The British came to India in 1600 as traders, in the form of East India Company, which has the exclusive right of trading in India under a charter granted by Queen Elizabeth1. in 1765, the Company, which till now had purely trading functions obtainned the 'diwani' (rights over revenue and civil justece) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. This started its career as a territorial power. In 1858, in the wake of the 'sepoy mutiny', the British Crown assumed direct responsibility for the goverrnance of india. This rule continued until India was granted independence on August 15, 1947.
With Independence came the need of a Constitution.A constituent Assembly was formed for this purpose in 1946 and on January 26, 1950, the Constitution came into being. However, various features of the Indian Constitution and polity have their roots in the British rule. There are certain events in the British rule that laid down the legal framework for the organisation and functioning of goverrnment and administration in British india. These events have greatly influenced our constitution and polity. They are explained here in a chronological order.
in next e-note we study about the Regulating Act of 1773.
