British Administration in India - Military, Police and Judiciary

Mains: The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.

British Administration in India: By 1784, the East India Company’s administration of India had been brought under the control of the British Government. The needs of the British economy were determining its economic policies. In the beginning, the Company left the administration of its possessions in India in Indian hands, confining its activities to supervision. But it soon found that British aims were not adequately served by following old methods of administration. Consequently, the Company took some aspects of administration into its own hands. Under Warren Hasting and Cornwallis, the administration at the top was overhauled, and the foundations of a new system based on the English pattern were laid down.

The spread of British power to new areas led the nineteenth century to more fundamental changes in the system of administration. But the overall objectives of imperialism were never forgotten. The British administration in India was based on main pillars like the Civil Service, the Army, the Police, the Judiciary etc. The rules, regulations and reforms in the administration paved the way for consolidating British rule in India.

Military under British Administration

The army served as the second most significant pillar of British Administration in India, after the civil services. The army fulfilled four important functions:

• It served as a tool used to subdue the Indian powers.
• It defended the British Empire in India against outside enemies.
• It protected British supremacy from the constant risk of internal uprising.
• It served as the main tool for defending and expanding the boundaries of the British Empire in Asia and Africa.

Structure of Army before 1857 under British Administration

The origin of the British Indian Army and, subsequently, the army of independent India lies in the origins of the Presidency Armies, which preceded them.

• The Bengal army and the armies of the Bombay and Madras Presidency made up the army of the East India Company; each had a distinctive internal structure and level of professionalism.
• The sepoys of the Bengal army generally hailed from the high-caste (Brahmin and Kshatriya) Hindu families of Oudh and Bihar. Even in their so-called "military villages," they upheld the bonds between caste and community.
  • The ties with their original villages were, however, slackened but not snapped.
  • Following the Anglo-Maratha war, there was a surge of Maratha soldiers.
  • They generally helped the British during the 1857 revolt as loyal professional soldiers.

  Changes in the Military after 1857 under British Administration

  The revolt of 1857necessitated certain amendments in the organisation of colonial armed forces.

  

  • The ratio between the number of British and Indian soldiers in India was specified by the Royal Peel Commission (1859).
    • In the Bengali army, it was set at one to two, and
    • in the Madras and Bombay armies, it was set at two to five.
  • The European troops were kept in strategic military and geographic locations.
  • The mobile artillery was completely controlled by the British, and the Arms Acts were passed to deny the possession of weapons in the hands of 'unlawful' elements.
  • Indians were strictly prohibited from joining the officer corps, as was the previous policy.
    • No Indian could advance past the subedar rank prior to 1914.
  • In order to reduce the likelihood that the Indian army's section would once again band together in an anti-British uprising, it was organised according to the "divide and rule" policy.
  • A fiction was created that Indians consisted of martial and non-martial classes.
    • Soldiers from Awadh, Bihar, Central India, and South India, who helped the British Administration to conquer India but later took part in the Revolt of 1857, were declared to be non-martial. They were not taken into the army on a large scale.
    • On the other hand, those Punjabis, Gurkhas, and Pathans who had helped put down the uprising were declared to be martial and heavily recruited.
  • To prevent the emergence of nationalism among the soldiers, communal, caste, tribal, and regional loyalties were encouraged.
    • For instance, communal and caste companies were implemented in the majority of regiments.
  • It was kept as far away from nationalist ideas as possible. The soldiers couldn't access journals, newspapers, or nationalist publications.
  • The Indian army became, in time, a very costly military machine.
    • For instance, it absorbed nearly 52% of Indian revenues in 1904.

  Judiciary under British Administration

  Through the establishment of a hierarchy of civil and criminal courts, the British Administration laid the groundwork for a new system of delivering justice. Warren Hastings gave the system a head start, but Cornwallis stabilised it in 1793.

  • In 1727, the Mayor's Court was established in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras for civil disputes.
  • A complex legal framework called the adalat established civil and criminal jurisdictions in 1772.
    • For the purpose of assisting the presiding judges in interpreting their respective customary laws, both Hindu pandits and Muslim qazis (Sharia court judges) were hired.
    • However, British common and statutory laws started to apply generally.
    • Thus, as per theory, no one was above the law and all the citizens, irrespective of their caste, class and other status, were now equal before the law.
    • In caste-based Indian society, equality before the law was a novel concept.
    • Even the Government servant, if the acts were done in their official capacity, could be sued in a court of Law.
    • The Supreme Court had jurisdiction in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, with the exception of cases exceeding Rs. 4,000 requiring appeal to London Privy Council.

    Developments in the Judiciary under British Administration

    As the British set up civil and criminal courts in India, it gave rise to modern ideas and the complexity of the justice process.

    • Modern ideas: The Indian Constitution adopted the modern ideas of Habeas Corpus, Rule of Law, Equality before Law etc.
    • Hierarchy of Courts: The British Judicial Organisation helped India establish the hierarchy of Courts after independence.
    • Codification of Laws: The various Acts and Commissions helped to divide laws into civil and criminal laws.
    • Integration: The British judicial administration helped India integrate its laws with the Anglo-Saxon system.
    • Expensive Justice: Under the British judiciary, justice became quite expensive as court fees had to be paid, lawyers engaged, and the expenses of witnesses met.
    • The complexity of Laws: The complicated laws were beyond the grasp of the illiterate and even the general public.
    • Corruption: The widespread corruption in the ranks of the police and administrative machinery led to the denial of justice.

    PYQs on British Administration in India

    Question 1: Why did the armies of the British East India Company - mostly comprising of Indian Soldiers – win consistently against the more numerous and better-equipped armies of the then Indian rulers? Give reasons. (UPSC Mains 2022)

    FAQs on British Administration in India

    Q) What were Indian soldiers in the British Army called?

    Indian soldiers known as sepoys were chosen from India's native population by European colonial powers. The sepoys were organised into battalions under the command of European officers and trained and equipped in accordance with European standards.

    Q) Which institutions under British administration were created by Cornwallis?

    The British administration in India was based on three pillars- the Civil Service, the Army, and the Police. Cornwallis created Civil Service and Police.The Judiciary though given a start by Warren Hastings, was stabilised by Cornwallis.

    Q) What was the Subsidiary Alliance Policy?

    It was basically a treaty between the British East India Company and the Indian princely states, by virtue of which the Indian kingdoms lost their sovereignty to the English. Under this system, an Indian ruler who formed a treaty with the company in question would be provided with protection against any external attacks.

    Q) What was the role of police under British Administration?

    The Police Act of 1861, whose main goal was to make the police an effective instrument for the prevention and detection of crime and to use it as a weapon at the disposal of the foreign government, set limits on the role that the police could play during the British Empire.

    Q) Who is the father of judicial service in India under British Administration?

    Lord Cornwallis rationalised and modernised the Indian Civil Services after Warren Hastings laid the groundwork for them. Lord Cornwallis is referred to as the "Father of Indian Civil Service" as a result.