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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
|short_title = Indian Councils Act, 1861<ref>Short title as conferred by s. 1 of the Act; the modern convention for the citation of [[short title]]s omits the initial "The", ignores the italicisation of "Indian", and omits the comma after the word "Act".</ref>
|parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
|long_title = An Act to make better Provision for the Constitution of the Council of the Governor General of ''India'', and for the Local Government of the several Presidencies and Provinces of ''India'', and for the temporary Government of ''India'' in the event of a Vacancy in the Office of Governor General.
|year = 1861
|statute_book_chapter = 24 & 25 Vict. c. 67
|introduced_by =
|territorial_extent =
|royal_assent = 1 August 1861
|repeal_date =
|amendments =
|related_legislation =
|repealing_legislation= [[Government of India Act 1915]]
|status = Repealed
|original_text =
|legislation_history =
|use_new_UK-LEG =
|country = British India
}}

The '''Indian Councils Act 1861''' was an [[Act of Parliament|Act]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] that transformed [[Viceroy of India|India]]'s executive council to function as a cabinet run on the portfolio system.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-47035/India#486263.hook Encyclopædia Britannica article concerning this Act]</ref> This cabinet had six "ordinary members", who each took charge of a separate department in [[Calcutta]]'s government: home, revenue, military, law, finance, and (after 1874) public works. The military Commander-in-Chief sat in with the council as an extraordinary member. The Executive Council was enlarged by addition of fifth member. The Viceroy was allowed, under the provisions of the Act, to overrule the council on affairs if he deemed it necessary, as was the case in 1879, during the tenure of [[Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton|Lord Lyton]].

The Viceroy was allowed to issue ordinances lasting six months if the Legislative Council is not in session in an emergency.

After the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|War of Independence]], [[Sir Syed Ahmed Khan]] advised the British Government to take Indian nationals into the administration of India. He argued in his pamphlet ''The Causes of the Indian Revolt'' that the failure of the British to admit Indians into the Legislative Council, prevented them from having any say in government policies that touched them directly and was the major cause behind the revolt.<ref>https://www.worldcat.org/title/causes-of-the-indian-revolt/oclc/45953867 {{Bare URL inline|date=May 2021}}</ref>

The [[Secretary of State for India]], [[Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax|Sir Charles Wood]], believed that the Act was of immense importance: "the act is a great experiment. That everything is changing in India is obvious enough, and that the old autocratic government cannot stand unmodified is indisputable."<ref name="Sufian Rana">{{cite book|last=Sen|first=S. N.|title=History Modern India|date=2006|publisher=Newage International|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-224-1774-4|pages=110|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ga-pmgxsWwoC&pg=PA110}}</ref>

The 1861 Act restored the legislative powers of Bombay and Madras Presidencies taken away by the [[Charter Act of 1833]]. The legislative council at Calcutta was given extensive authority to pass laws for [[British India]] as a whole, but the legislative councils at Bombay and Madras were given the power to make laws for the "Peace and good Government" for only their respective presidencies. The [[Governor General]] was given the power to create new provinces for legislative purposes and could appoint Lieutenant Governors for the provinces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/history/history.htm |title=History of State Legislature |publisher=Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennei |access-date=11 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413233934/http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/history/history.htm |archive-date=13 April 2010 }}</ref>

However, from India's point of view, the act did little to improve the influence of Indians in the legislative council. The role of council was limited to advice, and no financial discussion could take place...

==See also==
* [[Indian Councils Act 1892]]

==References==
* ''Indian Polity'', by M Laxmikanth
{{reflist}}

{{UK legislation}}

[[Category:1861 in law]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1861]]
[[Category:Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning India]]
[[Category:1861 in India]]

{{India-law-stub}}

Indian Councils Act 1861 - Revision history

CleanupBot at 16:24, 25 August 2022