What do you know about Illbert Bill?
Illbert Bill was tabled by CP Illbert on 2nd February, 1883 in Legislative Council. It sought to allow senior Indian magistrates to preside over cases involving British subjects in India.
British subjects in 1873 had been exempted from trial by Indian magistrates, and in cases involving death or transportation they could only be tried by a high court. But by 1883 the viceroy, Lord Ripon, proposed to make British subjects amenable to session courts, over which Indians were now senior enough in the civil service to preside.
This proposal as embodied in the Illbert Bill provoked furious protests, especially among the Calcutta (Kolkata) European business community and the Bengal indigo planters, and there was covert sympathy from many officials. The Europeans found it obnoxious that an Indian magistrate could preside over cases involving them. They perceived it as an insult to their racial arrogance and supremacy.
A compromise was reached by which British subject could claim a jury, half of which would be Europeans. The new westernised Indian middle class felt itself slighted by this arrangement, and the incident did much to give Indian national feeling a political form.
The Indians, on the other hand, came forward in support of the Illbert Bill. The Indian Association under the leadership of Surendranath Banerjee organised a counter-movement against the European opposition. But Ripon had to concede to the pressure of the European community.
The controversy helped Indian realize that British would never treat us equally and justice could not be achieved easily under the Colonial administration. The way the British organized themselves and protested against the Bill thought the early nationalists of how to experience their grievances against the government and protest against it.
Illbert Bill was tabled by CP Illbert on 2nd February, 1883 in Legislative Council. It sought to allow senior Indian magistrates to preside over cases involving British subjects in India.
British subjects in 1873 had been exempted from trial by Indian magistrates, and in cases involving death or transportation they could only be tried by a high court. But by 1883 the viceroy, Lord Ripon, proposed to make British subjects amenable to session courts, over which Indians were now senior enough in the civil service to preside.
This proposal as embodied in the Illbert Bill provoked furious protests, especially among the Calcutta (Kolkata) European business community and the Bengal indigo planters, and there was covert sympathy from many officials. The Europeans found it obnoxious that an Indian magistrate could preside over cases involving them. They perceived it as an insult to their racial arrogance and supremacy.
A compromise was reached by which British subject could claim a jury, half of which would be Europeans. The new westernised Indian middle class felt itself slighted by this arrangement, and the incident did much to give Indian national feeling a political form.
The Indians, on the other hand, came forward in support of the Illbert Bill. The Indian Association under the leadership of Surendranath Banerjee organised a counter-movement against the European opposition. But Ripon had to concede to the pressure of the European community.
The controversy helped Indian realize that British would never treat us equally and justice could not be achieved easily under the Colonial administration. The way the British organized themselves and protested against the Bill thought the early nationalists of how to experience their grievances against the government and protest against it.