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[Music] Study IQ IAS Now Preparation Became Affordable Warren Hastings 1772 to 1785 Welcome to Study IQ My name is Adesh Singh Friends in our last few videos we have seen how the Britishers came to India as a trading company and then gradually established their empire here. The British governors and governors-general played a very important role in the establishment of the empire by the Britishers and in running the administration thereafter. We have already discussed Robert Clive, the first governor of the Bengal Presidency. Today we are going to talk about Warren Hastings, the next governor of Bengal and the first Governor-General of Bengal. So let's begin. Introduction Warren Hastings joined the British East India Company as a clerk in 1750. After serving in various positions in the company, he was finally appointed as the Governor of Bengal Presidency in 1772. By this time, Bengal had come under the control of the British company, and at that time, the Governor of Bengal was Robert Clive, who established the Dual Government System here. Under this, the company managed the revenue collection, i.e., Diwani rights, but the responsibility of managing the administration, i.e., Nizamat rights, remained with the Nawab of Bengal. After becoming the Governor in 1772, Warren Hastings' most important task was to establish a stable administrative system in Bengal. Along with this, he also had to develop the company's finances and commerce, which had fallen into a very bad shape due to Robert Clive's policies. Shortly after he became governor, in 1773, the British Parliament passed the Regulating Act. Friends, let's understand in our next section why the Regulating Act was brought and what its important provisions were. Regulating Act of 1773 After the battles of Plassey and Buxar, the British company started ruling Bengal. Now the company was no longer just a trading organization but also an administrative body. Therefore, to regulate the functioning of the company, the British Parliament passed the Regulating Act in 1773. According to this act, the presidencies of Madras and Bombay came under the control of Bengal. The post of Governor of Bengal now became the post of Governor-General, and thus Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General. An executive council of four members was also formed to assist the Governor-General. All decisions were to be taken on the basis of majority, and the Governor-General could only vote in case of a tie. The act also prohibited company servants from engaging in private trade and accepting bribes and presents from natives. Along with this, the Supreme Court was also established at Fort William, Calcutta. Hastings was made the Governor-General. Now let's talk about the various reforms introduced by Warren Hastings during his tenure as Governor and Governor-General. Reforms Introduced by Warren Hastings Warren Hastings introduced reforms in various fields such as administrative, revenue, judicial, and commercial. Let's discuss them one by one. First, let's talk about administrative reforms. Administrative Reforms Warren Hastings' most important administrative reform was the abolition of the Dual System of Administration established by Robert Clive in Bengal. Friends, you will remember that in the Dual System, the Nizamat rights were with the Nawab, but the Zamindari rights were with the company. Besides this, Warren Hastings also reduced the Nawab's allowance from 36 lakhs to 16 lakhs. After the Battle of Buxar, according to the Treaty of Allahabad of 1765, the company was paying ₹26 lakhs annually to the Mughal Emperor. Hastings stopped this payment and also took back Allahabad and Kara from the Mughal Emperor and sold Awadh for ₹50 lakhs. The reason behind all these actions was to improve the company's economy. After administration, let's look at revenue reforms. Revenue Reforms For revenue collection, Warren Hastings set up a Board of Revenue in Calcutta. A British Collector and Accountant General were appointed in each district. The treasury was moved from Murshidabad to Calcutta. In 1772, Calcutta was declared the capital of Bengal. In 1772 itself, Warren Hastings initiated a five-year settlement for land revenue. According to this system, the highest bidder got the right to collect revenue for 5 years. They were called revenue farmers. However, this system failed because the bidders had no interest in the land; they only tried to extract as much as possible through speculative means. Besides this, the land was also over-assessed, and the state's demand was kept very high. On top of this, the method of collection was very harsh. The company's collectors harassed the revenue farmers. Due to all these reasons, the revenue farmers accumulated significant arrears, and many were arrested for default. In 1776, when the five-year settlement expired, Warren Hastings made a one-year settlement. This time, preference was given to zamindars for the settlement, and learning from these reforms, the revenue reforms of the next Governor-General, Lord Cornwallis, were a step further, which we will discuss in our next video. So these were Warren Hastings' experiments in the revenue field. Let's now talk about his judicial reforms. Judicial Reforms Friends, Warren Hastings did not achieve much success in revenue reforms, but his judicial reforms were certainly successful. Warren Hastings' first judicial reform was the abolition of the judicial powers of the zamindars. In 1772, Warren Hastings set up Diwani Adalats and Faujdari Adalats at the district level. The Diwani Adalat was presided over by the Collector, i.e., a European officer, and the Faujdari Adalat by an Indian judge. Besides this, Hindu law was applied in the Diwani Adalat, and Muslim law was applied to Muslims. However, in the Faujdari Adalat, the decision for everyone was according to Muslim law. To appeal against the decisions of the district courts, Sadar Diwani Adalat and Sadar Nizamat Adalat were also set up in Calcutta. Besides this, Warren Hastings also tried to codify Muslim and Hindu laws. In 1776, an English translation of the Hindu code was published under the name "Code of Gentoo Laws." Friends, these were the judicial reforms introduced by Warren Hastings. Now, let's finally learn about some of his commercial reforms. Commercial Reforms Warren Hastings took some steps to clear the bottlenecks in Bengal's internal trade. First, he suppressed the numerous custom houses operating in the zamindaris. Now, only five custom houses were maintained: Calcutta, Hugli, Murshidabad, Dhaka, and Patna. Hastings also checked the misuse of dastaks. Duties were reduced to 2.5%, and these were levied on both Indians and Europeans. Along with this, he also imposed restrictions on the private trade of company servants. Friends, we have discussed Warren Hastings' reforms. Let's now take a look at some other important events during his tenure. Important Events During Warren Hastings' Period 1772 to 1785 Many important events took place during Warren Hastings' 13-year tenure. Let's discuss them one by one. The first important event was the First Rohilla War in 1774. Let's understand this in detail. First Rohilla War Friends, the Rohillas were basically Afghans who came to India during the decline of the Mughal Empire in the 18th century and established their control over the region of Rohilkhand. In 1770, as the Maratha power was rising again under the leadership of Peshwa Madhav Rao I, the Rohillas began to fear a Maratha attack. In early 1772, the Marathas defeated the Rohilla chief Daud Khan and occupied their entire territory. In such a situation, the Rohilla leader Hafiz Rahmat Khan signed a treaty with the Nawab of Awadh on June 17, 1772, for protection from the Marathas. According to the treaty, if a Maratha attack occurred, the Nawab of Awadh had to help the Rohillas, and in return, the Rohillas promised to pay them ₹40 lakhs. The Marathas planned to attack Rohilkhand, but then Peshwa Madhav Rao I died, and thus Rohilkhand was saved from a Maratha attack. Although the Maratha attack did not happen, the Nawab of Awadh still demanded the promised amount of ₹40 lakhs from the Rohillas as per the treaty. When the Rohillas refused to pay, the Nawab decided to annex Rohilkhand. For this annexation, he sought help from the British Company, and interestingly, Warren Hastings agreed to help in exchange for the payment of ₹40 lakhs. On April 23, 1774, the Battle of Miranpur Katra took place, in which the forces of Colonel Alexander Champion defeated the Rohillas led by Hafiz Rahmat Khan. Hafiz Rahmat Khan died in the battle, and the Rohillas fled towards the mountains of Laldong. Thus, Rohilkhand went to Awadh, and the Rohilla War ended. This would not have been possible without the help of Warren Hastings and the Company. During Warren Hastings' time, the First Anglo-Maratha War took place between 1776 and 1782, and the Second Anglo-Mysore War took place between 1780 and 1784. We have already covered both these topics in our videos, so you can refer to the videos for a detailed understanding. In 1784, the Asiatic Society of Bengal was also founded to encourage Oriental studies. Warren Hastings encouraged and supported Sir William Jones in its establishment. In 1784 itself, the British Parliament also passed the Pitt's India Act. This act removed the shortcomings of the Regulating Act of 1773. Let's understand this in a little more detail. Pitt's India Act 1784 Pitt's India Act separated the political and commercial functions of the company. This act established dual control over British possessions in India. This means that the immediate control would remain with the company, but the final authority would be with the British government. A Board of Control was established to look after political matters, and the Court of Directors was appointed for commercial affairs. The Court of Directors represented the company, and the Board of Control represented the British government. The Board of Control had six members: the Secretary of State, who was the president of the board, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and four Privy Councillors. Along with this, the act also mandated that all civil and military officers would disclose their property in India and Britain within two months of joining. The strength of the Governor-General's Council was reduced from four members to three members. Earlier, due to four members, the Governor-General faced considerable difficulty in making decisions according to his will, but now he needed the consent of only one member for major decisions. One of the three member posts would be given to the Commander-in-Chief of the British Crown's army in India. Along with this, the Governor-General was also given veto power in the council. The presidencies of Madras and Bombay were declared subordinate to the Bengal Presidency, and Calcutta now became the capital of the British in India. Friends, the Pitt's India Act becomes important because it was through this act that direct control of the British government was established over Indian administration. Until then, all the responsibility lay solely with the company. Also, the position of the Governor-General became even stronger because the control of the council was no longer as strong as before. Friends, this was the discussion of the Pitt's India Act. Let's now return to our topic. Warren Hastings' tenure is also known for some of his controversial decisions. So let's discuss them now. The Affairs of Chait Singh and the Begums of Awadh Friends, Chait Singh was the Raja of Banaras, and Banaras was a tributary or subordinate state of Awadh. In 1775, when Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh died, his son Asaf-ud-Daula became the Nawab. Warren Hastings took advantage of this change and forced the new Nawab to sign a new treaty. According to this treaty, Banaras was transferred to the company, and Chait Singh now became a subordinate of the company. The treaty also had a provision that Chait Singh would pay ₹2 lakhs annually to the company, and besides this, no further demands would be made on him, and he would be allowed to rule peacefully in Banaras. However, due to financial stringency, Warren Hastings violated this provision and started making questionable demands. In 1778, he demanded an additional ₹5 lakhs from Chait Singh as a war levy. This demand was repeated again in 1779 and 1780. In 1780, the Raja sent a bribe of ₹2 lakhs to Warren Hastings so that no further demands would be made, but Warren Hastings still demanded an extra subsidy and the dispatch of 2000 cavalry contingent. The Raja wrote a letter to Warren Hastings, apologizing that he could not fulfill this demand. Warren Hastings decided to punish Raja Chait Singh and imposed a fine of ₹50 lakhs on him. He himself proceeded towards Banaras. The Raja met him at Buxar and placed his turban at his feet, but Warren Hastings refused to make any decision before reaching Banaras. Upon reaching Banaras, he had Chait Singh arrested. Chait Singh's soldiers revolted against the British upon seeing their king insulted, but their rebellion was suppressed. Mahip Narayan, the minor nephew of Chait Singh, was made the Raja in exchange for an annual payment of ₹40 lakhs instead of ₹22 lakhs. The Raja of Banaras now remained merely a pensioner of the company. After Banaras, Warren Hastings targeted Awadh. The Nawab of Awadh, Asaf-ud-Daula, owed the company about ₹70 lakhs. This amount was to be paid for the subsidiary force stationed in Awadh. When the company pressured him for payment, Asaf-ud-Daula suggested that he be allowed to take the treasure of the late Nawab's wives, i.e., the Begums of Awadh. Even before this, on the interference of the British Resident, the Nawab had taken £560,000 from the Begums. At that time, the Calcutta Council had guaranteed that no further demands would be made on the Begums after this. But on the Nawab's suggestion, Warren Hastings forgot his given guarantee and ordered the British Resident to take money from the Begums. The Begums were pressurized, and an amount of ₹105 lakhs was taken from them, most of which went towards paying the company's debt. Both these incidents were so controversial that when Warren Hastings returned, the Parliament there also filed an impeachment case against him. This trial lasted from 1788 to 1795, but in the end, he was acquitted of all charges because he had benefited his country, and the people of England considered him a hero. Conclusion Friends, we can say that on one hand, Warren Hastings laid the foundation of the British administrative system in India, and on the other hand, he also increased the company's territories in India. Whether it was the territory of Salsate won in the First Anglo-Maratha War or Banaras taken from Awadh, Warren Hastings expanded the British Empire in India using his military and diplomatic skills. After him, Lord Cornwallis became the Governor-General, whom we will discuss in our upcoming video. Study IQ IAS Now Preparation Became Affordable