After the 1857 uprising, the British Parliament ended the East India Company’s governing role and set up direct rule by the British Crown. The Government of India Act created a new system led from London by a secretary of state for India and administered in India by the viceroy.
The new Crown government announced its approach to governing India through a royal proclamation, promising equal treatment under the law and non-interference in religion. It also signaled a shift toward ruling through existing Indian princes and elites, while keeping key power in British hands.
Parliament expanded the viceroy’s council and allowed limited Indian participation by adding non-official members to legislative councils. This did not create democracy, but it opened a small space for debate and for Indians to gain experience in public administration.
At an imperial assembly in Delhi, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India, strengthening the symbolic link between India and the British monarchy. The event highlighted how the Raj used ceremony and titles to present empire as stable and permanent.
Indian leaders and a small number of British supporters launched the Indian National Congress as a forum to press for greater Indian participation in government. Over time, it became the central organization in the independence movement, shifting from petitions to mass politics.
The Raj split the large province of Bengal, a decision many Indians saw as weakening nationalist politics by dividing communities. The partition triggered widespread protests and boycotts, helping move Indian nationalism toward mass participation.
Reforms in 1909 expanded legislative councils and, for the first time, gave some Indians a larger role in lawmaking discussions. The act also introduced separate electorates for Muslims, which increased political representation but also encouraged politics organized by religious community.
In the aftermath of World War I, the colonial government pushed emergency-style security powers into peacetime law. The Rowlatt Act allowed detention and restrictions on civil liberties, and it provoked nationwide anger and protest.
British troops fired on an unarmed crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, killing hundreds and wounding many more. The massacre badly damaged trust in British rule and pushed more Indians toward a full independence goal rather than limited reform.
Britain passed constitutional reforms that expanded elected councils and introduced “dyarchy,” a system splitting provincial responsibilities between elected Indian ministers and officials controlled by the governor. The changes increased Indian participation but kept British control over key areas such as finance and law and order.
Gandhi led a long march to the sea to challenge the British monopoly and tax on salt. By breaking the salt law publicly, the campaign connected a basic daily need to a broader demand for self-rule, and it drew large-scale participation and international attention.
British leaders and many Indian representatives met in London to discuss constitutional reforms and the possibility of an all-India federation. The talks showed both rising pressure for self-government and deep disagreements over representation and minority safeguards.
The 1935 act reorganized the colonial system by expanding provincial autonomy and planning a federation of provinces and princely states (though the federation was not fully implemented). It became the main constitutional framework for British India in its last years and strongly shaped later constitutional development in India and Pakistan.
Congress called for an end to British rule during World War II and authorized a mass protest campaign led by Gandhi. British authorities responded with arrests of major leaders and harsh suppression, but the movement made clear that continued colonial rule faced growing resistance.
The British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act to create two new dominions—India and Pakistan—and to end British rule in British India. The act set the legal route for the transfer of power and the partition of territory.
British India was divided into India and Pakistan, and power was transferred to the new governments. Independence ended the Raj, but partition triggered a major humanitarian crisis as millions moved across new borders amid widespread violence.
The British Raj in India (1858–1947)