The House of Commons and India 1874–1880

• Published in: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland 1982-01, Vol.114 (1), p.25-34
• Main Author: Durrans, Peter J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0035-869X; 1356-1863; 2051-2066
• DOI: 10.1017/S0035869X00158587

“Parliament”, complained John Bright two years after the transfer of Indian government to the Crown, “cares about India little more than the Cabinet”. Indian affairs continued to attract little attention at Westminster until the advent to power in 1874 of a Conservative administration committed, under Disraeli's leadership, to a vigorous defence of Britain's imperial pre-eminence. The subsequent emergence of India as the focal point of the Prime Minister's imperial ambitions aroused bitter Liberal criticism and ensured a break with the tradition that sought to insulate India from party politics in Britain. It is with the response to these developments of the House of Commons, an integral part of the machinery of Indian government, that this paper is primarily concerned. Following a preliminary examination of the reasons which lay behind Parliament's habitual neglect of India it takes as its particular focus the manner in which the House of Commons fulfilled its responsibility to India at a time when the conduct of Indian affairs became a major political issue.