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| Warren Hastings Esquire-Governor General of India, 1774-1785 |
R vs. Warren Hastings Esquire (Governor General of India)
Date- 13 February 1788,
Place- House of Lords, Westminster Hall, London.
Judgment delivered on 23d April 1795.
Bankrupt and Failing East India Company
Year 1757, Battle of Plassey, Siraj
ud- Daula lost to Robert Clive merely because the artillery division of his
army did not carry tarpaulins to save the gun powder from rains! Robert Clive
who had lost all hopes to win the battle and already having ordered his army to
retreat thanked his fate and rain gods to win the battle. After the war a
series of loot and plunder started by the East India Company in Bengal. Robert
Clive also got the lions share and became the richest lord in the then England
out of the riches looted from India.
By 1772, under Robert Clive, East
India Company was at the verge of failure and bankruptcy mainly due to the huge
wealth siphoned by him into his personal accounts. In the year 1772, Lord North, then Prime
Minister of England, after serious of futile efforts to make Robert Clive accountable
for huge corruption scandals, was still determined to make East India Company
accountable to the British Parliament. Lord North’s India Bill was introduced
in the British Parliament in June 1773 to bring activities of East India
Company in India under parliamentary scrutiny. It resulted in the Passing of
Regulating Act 1773 which provided for the appointment of Governor General to
oversee the Bangal, Madras and Bombay Presidencies, which together made all of the
English settlements in India at that time.
Warren Hastings was chosen by the
Parliament to be the first Governor General, who was by that time 41 years of
age and having long company service. Hastings was chosen on his merit of being
the most intelligent and experienced of the company officers available. He was
known for his simple living. Hastings was also found scholarly and intellectual,
workaholic and diligent by the Parliament at the time of appointment.
Warren Hastings, for the first time codified
Hindu and Muslim laws in this country and started a series of currency reforms,
started postal service and backed establishment of cartographical survey of
India. Hastings instructed the company officers to build huge granaries to
prevent any situation of famines which were frequent those days. He developed a
liking for this country and described its people as gentle, benevolent, kind
and affectionate.
He pointed out major flaws in the
company rule. He also alleged the company rule in India as inhuman as well as
devoid of moral authority to earn from the people for whom it had no intentions
to provide anything in return. While speaking for this county he was actually
making strong adversaries in England. Governor General was to be advised by the
council under the Regulating Act, unfortunately with whom and particularly councilor
Philip Francis, Hastings could never reconcile his differences and he himself
wrote back to England than more than advising the council is busy in collecting proofs
against me. A natural results of animosity of the Governor General and his councilors
were treachery and complaints and the sympathetic thoughts of Warren Hastings towards
this country merely aggravated the suspicion against him in highly racist home
country.
End result was, what we know today as the Impeachment of Warren Hastings.
Proceedings of impeachment, was not
only the trial of Warren Hastings Esquire but for the first time in the history,
East India Company was put to trial for its loot and plunder done in this
country. Chief prosecutor, Edmund Burke, known political theorist of his time,
charged and impeached Warren Hastings in the name of Commons of Great Britain
in Parliament and also in the name of people of India for the following charges-
·
Violation
of Natural law, Justice and Human Rights
·
Laws
of Morality.
·
Wanton,
unjust and pernicious exercise of his powers
·
Extortion
and maladministration.
·
Betrayal
of Parliamentary Trust.
Burke sought to impeach Hastings
citing the bad company rule and alleging that the company rule has done nothing
for India except to asset-strip it. He also alleged the company of doing more pillage than commerce in the country
and more robbery than trade. Charges
looked actually against the East India Company and the Warrant Hastings was
merely heading the company at wrong time! Universal human rights and ‘natural’
rights were invoked for the first time the history of trial jurisprudence in
any trial against anyone.
Finally on 23rd April
1795, after taking long seven years even when a govern general was on trial and
even when it was not the time heavy dockets for lords, impeachment motion
failed and Warren Hastings was cleared of all charges. Warren Hastings trial
even at the cost of great suffering to him in person made East India Company
accountable for future to the British Parliament and that was the real verdict
of the trial.
Kartikey
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