The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the

legislature A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Charter Act of 1853 by providing for the addition of 6 additional members to the Governor General Council for legislative purposes. Thus, the act separated the legislative and executive functions of the council and it was this body within the GG council which came to known as the Indian/Central Legislative Council. In 1861 it was renamed as Imperial Legislative Council and the strength was increased. It succeeded the Council of the Governor-General of India, and was succeeded by the

Constituent Assembly of India The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...

and after 1950, was succeeded by

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

. During the rule of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...

, the council of the

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

had both executive and legislative responsibilities. The council had four members elected by the Court of Directors. The first three members were permitted to participate on all occasions, but the fourth member was only allowed to sit and vote when legislation was being debated. In 1858, the British Crown took over the administration from the

. The council was transformed into the Imperial Legislative Council, and the Court of Directors of the Company, which had the power to elect members of the Governor-General's Council, ceased to have this power. Instead, the one member who had a vote only on legislative questions came to be appointed by the Sovereign, and the other three members by the Secretary of State for India.

Predecessors

The Regulating Act of 1773 limited the influence of the

and established the Council of Four, elected by the

's Court of Directors. Pitt's India Act of 1784 reduced the membership to three, and also established the

India Board The Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India (commonly known as the India Board or the Board of Control) was an arm of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for managing the government's interest in British India and the East Ind ...

1861 to 1892

The Indian Councils Act 1861 made several changes to the Council's composition. The council was now called the Governor-General's Legislative Council or the Imperial Legislative Council. Three members were to be appointed by the Secretary of State for India, and two by the Sovereign. (The power to appoint all five members passed to the Crown in 1869.) The viceroy was empowered to appoint an additional six to twelve members. The five individuals appointed by the Indian Secretary or Sovereign headed the executive departments, while those appointed by the Governor-General debated and voted on legislation.

Indians in the Council

There were 45 Indians nominated as additional non-official members from 1862 to 1892. Out of these 25 were zamindars and seven were rulers of

princely states A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

. The others were lawyers, magistrates, journalists and merchants. The participation of the Indian members in the council meetings was negligible. * Raja Sir Deo Narayan Singh of Benaras (Jan 1862–1866) * Narendra Singh, Maharaja of Patiala (Jan 1862–1864) * Dinkar Rao (Jan 1862–1864) * Yusef Ali Khan, Nawab of Rampur (Sep 1863–1864) * Maharaja Sir Mirza Gajapati Viziaram, Raj Bahadur of Vizianagram (Jan 1864–1866)(Apr 1872–1876) * Raja Sir Sahib Dayal of Kishen Kot (Jan 1864–1866) * Mahtabchand Bahadur, Raja of Burdwan (Nov 1864–1866) *

Khwaja Abdul Ghani Nawab Bahadur Sir Khwaja Abdul Ghani (30 July 1813 – 24 August 1896) was the second Nawab of Dhaka and the first to assume the title of Nawab as hereditary, recognized by the British Raj. He introduced the panchayat system, gaslights, ...

, Nawab of Dacca (Dec 1867–1869) *

Prasanna Coomar Tagore Prasanna may refer to: People As sole name * Prasanna (actor) (Prasanna Venkatesan, active from 2001), Indian film actor * Prasanna (theatre director) (born 1951), Indian theatre director and playwright * V. V. Prasanna, a Tamil playback singe ...

(Dec 1867–1873) * Dheoraj Singh of Kashipur (Jan 1868–1870) * Sawai Ram Singh II, Maharaja of Jaipur (Aug 1868–1870) and (Aug 1871–1875) * Digvijay Singh, Raja of Balrampur (Oct 1868–1870) * Ramanath Tagore (Feb 1873–1875) *Raja Shamsher Parkash of

Sirmur Sirmur (also spelled as Sirmor, Sirmaur, Sirmour, or Sirmoor) was an independent kingdom in India, founded in 1616, located in the region that is now the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The state was also known as Nahan, after its main ...

* Sir Ishwari Prasad Narayan Singh, Maharaja of Benaras (1876) * Sir Narendra Krishna Deb (1876) * Nawab Faiz Ali Khan, Nawab Bahadur of Pahasu (1877) * Kalb Ali Khan, Nawab of Rampur (1878–1887) *

Syed Ahmad Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, h ...

(1878–1882) * Jatindramohan Tagore (Bengal Zamindars) (1880–1881) * Raghubir Singh of Jind (1880) * Raja Shiva Prasad of Benaras * Durga Charan Laha, Maharaja of Shyampukur (1882) (Calcutta Merchants) *

Kristo Das Pal Kristo Das Pal ( bn, কৃষ্ণদাস পাল; 1838 – 24 July 1884), was an Indian journalist, orator and the editor of the ''Hindoo Patriot''. In spite of being born of the Teli or oil-men's caste, which ranks low in the Hindu socia ...

(1883) * Syed Ameer Ali (1883– ) *

Vishvanath Narayan Mandlik Vishvanath Narayan Mandlik, C.S.I. (8 March 1833 – 9 May 1899) was an eminent Bombay citizen, lawyer, author and a legal expert on Hindu law. Although a conservative when dealing in several cases involving Hindu traditions (where he opposed s ...

(1884–1887) * Sir Shankar Bakhsh Singh (1886) * Peary Mohan Mukherjea * Dinshaw Maneckji Petit (1886) * Khwaja Ahsanullah * Sir Romesh Chandra Mitra, Bengal * Krishnaji Lakshman Nulkar, Bombay (1890–1891) * Rashbihari Ghosh (1892)

1892 to 1909

The Indian Councils Act 1892 increased the number of legislative members with a minimum of ten and maximum of sixteen members. The Council now had 6 officials, 5 nominated non-officials, 4 nominated by the provincial legislative councils of

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including th ...

and

North-Western Provinces The North-Western Provinces was an administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. In 1858, the nawab-ruled kingdo ...

and 1 nominated by the chamber of commerce in Calcutta. The members were allowed to ask questions in the Council but not allowed to ask supplementaries or discuss the answer. They were however empowered to discuss the annual financial statement under certain restrictions but could not vote on it.

Indians in the Council

* Pherozeshah Mehta, Bombay (1893–1896) (1898–1901) * Lakshmeshwar Singh, Bengal (1893–1898) *Baba Khem Singh Bedi, Punjab nominated (1893–1897), Punjab (1897–1905) *Fazulbhai Vishram, Bombay nominated (1893–) * Gangadhar Rao Chitnavis, Central Provinces nominated (1893–1909) * Mir Humayun Jah Bahadur (1893–) * Rashbihari Ghosh (1894–1908) *Babu Mohini Mohan Roy (1894) * P. Ananda Charlu, Madras (1895–1903) * Rahimtulla M. Sayani, Bombay (1896–1898) *Nawab Amiruddin Ahmad Khan of Loharu (1897) *Balwant Rao Bhuskute, Central Provinces (1896–1897) *Pandit Bishambar Nath (1897) *Joy Gobind Laha (1897) *

Nawab Faiyaz Ali Khan Nawab Sir Muhammad Faiyaz Ali Khan Bahadur (1851–1922) was a Nawab of Pahasu, a member of the Governor General's Council of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh and Member of the Legislative council of the United Provinces. Early life Faiya ...

, Nawab Bahadur of Pahasu, North-West Provinces (1898–1900) * Rameshwar Singh Bahadur, Bengal nominated (1899–1904), Bengal (1904–) * Apcar Alexander Apcar, Bengal Chamber of Commerce (1900–1903) * Syed Hussain Bilgrami (1902–1908) *Raja Surindar Bikram Prakash Bahadur of

(1902–1907) * Aga Khan III, nominated (1903) *

Gopal Krishna Gokhale Gopal Krishna Gokhale ( �ɡoːpaːl ˈkrɪʂɳə ˈɡoːkʰleː9 May 1866 – 19 February 1915) was an Indian 'moderate' political leader and a social reformer during the Indian independence movement. Gokhale was a senior leader of the India ...

, Bombay (1903–1909) * Ernest Cable, Bengal Chamber of Commerce (1903–) * Rai Sri Ram Bahadur, United Provinces (1903–) *

Bipin Krishna Bose Rai Bahadur Sir Bipin Krishna Bose (21 January 1851 – 26 August 1933) was an Indian advocate. Bose started his law practice at Jubbulpore (now Jabalpur) in 1872, and moved to Nagpur, Central Provinces, in 1874. He was a member of the muni ...

, Central Provinces (1903–) * Wadero Ghulam Kadir M.B.E Nominated Ratodero Larrkanao(1913) * Nawab Syed Muhammad Bahadur, Madras (1903–1909) *

Nawab Fateh Ali Khan Kazilbash Nawab Sir Fateh Ali Khan Kazilbash (1862 - 28 October 1923) Order of the Indian Empire, KCIE was a landlord from Lahore, Punjab Province, British India, Punjab during the British Raj. Biography He was born in 1862, the son of Nisar Ali Khan, and ...

, Punjab (1904) * R. G. Bhandarkar (1903) * Ripudaman Singh (1906–1908) *Nawab

Khwaja Salimullah Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur (7 June 1871 – 16 January 1915) was the fourth Nawab of Dhaka and one of the leading Muslim politicians during the British rule in India. In 1906, the Muslim League was officially founded at the educatio ...

(1908) * Asutosh Mookerjee (1908) *Munshi Madho Lal, United Provinces (1907–1909) * Theodore Morison (1908) *Maing Ba Tow (1908)

1909 to 1920

The Indian Councils Act 1909 increased the number of members of the Legislative Council to 60, of whom 27 were to be elected. For the first time, Indians were admitted to membership, and there were six Muslim representatives, the first time that such representation had been given to a religious group. The composition of the Council was as follows: * Ex-officio members from the

Viceroy's Executive Council The Viceroy's Executive Council was the cabinet of the government of British India headed by the Viceroy of India. It is also known as the Council of the Governor-General of India. It was transformed from an advisory council into a cabinet consisti ...

(9) * Nominated officials (28) * Nominated non-officials (5): Indian commercial community (1), Punjab Muslims (1), Punjab Landholders (1), Others (2) * Elected from provincial legislatures (27) ** General (13): Bombay(2), Madras(2), Bengal(2), United Provinces(2), Central Provinces, Assam, Bihar & Orissa, Punjab, Burma ** Landholders (6): Bombay, Madras, Bengal, United Provinces, Central Provinces, Bihar & Orissa ** Muslim (6): Bengal (2), Madras, Bombay, United Provinces, Bihar & Orissa ** Commerce (2): Bengal Chamber of Commerce (1), Bombay Chamber of Commerce

Indians in the Council (1909–20)

Nominated Officials

*Kiran Chandra De Mahesh

Nominated Non-Officials

Surendranath Banerjee Sir Surendranath Banerjee often known as Rashtraguru ( bn, Rāṣṭraguru, Teacher of the Nation; 10 November 18486 August 1925) was Indian nationalist leader during the British Rule. He founded a nationalist organization called the Indian N ...

(1913–1920), Raja Piari Mohan Mukherjee (1915), Sir Fazalbhoy Currimbhoy Ebrahim (−1920),

Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (R.D. Tata, 1856–1926) was an Indian businessman who played a pivotal role in the growth of the Tata Group in India. He was the first cousin of Jamsetji Tata, a pioneering industrialist and the founder of Tata Sons. He w ...

(1920)

Bengal

* General: Sachchidananda Sinha (1910–12), Bhupendra Nath Bose (1911–19), Lalit Mohan Chatterjee, Rai Sita Nath Ray Bahadur (1916–19) * Muslims: Syed Shamsul Huda (1911–15), A. K. Ghuznavi (1911), Maulvi Abdul Rahim (1916–1919), Nawab Bahadur Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury (1916–20) * Landholders: Bijoy Chand Mahtab (1909–12), Manindra Chandra Nandy (1916–19)

Bihar & Orissa

* General: Sachchidananda Sinha (1912–20),

Madhusudan Das Madhusudan Das (28 April 1848 – 4 February 1934) was an Indian lawyer and social reformer, who founded Utkal Sammilani in 1903 to campaign for the unification of Odisha along with its social and industrial development. He was one of the mai ...

(1913), Rai Bahadur Krishna Sahay (1916–1919) * Muslims: Mulana Mazharul Haque (1910–11), Syed Ali Imam (1912) Quamrul Huda (1915), Mohammad Yunus (1916) * Landholders: Rajendra Narayan Bhanja Deo Raja of Kanika (1916–1920)

Bombay

*General:

(1909–1915), Vithalbhai Patel (1912), Dinshaw Edulji Wacha (1916–1920), Lallubhai Samaldas Mehta, Pheroze Sethna, Sir

Vithaldas Thackersey Sir Vithaldas Damodar Thackersey (30 November 1873 – 12 August 1922) was an Indian businessman from Bombay state and was a member of Imperial Council of India during the 1900s. He chaired the Industrial Conference, a subsidiary conference of I ...

* Muslim:

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

(1910–1911) and (1916–1919), Ghulam Muhammad Bhurgri (1911–1912), Ibrahim Rahimtoola (1913–1919), Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto * Landholders:

Sir Sassoon David, 1st Baronet Sir Sassoon Jacob Hai David, 1st Baronet, (11 December 1849 – 27 November 1926) was an Indian merchant who was a member of the community of Baghdadi Jews who lived in Bombay from the late 19th Century into the 20th Century. He was a textile ...

(1910), Wadero Ghulam Kadir Dayo 1913 1914, Khan Bahadur Saiyed Allahondo Shah (1916–1919)

Burma

* General: Maung Mye (1915), Maing Ba Tu (1911–1920)

Central Provinces

* General: Sir Maneckji Byramji Dadabhoy (1911–1917),

Raghunath Narasinha Mudholkar Rao Bahadur Raghunath Narasinha Mudholkar (16 May 1857 – 13 January 1921), was an Indian politician who served as the President of the Indian National Congress for one term, succeeding Pandit Bishan Narayan Dar. He presided over 27th sessio ...

(1911–1912), V. R. Pandit, General (1915),

Ganesh Shrikrishna Khaparde Ganesh Srikrishna Khaparde (also known as Dadasaheb Khaparde) (27 August 1854 – 1 July 1938) was an Indian lawyer, scholar, political activist and a noted devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba and saint Gajanan Maharaj. Born in a Deshastha Brahmin ...

(1918–1920), Rai Sahib Seth Nath Mal *Landholders: Sir Gangadhar Rao Chitnavis (1893–1916), Pandit Bishan Dutt Shukul (1916–1919)

East Bengal & Assam

* General: Kamini Kumar Chanda (1920) * Landholders: Pramathanath Roy, Raja of Dighapatia (1911–1915)

Madras

* General: N. Subba Rao Pantulu (1910–1913),

C. Vijayaraghavachariar Chakravarti Vijayaraghavachariar (18 June 1852 – 19 April 1944) was an Indian politician. He rose to prominence following his appeal against the false charges alleging him to have instigated a Hindu – Muslim riot in Salem (now in Tamil Nadu ...

(1913–1916),

V. S. Srinivasa Sastri Valangaiman Sankaranarayana Srinivasa Sastri (22 September 1869 – 17 April 1946) was an Indian politician, administrator, educator, orator and Indian independence activist. He was acclaimed for his oratory and command over the English langua ...

(1916–1919),

B. N. Sarma Rao Bahadur Sir Bayya Narasimheswara Sarma, KCSI ) (1867–1932) was an Indian lawyer, politician and member of the Viceroy's Executive Council. Biography Sarma was born in 1867 to Bayya Mahadeva Sastry, a Vaidik Brahmin inamdar in Visakhapatna ...

(1916–1919), Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu (1920), T. Rangachari,

M. Ct. Muthiah Chettiar Sir Muttaiya Chidambaram Chettiar Muthiah Chettiar (8 February 1887 – 19 July 1929) was an Indian banker who served as a director of the Indian Bank. He was the oldest grandson of Muttaiya Chettiar, the patriarch of the M. Ct. and S. Rm. fami ...

* Muslim:

Ghulam Muhammad Ali Khan Khan Bahadur Sir Ghulam Muhammad Ali Khan (1882–1952) was the fifth Prince of Arcot and ruled from 1903 to 1952. Early life Ghulam Muhammad Ali Khan was born on 26 February 1882 to Muhammad Munawar Khan. He was educated at the Newington ...

(1910–1913), Nawab Syed Muhammad Bahadur (1909–1919), Khan Bahadur Mir Asad Ali (1916–1919) * Landholders:

Veerabhadra Raju Bahadur Sri Raja Vairicherla Veerabhadra Raju Bahadur Garu (born 6 September 1877) was an Indian aristocrat and politician who served as the hereditary ''zamindar'' of Kurupam from September 1891 and as a member of the Madras Legislative Council Ea ...

(1912), Raja of Panagal (1912–1915), K. V. Rangaswamy Iyengar (1916–1919)

Punjab

* General: Raja Sir Daljit Singh (1913–1915), Sir Runbhir Singh (1915), Dewan Tek Chand (1915–1917),

Sundar Singh Majithia Sardar Bahadur Sir Sundar Singh Majithia (17 February 1872 – 2 April 1941) was a Punjabi landowner and politician. Biography He was born to an aristocratic Sher-Gill Jat Sikh family, the son of Raja Surat Singh of Majitha. He was educat ...

(1917–1920) * Muslims: Sir Zulfikar Ali Khan (1910–1920), Muhammad Shafi (1917) * Landholders: Pratap Singh of Kapurthala (1910–1911), Col. Raja Jai Chand, Sir Malik Umar Hayat Khan (1911–1920) * Chiefs : Sultan Karam Dad Khan of Pharwala (1918)

United Provinces

* General: Madan Mohan Malaviya (1911–1919), Bishan Narayan Dar (1914–1920), Tej Bahadur Sapru (1916–1919) * Muslims: Sir Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...

of Mahmudabad (1909–1912), Nawab Abdul Majid (1912), Nawab Mohammad Ismail Khan * Landholders: Raja Sir Rampal Singh of Kurri Sudauli

1920 to 1947

Under the

Government of India Act 1919 The Government of India Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5 c. 101) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed to expand participation of Indians in the government of India. The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report of ...

, the Imperial Legislative Council was converted into a bicameral legislature with the Imperial Legislative Assembly (also known as the Central Legislative Assembly) as the lower house of a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gro ...

legislature and the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

as the upper house, reviewing legislation passed by the Assembly. The Governor-General nonetheless retained significant power over legislation. He could authorise the expenditure of money without the Legislature's consent for "ecclesiastical, political nddefence" purposes, and for any purpose during "emergencies". He was permitted to veto, or even stop debate on, any bill. If he recommended the passage of a bill, but only one chamber co-operated, he could declare the bill passed over the objections of the other chamber. The Legislature had no authority over foreign affairs and defence. The President of the Council of State was appointed by the Governor-General; the Central Legislative Assembly elected its own President, apart from the first, but the election required the Governor-General's approval. Under the Indian Independence Act 1947, the Imperial Legislative Council and its houses were dissolved on 14 August 1947 and was replaced by the

and the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.

References

External links

History of Assembly (Old Secretariat)
at

Legislative Assembly of Delhi The Delhi Legislative Assembly, also known as the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, is a unicameral legislature of the union territory of Delhi in India. Delhi Legislative Assembly is the legislative arm of the Government of Delhi. At present, it consists ...

website {{Legislatures of India 1861 establishments in British India

Predecessors

1861 to 1892

Indians in the Council

1892 to 1909

Indians in the Council

1909 to 1920

Indians in the Council (1909–20)

Nominated Officials

Nominated Non-Officials

Bengal

Bihar & Orissa

Bombay

Burma

Central Provinces

East Bengal & Assam

Madras

Punjab

United Provinces

1920 to 1947

See also

References

External links