Pitt’s India Act 1784 or the East India Company Act 1784 was passed in the British Parliament to rectify the defects of the Regulating Act 1773.
The Regulating Act 1773 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain intended to overhaul the management of the East India Company’s rule in India. The Act did not prove to be a long-term solution to concerns over the Company’s affairs.
More government control came with the India Act of 1784, under Prime Minister William Pitt. This created a committee of six government appointees, known as the Board of Control, who were to monitor and direct the Company’s policies.
It resulted in dual control or joint government in India by Crown in Great Britain and the British East India Company, with crown having ultimate authority. With this act, East India Company’s political functions were differentiated from its commercial activities for the first time. This act established the British Crown’s authority in the civil and military administration of its Indian territories. Commercial activities were still a monopoly of the Company.
The relationship between company and crown established by this act kept changing with time until the Government of India Act 1858 provided for liquidation of the British East India Company.
This act made a distinction between the commercial and political activities of the East India Company. For the first time, the term ‘British possessions in India’ was used. This act gave the British government direct control over Indian administration. The Company became subordinate to the British government unlike as in the previous Regulating Act of 1773, where the government only sought to ‘regulate’ matters and not take over.
Significance of Pitts India Act 1784
- The company’s territories in India were for the first time called the ‘British possession in India’.
- British Government was given the supreme control over Company’s affairs and its administration in India. In this dual system of control, the company was represented by the Court of Directors and the British government by the Board of Control..
- The act mandated that all civil and military officers disclose their property in India and Britain within two months of their joining.
- The Governor-General’s council’s strength was reduced to three members. One of the three would be the Commander-in-Chief of the British Crown’s army in India.
- The Governor-General was given the right of veto.
- The Presidencies of Madras and Bombay became subordinate to the Bengal Presidency. In effect, Calcutta became the capital of the British possessions in India.
Failure of Pitts India Act 1784
The Pitt’s India Act was deemed a failure. This was because; very soon it became apparent that the boundaries between government control and the company’s powers were nebulous and highly subjective. The Governor-General had to serve two masters i.e. East India Company and the British Crown. There were no clearboundaries between the responsibilities of the Board of Control and the Court of Directors of the company. The Governor-General had to take on the spot decisions exercising his discretion.
