DeangeloWaley at 08:59, 26 March 2026

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{{Short description|Legislature issued in the British Raj (1861–1947)}}
{{Infobox legislature
| name = Imperial Legislative Council
| native_name =
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| legislature =
| coa_pic = Star of the Order of the Star of India (gold).svg
| coa_res = 200px
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| house_type = [[Unicameral]] (1861–1919) [[Bicameral]] (1919–1947)
| body =
| houses = [[Council of State (India)|Council of State]] (upper) [[Central Legislative Assembly]] (lower)
| term_limits = 5 years (Council of State) 3 years (Central Legislative Assembly)
| foundation = {{Start date|df=yes|1861}}
| disbanded = {{End date|1947|08|14|df=yes}}
| preceded_by = [[Council of Four (India)|Governor-General's Council]]
| succeeded_by = [[Constituent Assembly of India]] [[Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]]
| new_session =
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| seats = 60 (Council of States) 145 (Central Legislative Assembly)
| house1 =
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| meeting_place = [[Old Parliament House, New Delhi|Council House]], [[New Delhi]], [[British Raj|British India]] {{small|(from 1927)}}
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The '''Imperial Legislative Council''' ('''ILC''') was the [[legislature]] of [[British Raj|British India]] from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the "Charter Act of 1853" by providing for the addition of six 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 Governor General's 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 Four (India)|Council of the Governor-General of India]], and was succeeded by the [[Constituent Assembly of India]] and after 1950, was succeeded by [[Parliament of India]].

During the rule of the [[East India Company]], the council of the [[Governor-General of India|governor-general of India]] 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.
By [[Government of India Act 1858]], the British Crown took over the administration from the East India Company. 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 1773]] limited the influence of the [[Governor-General of India]] and established the [[Council of Four (India)|Council of Four]], elected by the [[East India Company]]'s Court of Directors. [[Pitt's India Act]] of 1784 reduced the membership to three, and also established the [[India Board]].

==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.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} 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]]. The others were lawyers, magistrates, journalists and merchants.<ref>{{cite book|last=Banerjee|first=Anil Chandra|title=English Law in India|year=1984|page=143|isbn=9788170171836|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7MXExXXb9usC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Chandra|first=Bipan|title=India's Struggle for Independence|date=9 August 2016|isbn=9788184751833|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0q7xH06NrFkC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Buckland|first=Charles|title=Dictionary of Indian Biography|year=1999|isbn=9788170208976|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_dA0RAwd4oC}}</ref> The participation of the Indian members in the council meetings was negligible.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bhattacharya|first=Sabyasachi|title=The Financial Foundations of the British Raj|year=2005|page=57|isbn=9788125029038|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BABluVWfMp8C}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kashyap|first=Subhash|title=History of the Parliament of India|year=1994|isbn=9788185402345|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6KKbAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

* Raja Sir Deo Narayan Singh of Benaras (Jan 1862–1866)
*[[Maharaja of Patiala|Maharaja]] [[Narinder Singh of Patiala|Narinder Singh]] of [[Patiala State|Patiala]] (Jan 1862 – Nov 1862)
*[[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)
* Bir Bar Raja Sir Sahib Dayal of Kishen Kot (Jan 1864–1866)
* [[Bardhaman Raj#Mahtabchand Bahadur|Mahtabchand Bahadur]], Raja of Burdwan (Nov 1864–1867)
* [[Kalb Ali Khan]], Nawab of Rampur (Jan 1867–)(1878–1887)
* [[Khwaja Abdul Ghani]], Nawab of Dacca (Dec 1867–1869)
* [[Prasanna Coomar Tagore]] (Dec 1867–1873)
* Raja Sheoraj Singh of Kashipur (Jan 1868–1870)
* [[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 State|Sirmur]]
* [[Ishwari Prasad Narayan Singh]], Maharaja of Benaras (1876)
* [[Sovabazar Raj|Sir Narendra Krishna Deb]] (1876)
* [[Muhammad Faiz Ali Khan]], Nawab Bahadur of [[Pahasu]] (Dec 1877)
* [[Syed Ahmad Khan]] (1878–1882)
* [[Jatindramohan Tagore]] (Bengal Zamindars) (1880–1881)
* [[Raghubir Singh of Jind]] (1880)
* [[Raja Sivaprasad]] of Benaras
* Durga Charan Laha, Maharaja of Shyampukur (1882–1889)
* [[Kristo Das Pal]] (1883)
* [[Syed Ameer Ali]] (1883–1885)
* [[Vishvanath Narayan Mandlik]] (1884–1887)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/greater_bombay/publiclife.html |title=Maharashtra State Gazetteers – Greater Bombay District |publisher=Cultural.maharashtra.gov.in |date= |accessdate=2022-08-11}}</ref>
* [[Lakshmeshwar Singh]] (1885–1888)
* Peary Mohan Mukherjea (1885–1888)
* Syud Ameer Hossain (1886–1889)
* [[Mohammad Amir Hasan Khan]] (1886)
* Sir Shankar Bakhsh Singh (1886–1888)
* [[Dinshaw Maneckji Petit]] (1886–1888)
* Nawab Nawazish Ali Khan (Jul 1887-Sep 1888)
* [[Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju]] (1888–1889)
* Muhammad Ali Khan (1889–1891)
* [[Khem Singh Bedi]] (1889)
* [[Khwaja Ahsanullah]] (1890–1892)
* Sir [[Romesh Chandra Mitra]] (1890–1891)
* [[Krishnaji Lakshman Nulkar]], Bombay (1890–1891)
* [[Udai Pratap Singh of Bhinga]] (1891–1892)
* [[Rashbihari Ghosh]] (1892)
* [[P. Chentsal Rao]] (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]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[Madras Presidency]] and [[North-Western Provinces]] 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)
*[[Khem Singh Bedi]], Punjab nominated (1893–1897), Punjab (1897–1905)
*[[Udai Pratap Singh of Bhinga]] (1893)
*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)
*[[Anandacharlu|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 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)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Abdul|first1=Latif Sayyid|title=Addresses Poems and Other Writings|date=30 November 1924|publisher=The Government Central Press|url=https://archive.org/details/addressespoemsan031005mbp}}</ref>
*Raja [[Surendra Bikram Prakash|Surindar Bikram Prakash Bahadur]] of [[Sirmur State|Sirmur]] (1902–1907)
*[[Aga Khan III]], nominated (1903)
*[[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]], Bombay (1903–1909)
*[[Ernest Cable, 1st Baron Cable|Ernest Cable]], Bengal Chamber of Commerce (1903–)
* Rai [[Sri Ram]] Bahadur, United Provinces (1903–)
*[[Bipin Krishna Bose]], 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]], Punjab (1904)
*[[R. G. Bhandarkar]] (1903)
*[[Ripudaman Singh]] (1906–1908)
*Nawab [[Khwaja Salimullah]] (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:<ref>{{cite book|last=Mukherji|first=P.|title=Indian constitutional documents, 1773–1915|year=1915|publisher=Calcutta, Spink|url=https://archive.org/stream/indianconstituti00mukeuoft#page/306/mode/2up}}</ref>
* Ex-officio members from the [[Viceroy's Executive Council]] (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

===Nominated Non-Officials===
* [[Surendranath Banerjee]] (1913–1920),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiavideo.org/text/surendranath-banerji-1223.php|title=Surendranath Banerji, freedom fighter, India}}</ref> Raja Peary Mohan Mukherjee (1915), Sir Fazalbhoy [[Currimbhoy Ebrahim]] (−1920), [[Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata]] (1920)

===Bengal===
* General: [[Sachchidananda Sinha]] (1910–12), [[Bhupendra Nath Bose]] (1911–19), Lalit Mohan Chatterjee,<ref name="BL">{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/indiaofficeselect/PhotoEnqFull.asp?PrintID=21643|title=Login|access-date=2013-08-21|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304225354/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/indiaofficeselect/PhotoEnqFull.asp?PrintID=21643|url-status=dead}}</ref> Rai Sita Nath Ray Bahadur (1916–19)
* Muslims: [[Nawaab Syed Shamsul Huda|Syed Shamsul Huda]] (1911–15), [[Abdul Karim Ghaznavi]] (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]] (1913), Rai Bahadur Krishna Sahay (1916–1919)
* Muslims: [[Maulana Mazharul Haque]] (1910–11), [[Syed Ali Imam]] (1912)<ref>[[Wikisource:Page:The Indian Biographical Dictionary.djvu/239]]</ref> Quamrul Huda (1915),<ref>[[Wikisource:Page:The Indian Biographical Dictionary.djvu/375]]</ref> [[Mohammad Yunus (Indian politician)|Mohammad Yunus]] (1916)
* Landholders: Rajendra Narayan Bhanja Deo Raja of Kanika (1916–1920)<ref name="BL"/>

===Bombay===
*General: [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]] (1909–1915), [[Vithalbhai Patel]] (1912), [[Dinshaw Edulji Wacha]] (1916–1920), [[Lallubhai Samaldas]], [[Pheroze Sethna]], Sir [[Vithaldas Thackersey]]
* Muslim: [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] (1910–1911) and (1916–1919), [[Ghulam Muhammad Khan Bhurgri]] (1911–1912), [[Ibrahim Rahimtoola]] (1913–1919), Sir [[Shah Nawaz Bhutto]]
* Landholders: [[Sir Sassoon David, 1st Baronet]] (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: [[Maneckji Byramji Dadabhoy|Sir Maneckji Byramji Dadabhoy]] (1911–1917), [[Raghunath Narasinha Mudholkar]] (1911–1912), V. R. Pandit, General (1915),<ref name="TIBD">{{cite book |last1=Rao |first1=C. Hayavando |url=https://archive.org/details/indianbiographic00raoc |title=The Indian Biographical Dictionary |date=1915 |publisher=Pillar & Co |location=Madras |page=606}}</ref> [[Ganesh Shrikrishna Khaparde]] (1918–1920), Rai Sahib Seth Nath Mal<ref name="BL"/>
*Landholders: Sir [[Gangadhar Rao Chitnavis]] (1893–1916), Pandit Bishan Dutt Shukul (1916–1919)<ref>{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Judith M.|title=Gandhi's Rise to Power: Indian Politics 1915–1922|date=26 September 1974|page=162|isbn=9780521098731|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUo4AAAAIAAJ}}</ref>

===East Bengal & Assam===
* General: Kamini Kumar Chanda (1920)<ref>{{cite book|last=Bakshi|first=S. R.|title=Punjab Through the Ages|page=22}}</ref>
* Landholders: Pramathanath Roy, Raja of Dighapatia (1911–1915)

===Madras===
* General: [[N. Subba Rao Pantulu]] (1910–1913), [[C. Vijayaraghavachariar]] (1913–1916), [[V. S. Srinivasa Sastri]] (1916–1919), [[B. N. Sarma]] (1916–1919), [[Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu]] (1920),<ref name="BL"/> [[T. Rangachari]], [[M. Ct. Muthiah Chettiar]]
* Muslim: [[Ghulam Muhammad Ali Khan]] (1910–1913), [[Nawab Syed Muhammad Bahadur]] (1909–1919), Khan Bahadur Mir Asad Ali (1916–1919)<ref name="BL"/>
* Landholders: [[Veerabhadra Raju Bahadur]] (1912), [[Raja of Panagal]] (1912–1915), K. V. Rangaswamy Iyengar (1916–1919)

===Punjab===
* General: Raja Sir [[Daljit Singh (politician, born 1882)|Daljit Singh]] (1913–1915),{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Sir Ranbir Singh of Patiala (1915),<ref name="TIBD"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Griffin |first=Lepel H. |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.7228 |title=Chiefs and families of note in the Punjab |date= |publisher=Government Printing |year=1910 |volume=2 |location=Lahore |page=397}}</ref> Dewan Tek Chand (1915–1917), [[Sundar Singh Majithia]] (1917–1920)
* Muslims: Sir [[Zulfikar Ali Khan]] (1910–1920),<ref name="BL"/> [[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),<ref name="TIBD"/> [[Tej Bahadur Sapru]] (1916–1919)
* Muslims: Sir [[Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan]] [[Raja]] of [[Mahmudabad, India|Mahmudabad]] (1909–1912),<ref name="BL2">{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/indiaofficeselect/PhotoEnqFull.asp?PrintID=53620&RecNo=2&intPhSearchNo=3422890|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130821101636/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/indiaofficeselect/PhotoEnqFull.asp?PrintID=53620&RecNo=2&intPhSearchNo=3422890|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 21, 2013|title=Login}}</ref> Nawab Abdul Majid (1912),<ref name="BL2"/> [[Nawab Mohammad Ismail Khan]]<ref name="BL"/>
* Landholders: Raja Sir Rampal Singh of Kurri Sudauli<ref name="BL"/>

==1920 to 1947==
{{Main|Central Legislative Assembly|Council of State (India)}}
Under the [[Government of India Act 1919]], the Imperial Legislative Council was converted into a bicameral legislature with the [[Central Legislative Assembly|Imperial Legislative Assembly]] (also known as the Central Legislative Assembly) as the lower house of a [[bicameral]] legislature and the [[Council of State (India)|Council of State]] 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 [and] defence" 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 [[Constituent Assembly of India]] and the [[Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]].

==See also==
* [[Supreme Council of Bengal]]
* [[India Board]]
* [[Secretary of State for India]]
* [[East India Company]]
* [[Council of India]]
* [[Council of State (India)]]
* [[Viceroy's Executive Council]]
* [[Central Legislative Assembly]]
* [[Interim Government of India]]
* [[Government of British Raj]]
* [[List of acts of the Parliament of India]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://delhiassembly.nic.in/history_assembly.htm History of Assembly (Old Secretariat)] at [[Legislative Assembly of Delhi]] website

{{Legislatures of India}}

[[Category:Imperial Legislative Council of India| ]]
[[Category:1861 establishments in British India]]
[[Category:Defunct bicameral legislatures]]

Imperial Legislative Council - Revision history

DeangeloWaley at 08:59, 26 March 2026