| Regulating Act, 1773 |
- Act passed for regulating the functioning of East India Company which was in financial crisis.
- The Governor of Bengal was made the Governor-General of Bengal with the Governors of Bombay and Madras placed under him. A four-member council was formed to assist him.
- A Supreme Court was established at Fort William in Calcutta.
- The Act refrained the Governor General, Councilors, Judges, collectors and other district officials from taking gifts, present or reward and any monetary advantages from native subjects.
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| Pitts India Act, 1784 |
- Named after William Pitt, the Younger, British Prime Minister.
- Enacted to address the shortcomings of the Regulating Act, 1773.
- Established the dual system of control by British Government and East India Company.
- A board of control with 6 members was established.
- The governing council was reduced to 3 members.
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| Permanent Settlement Act, 1793 |
- Implemented by Lord Cornwallis.
- Under this land revenues were fixed for each zamindar at 90% of his collections for 1793.
- The rate of revenue was not to be increased ever in the future which was expected to serve as motivation to zamindars
- Zamindars would be assured of long-term returns of continuous flow of revenue.
- The zamindars' power of keeping the armed forces were taken back and they remained just the tax collectors of the land.
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| Doctrine of Lapse |
- The policy was originally enacted by the Court of Directors of East India Company in 1834.
- The policy was vigorously pursued by Lord Dalhousie who took over in 1848.
- According to the policy, if the ruler of an Indian state died without a male heir his state would be automatically annexed by the East India Company.
- Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Nagpur and Jhansi (1854), Tanjore and Arcot (1855) were some of the states annexed by the Company under this policy.
- The policy applied only to dependent states and not to independenct states.
- The policy was rescinded by Queen Victoria in 1858.
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| Vernacular Press Act, 1878 |
- It was enacted in 1878 on the proposal of Lord Lytton, then the Viceroy of India.
- The main aim of the Act was to curtail the freedom of Indian language press and excluded English language publications.
- Under the Act, the district magistrate was empowered to place restrictions on freedom of printer or publisher of vernacular newspaper and no appeal could be made against his action.
- The Act led to strong protests from a wide spectrum of people.
- The law was repealed by Lord Ripon in 1881.
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| Rowlatt Act, 1919 |
- Rowlatt Act is the popular name of the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919.
- It was enacted on the recommendations of Rowlatt Committee headed by Sir Sidney Rowlatt.
- This act authorised the Government to imprison any person for two years without trial.
- There were widespread protests against the act and one such protest led to the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre.
- The act was repealed in 1922.
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