East India Bill By Edmund Burke

Q:               Give a brief sketch of the sociopolitical style of the subcontinent during the time of Edmund Burke.(upgraded version)

East India Bill is proposed in the British parliament, in the section of “House of Common”, to the British queen about the misjudgments of the East India Company and the cruelty of them towards the people of Indian-subcontinent in 1783.  The bill is considered as the ‘second magna-carta” of England. This bill is the mile stone in the whole corpus of English written about the Indian, where a British has written in the favor of Indian subcontinent.

The British East India Company started their business in India from 1540 onwards. About a hundred years they were in India. At first it was a small company. From 1600 the company explored their business. In 1757, the East India Company defeated the Nawab Siraj Ud Dula in the Battle of Plassey, which created the foundation of colonialism of East India Company over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Within hundred years they gradually expanded their reign all over India. In 1774 they had murdered Bahadur Shah, the last Mughal emperor and started to control the whole Indian subcontinent in the reign of their rule.

The ruling pattern over India of the British was unforgettable. During the rule time of the British the miseries of the common subcontinental people was increasing day by day. The brutality and cruelty of the East India Company made the life of Indians a complete hell. Warren Hastings introduced a lot new ways of exploiting the Indian people. East India Company was getting richer by exploiting the people. Some of the brutalities of the British upon the Indian are as follows-

The British established the law of sunset for feudal tax. The feudal class of the subcontinent had to give tax for their own land. And if someone missed the timeline to give tax, then his land would be confiscated by the East India Company. And also if anyone from the feudal class had died and left any orphan of him who is not enough mature, then all his land would be confiscated. To save their own land, the feudal class wanted a high tax from the farmers.

Our farmers could not grow their own food, but they were bound to harvest blue. The Indian people forgot the minimum liberty of life. After the death of the last Mughal emperor the Indians lost the complete political freedom of their own life. During the range of East India Company the law and order were totally collapsed. All the Indian wealth was   taken to England. We had to buy our own food by paying an abnormal price.

The educational condition of the India was not so high. The British took no step to educate the Indian people.

The condition of women was also no so safe. The British took the widows in any restricted area where they made sexual relationship with that girl. Thus the girls became mistress of the British.

Edmund Burke never visited India. Nevertheless he felt a strong emotion for the Indian. The British rule in the subcontinent created a deep negative impact on the thought of Edmund Burke. Being a British parliamentarian, he raised his political voice in favor of the Indian people. All these issues; political, social, economical and law and order were raised in the East India Bill. He could very well understand that the brutal India Company destroyed the glamour and fame of the queen Victoria. The people of the subcontinent used to hate the British from the core of their heart. He wanted to introduce an executive British power rather than a despotic mercantile empowerment. He totally rejected the activities of Warren Hastings. His intention was also to make the queen understand about the importance of the India as the biggest colony. Because, 75% of the national income of the British comes from India. So, Edmund Burke requested the queen to change Warren Hasting and to employee a new vice-roy by her serve. So, the new vice-roy would rule over India according to the rule of the British royal family.

Burke’s speech served two purposes for the well being of the Indian people-

i)                    To get a good government for them

ii)                  To make the Indian people understand that British imperialism is not affiliated with the despotism done to the Indian people. 

 This bill is spoken for the liberty, fraternity and equality. We believe that somehow this bill    influenced hundred years later on the mind of the patriotic Indians like Mahatma Gandhi, Shuvas Boshu etc. It created the spirit of liberation to the Indian people.