also transferred to Shimla so that the army could remain is touch with Governor-
General who resided is Shimla.
• Dalhousie also ordered for the general movement of troops from around Calcutta and from the lower
provinces of Bengal towards the west. He could clearly foresee that the future safety of India depended
upon the numerical strength of the army and on the maintenance of balance between British and Indian
forces.
• After some reduction in the strength of the Indian element the army stood at 2, 23,000 men in 1856, as
against 45,000 Europeans. As he had no confidence in the Indians, a new Gurkha regiment was created. A
new “Irregular Force” was also formed and posted in Punjab. These regiments proved to be of great
assistance to the British during the revolt of 1857-58

28. Railway Reforms
• Dalhousie introduced a new system of internal communication in India. He was the father
of Indian Railways. Dalhousies’ famous Railway Minute of 1853 convinced the home
authorities of the need of the railways and laid down the main lines of their development.
• He envisaged a network of railways connecting the main places with the ports and providing
both for strategically needs and commercial development. The first railway line connecting
Bombay with Thane was laid down in 1853. It covered a distance of twenty-six miles.
• The following year a railway line was constructed from Calcutta to Raniganj coal-fields.
Gradually all important cities and towns were linked up with railway lines. The railway lines
were not built out of the Indian Exchequer but by private English Companies under a
system of “Government Guarantee”. Besides facilitating trade and commerce, minimizing
distances the railways have gone a long way in uniting India.

29. The Electric Telegraph
• In 1852 Dalhousie introduced the Electric Telegraph System in India.
• The first telegraph line from Calcutta to Agra was opened in 1854, covering a
distance of 800 miles.
• By 1857, it was extended to Lahore and Peshawar.
• In Burma a line was laid down from Rangoon to Mandalay. P
• eople could send message from one place to another place very easily by this
telegraph system.

30. Postal Reforms
• The credit of establishing Postal Department also goes to Lord Dalhousie. In 1854
a new Post Office Act was passed.
• Under this system, a Director-General was appointed to supervise the work of Post
Offices in all the Presidencies; a uniform rate of half-anna per letter was introduced
and for the first time postage stamps were issued.
• A postal Department was established for the whole country.
• As a result of these reforms the post offices became the sources of revenue of the
government.
• The people were benefited by the modern postal system.

31. Doctrine of Lapse
• The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy extensively applied by East
India Company in India until 1859.
• The doctrine stated that any princely state under the vassalage of the
company will how its territory annexed should the ruler of the said state fail
to produce an heir.
• The doctrine and its application were regarded by many Indians as
illegitimate

32. Features of Doctrine of Lapse
• According to this doctrine, any princely state under the direct or indirect (as a vassal) control of
the East India Company, should the ruler not produce a legal male heir, would be annexed by the
company.
• This was not introduced by Lord Dalhousie even though it was he who documented it and used it
widely to acquire territories for the British.
• As per this, any adopted son of the Indian ruler could not be proclaimed as heir to the kingdom.
The adopted son would only inherit his foster father’s personal property and estates.
• The adopted son would also not be entitled to any pension that his father had been receiving or
to any of his father’s titles.
• This challenged the Indian ruler’s long-held authority to appoint an heir of their choice.

33. The Doctrine of Lapse – States Annexed
Satara 1848
Jaitpur 1849
Sambalpur 1849
Baghat 1850
Udaipur 1852
Jhansi 1853
Nagpur 1854

34. • In 1824, before the time of Dalhousie, the princely state of Kittur was
acquired by the East India Company by this doctrine.
• It was as per this policy that Nana Sahib, the adopted son of the Maratha
Peshwa Baji Rao II was denied his titles and pension.
• The final moment straw came when Awadh was annexed to the English East
India Company under the terms of the Doctrine of Lapse on the grounds
of internal misrule on 7 February 1856 AD. This annexation was one of the
reasons for the Revolt of 1857.

35. Balance of power

36. The Divide and Rule Policy
• The Divide and Rule policy is a strategy that was used by the British during colonial
rule in India. This policy was used to keep the Indians divided so that they would be
easier to control. The British used this policy to create divisions among the different
religious groups, castes, and ethnicities. They also used it to put different regions
against each other.
• The British used the Divide and Rule policy to their advantage in many ways. One
way was by controlling the media. They would only allow certain information to be
published in the newspapers. This would help them control what the people were
thinking and believing. Another way they used this policy was by giving preferential
treatment to certain groups over others. This would create jealousy and resentment
among the groups.

37. The Divide and Rule Policy
• The British also used this policy to exploit the natural resources of India. They
would give certain areas more development than others. This would cause unrest
and conflict between the regions. The British also used this policy to control the
education system in India. They would only allow certain people to get an
education. This would create a class system in India that still exists today.
• The Divide and Rule policy was used by the British for many years. It wasn’t until
after Indian independence in 1947 that this policy finally came to an end. The
Divide and Rule policy had a lasting impact on Indian society. It created divisions
among the people that are still evident today.

38. Results
• The Divide and Rule policy was a British imperialistic strategy employed in
India to keep the Indian people divided. This allowed the British to rule over
India with little resistance for nearly two centuries. However, the movements
like the Quit India Movement and many more brought Indians together to
demand an end to such an oppressive colonial legacy. While many challenges
were faced, it was heartening to see Indians coming together and fighting for
their rights and for reclaiming their identity.

39. Act of East India Company
• Government of India Acts,
• succession of measures passed by the British Parliament between 1773 and 1935 to regulate
the government of India.
• The first several acts—passed in 1773, 1780, 1784, 1786, 1793, and 1830—were generally
known as East India Company Acts.
• Subsequent measures—chiefly in 1833, 1853, 1858, 1919, and 1935—were entitled
Government of India Acts
• The British passed various legislations in India with the motivation to preserve their
commercial and economic interests along with preserving their own power in the Indian
subcontinent.

40. East India Company Act 1773
• By this Act (13 Geo. III, c. 63), the Parliament of Great Britain imposed a
series of administrative and economic reforms and by doing so clearly
established its sovereignty and ultimate control over the Company. The Act
recognized the Company's political functions and clearly established that the
"acquisition of sovereignty by the subjects of the Crown is on behalf of the
Crown and not in its own right.“
• the Act was passed. It introduced substantial governmental control, and
allowed the land to be formally under the control of the Crown, but leased
to the Company at £40,000 for two years

41. East India Company Act (Pitt's India Act)
1784
• Relationship to the British Government - the Bill clearly differentiated the political functions
of the East India Company from its commercial activities. For its political transactions, the
Act directly subordinated the East India Company to the British Government. To
accomplish this, the Act created a Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India usually
referred to as the Board of Control. The members of the Board of Control were
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, a Secretary of State, and four Privy Councillors,
nominated by the King. The Act specified that the Secretary of State, "shall preside at, and
be President of the said Board".
• Internal Administration of British India – the Bill laid the foundation of the British
centralized bureaucratic administration of India which would reach its peak at the beginning
of the twentieth century with the governor-generalship of George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st
Baron Curzon.

42. • Pitt's Act was deemed a failure because it was immediately apparent that the
boundaries between governmental control and the Company's powers were
obscure and highly subject to interpretation. The government also felt
obliged to answer humanitarian voices pleading for better treatment of
natives in British occupied territories. Edmund Burke, a former East India
Company shareholder and diplomat, felt compelled to relieve the situation
and introduced before parliament a new Regulating Bill in 1783. The Bill was
defeated due to intense lobbying by Company loyalists and accusations of
nepotism in the Bill's recommendations for the appointment of councillors.

43. Act of 1786
• This Act (26 Geo. III c. 16) enacted the demand of Lord Cornwallis, that the powers of the
Governor-General be enlarged to empower him, in special cases, to override the majority of
his Council and act on his own special responsibility. The Act also enabled the offices of the
Governor-General and the Commander-in-Chief to be jointly held by the same official.
• This Act clearly demarcated borders between the Crown and the Company. After this point,
the Company functioned as a regularized subsidiary of the Crown, with greater
accountability for its actions and reached a stable stage of expansion and consolidation.
Having temporarily achieved a state of truce with the Crown, the Company continued to
expand its influence to nearby territories through threats and coercive actions. By the middle
of the 19th century, the Company's rule extended across most of India, Burma, Malaya
Singapore and Hong Kong, and a fifth of the world's population was under its trading
influence.

44. Charter Act of 1813
• The aggressive policies of Lord Wellesley and the Marquis of Hastings led to the Company
gaining control of all India, except for the Punjab, Sind and Nepal. The Indian Princes had
become vassals of the Company. But the expense of wars leading to the total control of India
strained the Company’s finances to the breaking point. The Company was forced to petition
Parliament for assistance. This was the background to the Charter Act of 1813 (53 Geo. III c.
155) which, among other things:
• asserted the sovereignty of the British Crown over the Indian territories held by the Company;
• renewed the Charter of Company for a further twenty years but,
• deprived the Company of its Indian trade monopoly except for trade in tea and the trade with China;
• required the Company to maintain separate and distinct its commercial and territorial accounts; and,
• opened India to missionaries

45. Charter act 1833
• The Industrial Revolution in Britain, and the consequent search for markets, and the rise of
laissez-faire economic ideology form the background to this act.
• The Act:
• divested the Company of its commercial functions;
• renewed for another twenty years the Company’s political and administrative authority;
• invested the Board of Control with full power and authority over the Company. As stated
by Kapur ‘Professor Sri Ram Sharma, thus, summed up the point: "The President of the
Board of Control now became Minister for Indian Affairs".
• .

46. • carried further the ongoing process of administrative centralization through investing the
Governor-General in Council with, full power and authority to superintend and, control the
Presidency Governments in all civil and military matters.
• initiated a machinery for the codification of laws;
• provided that no Indian subject of the Company would be debarred from holding any office
under the Company by reason of his religion, place of birth, descent or colour. However, this
remained a dead letter well into the 20th century.
• Meanwhile, British influence continued to expand; in 1845, the Danish colony of Tranquebar was
sold to Great Britain. The Company had at various stages extended its influence to China,
the Philippines, and Java. It had solved its critical lack of the cash needed to buy tea by exporting
Indian-grown opium to China. China's efforts to end the trade led to the First Opium War with
Britain

47. Charter act 1853
• This Act provided that British India would remain under the administration
of the Company in trust for the Crown until Parliament should decide
otherwise.

48. Act, 1909 or Minto-Morley Reforms
• Element of Election was introduced.
• Indian Council Act, 1909 or Minto-Morley Reforms:
• It envisaged a separate electorate for Muslims.

49. India Act, 1919 Or Montague-Chelmsford
Reforms
• Government of India Act, 1919 Or Montague-Chelmsford Reforms:
• Dyarchy system introduced in the provinces.
• The Provincial subjects of administration were to be divided into 2 categories:
• Transferred
• administered by the Governor with the aid of ministers responsible to the Legislative
Council
• Reserved
• The Governor and the Executive Council were to administer the reserved subjects without
any responsibility to the legislature.

50. Government of India Act, 1935
• Indian legislature became bicameral for the first time, it actually happened after
1935 Act.
• Secy of state be paid by British Exchequer
• Post of Commissioner of India
• Government of India Act, 1935:
• Provided for the establishment of All-India Federation consisting of
• British Provinces
• Princely States.

51. • The joining of Princely States was voluntary and as a result the federation
did not come into existence as the minimum number of princes required to
join the federation did not give their assent to join the federation.
• Dyarchy was introduced at the Centre (e.g. Department of Foreign Affairs
and Defence were reserved for the Governor General).
• Provincial autonomy replaced Dyarchy in provinces. They were granted
separate legal identity.
• Burma (now Myanmar) separated from India