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Important Commissions
and Committees During
British

What were the important committees and commissions

established during the British rule in India? What were
their recommendations? Read further to know.

The British established numerous committees and

commissions in a variety of fields, including education, law
enforcement, etc., throughout their time in power in India.

These significant commissions and committees were

formed during the British Empire with the intention of
ensuring reforms and modernising the sectoral operating
structure.
 st uctu e.
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The British Indian Committees and Commissions that were
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established for either judicial reform, administrative
reform, or social reform are listed in this article.

Table of Contents
1. Why Committees and Commissions are important?
2. Important Educational commissions and committees
during British rule in India
2.1. Charles Wood Despatch – 1854 – Lord Dalhousie
2.2. Hunter Commission – 1882 – Lord Ripon
2.2.1. Recommendations:
2.3. Raleigh Commission – 1902 – Lord Curzon
2.3.1. Recommendations:
2.4. Government Resolution on Education Policy – 1913
2.5. Sadler Commission – 1917 – Lord Chelmsford
2.5.1. Recommendations:
2.6. Hartog Commission – 1929 – Lord Irwin
2.6.1. Recommendations:
2.7. Sargent Plan – 1944 – Lord Wavell
2.7.1. Recommendations:
3. Important Famine commissions and committees during
British rule in India
3.1. Campbell Commission – 1866 – Sir John Lawrence
3.2. Stretchy Commission – 1880 – Lord Lytton
3.2.1. Recommendations:
3.3. Lyall Commission – 1886 – Lord d Elgin-II
3.4. MacDonnell Commission – 1900 – Lord Curzon
4. Important Currency commissions and committees
during British rule in India
4.1. Mansfield Commission – 1886 – Dufferin
4.2. Other Important commissions and committees during
British rule in India on Currency:

5. Important Law commissions and committees during

British rule in India
6. Other Important Commissions and committees during
British rule in India
 British rule in India
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Why Committees and Commissions

are important?
The special team assigned by a government to
complete a task is referred to as a Committee or
Commission. That assignment could be very specific,
such as finding out a certain truth or fixing a specific
issue.
To make recommendations for actions in situations
requiring specialist knowledge or technical
judgement, expert persons are chosen.

Important Educational commissions

and committees during British rule in
India
British education policy was dualistic, emphasising
western education and the English language while
discouraging the prevalent oriental educational
system.
The British East India Company initially had little
interest in enhancing the educational system because
its main priorities were trade and financial gain. They
intended to educate a small percentage of the high
and middle classes in India to create a class that was
“Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste.”
They were asked to serve as the government’s and the
general public’s interpreters. The “downward

filtration theory” was the name given to this.

Additionally, the Hunter Commission will be used to
discuss everything.
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Dalhousie
The purpose of Wood’s despatch
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was to enhance the educational system by offering
several proposals.
The government’s approach was said to be intended to
promote western education by the guidelines. He
placed a strong emphasis on European education in
the liberal arts, sciences, philosophy, and literature in
his dispatch.
The Wood’s Despatch’s motto was, in essence, the
spread of European wisdom.
The message states that English would be the primary
language of instruction for higher education.
However, Wood did not downplay the importance of
the vernacular language since he thought that it may
serve as a vehicle for spreading European knowledge
to the general public.
At the most basic level, Wood’s Despatch also
recommended establishing several local primary
schools in the villages.
Additionally, the district level should have Anglo-
Vernacular high schools and an affiliated college.
A system of grants-in-aid was suggested by Wood’s
Despatch to promote and encourage private
entrepreneurship in the field of education.
The institution has to hire qualified teachers and
uphold appropriate teaching standards to get aid
payments.

Hunter Commission – 1882 – Lord Ripon

Viceroy Lord Ripon made the appointment.
The Hunter Education Commission was a historic
Admissionsbody whose goals were to investigate concerns about
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assess the current state of elementary education in the
British territories, and provide recommendations for
how to expand and improve it.
Sir William Wilson Hunter is in charge. In 1882, he
submitted the report.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. At the high school level, there should be two different
sorts of educational arrangements, with an emphasis
on providing commercial and vocational education as
well as various types of literary education that will aid
in admission to the university.
2. Arrangements are made to place a strong focus on the
value of primary education, as well as education in
the local language and practical topics.
3. Though primary education should be provided
without him, private efforts in the sphere of education
should be encouraged.
4. The district and city boards should be given authority
over primary education.

Raleigh Commission – 1902 – Lord Curzon

Raleigh Commission was chosen on January 27, 1902,
when Sir Thomas Raleigh served as its president.
Goal: To conduct research on the state and future of
Indian universities and to make recommendations for
strengthening their governance and operations.

The Commission was unable to report on either

primary or secondary education.
The Commission’s report and recommendations led to
the passage of the Indian Universities Act in 1904
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the passage of the Indian Universities Act in 1904.
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primary goal is to enhance the state of
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education in India and raise the bar for the system.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Universities had the authority to choose their
employees, including the faculty. A university could
have no more than 50 to 100 fellows.
2. For the universities in Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta,
there would be 20 elected fellows, while there would
be 15 for the other universities.
3. Now, the Governor-General might determine the
territorial bounds of a university as well as the
affiliation between universities and colleges.
4. Although there were fewer colleges when the
University Act’s provisions went into effect, there
were still a lot more students.

Government Resolution on Education Policy –

1913
The progressive state of Baroda made primary
education mandatory throughout all of its boundaries
in 1906.
The government declined to take on the responsibility
of compulsory education in its 1913 Resolution on
Education Policy, but it accepted the policy of
eliminating illiteracy and urged provincial
governments to start early efforts to provide free
elementary education to the poorer and more
disadvantaged sections.

Sadler Commission – 1917 – Lord Chelmsford

Sadler Commission was established in 1917 with the
mandate to investigate the “conditions and prospects
Admissionsof the University of Calcutta.”
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including the creation of a board with complete
authority over secondary and intermediate education.
It also suggested that excessive official control of
universities be removed.
Additionally, it suggested that the government quit
meddling in university academic affairs.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. It is important to arrange all of the teaching materials
available in Calcutta so that the university may only
focus on teaching.
2. Dacca should host a unique teaching and residential
university.
3. An organisation to act as a coordinator was required.
Therefore, a Board of Universities should be
established.
4. There should be Honors courses introduced, and they
ought to differ significantly from Pass courses.
5. The Vice-Chancellor should be chosen to serve as the
university’s administrative leader on a full-time,
salaried basis.
6. The Court and the Executive Council, respectively,
should take the position of the Senate and the
syndicate.
7. Excessive government oversight should be removed
from universities.
8. Government should quit meddling in university
academic affairs.

Hartog Commission – 1929 – Lord Irwin

The British Indian government commissioned the Sir
Philip Joseph Hartog Committee to research the
Admissionsexpansion of education in India.
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Mass education received greater attention from the
Hartog committee in 1929 than secondary and higher
education did.
The Hartog committee brought attention to the issue
of waste and stagnation in primary education.
Instead of expanding the number of schools, it
advocated for consolidation. The introductory course
was to last for a stipulated four years.
The quality, remuneration, and working conditions of
instructors should all be improved, and the
curriculum and instructional strategies should be
tailored to the towns and communities where they
will be used.
To address the issue of unemployment, the Hartog
committee on education proposed that universities
promote technical and business education.
The Hartog committee’s 1929 report was an effort to
stabilise and consolidate education. The government’s
initiative to raise educational standards was led by the
Hartog committee of 1929, which was regarded as its
standard-bearer.
Due to the severe economic downturn of 1930–1931,
this Hartog Committee of 1929 proposals stayed only
on paper and were never put into action.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Adoption of the consolidation strategy rather than
building more schools.
Fixing the primary course’s length at four years.

The quality, prestige, compensation, and working

conditions of teachers are all being improved.
Relating the teaching techniques and curricula to the
circumstances in which children live and read in
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Modifying school schedules and vacations to meet
local and seasonal needs.
The government should hire more inspectors.

Sargent Plan – 1944 – Lord Wavell

After Sir John Sargent was tasked with creating a
thorough educational plan for India in 1944, the
Sargent plan of education was created.
The goal of the plan was to establish in India, over a
minimum of forty years, the same level of educational
achievement as was previously recognised in England.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Pre-primary education is provided for kids between
the ages of 3 and 6. All kids between the ages of 6 and
11 (junior basic) and 11 and 14 must receive universal,
free, and mandatory primary or basic education
(senior basic).
2. Selected youngsters between the ages of 11 and 17
receive a six-year high school education.
3. Degree programme lasting three years for chosen
individuals beginning after the higher secondary
exam
4. For full-time and part-time pupils, technical,
commercial, agricultural, and artistic education is
provided; domestic science is taught in females
institutions.

5. In around 20 years, adult illiteracy will be eradicated

and a public library system will be established.
full support for teachers’ appropriate training.
6 Children who are physically and mentally challenged
 6. Children who are physically and mentally challenged
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7. The establishment of required physical education.
8. There should be space set aside for social and
recreational pursuits.
9. establishing employment bureaus
10. both in the federal government and the states, the
Department of Education was established.
11. All secondary schools must employ the mother tongue
as the primary language of instruction.

Important Famine commissions and

committees during British rule in
India
British interests in India during the British Raj were not
just restricted to trade and financial gain; they also took a
deep interest in social issues, but with caution and
disregard. This is the only justification for their criticism of
Indian cults, practices, and traditions, as well as the
inadequate famine measurements that led to a series of
artificial famines in India.

Campbell Commission – 1866 – Sir John

Lawrence
The Orissa famine, so named because it was most
severe in Orissa, occurred in 1865–1866, and it
affected Orissa, Bengal, Bihar, and Madras. It claimed
over 20 lakh lives, with Orissa alone losing 10 lahks.
Despite being warned, government officials did
nothing to prepare for the disaster.

The government provided table-booked men with

employment while leaving the work of charitable
relief to the volunteer agency, adhering to the
principles of free trade and the law of demand and
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However, the famine proved to be a watershed
moment in the history of famines in India since it was
followed by the appointment of a commission led by
Sir George Campbell.
This Commission was established by the British
government to look into the reasons behind the
famine in Odisha and make recommendations on how
to avoid it from happening again.
It proposed emergency measures while blaming the
government apparatus for the disaster.

Stretchy Commission – 1880 – Lord Lytton

Sir Richard Strachey served as its chairman when it
was established in 1878.
In the case of famine, the commission suggested
government intervention in the food trade. In 1896–
1897, there was a significant famine in India.
As a result of the Campbell Commission report’s lack
of seriousness, the British Government established
this commission.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
There should be a Famine Code created.
Irrigation facilities should be built.
During famines, land revenue collection should be
stopped promptly, and land revenue should be
remitted.

Information about the state of Indian agriculture and

the peasantry should be gathered.
Setting up a famine fund is necessary.
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It was established in 1897 with Sir James Lyall as its
chairman. This commission suggested building
irrigation infrastructure.

MacDonnell Commission – 1900 – Lord

Curzon
It was established in 1900, with Sir Anthony (Later
Lord) McDonnel as its chairman, to review and
suggest revisions to the previous commission’s report
in light of the results of the most recent famine.
This Commission advised that to effectively handle the
shortage of food grains, the official apparatus dealing
with a famine should operate throughout the year.

Important Currency commissions

and committees during British rule in
India
The list below includes committees and commissions that
the British established for currency reforms throughout
the colonial era.

Mansfield Commission – 1886 – Dufferin

The British-run Government of India established the
Indian Currency Committee, often known as the
Fowler Committee, on April 29, 1898, to investigate the
country’s existing state.

Silver served as the primary base metal for Indian

coins and money up until 1892. The Indian
government declared its intention to “shut Indian
mints to silver” in 1892 and in 1893 it put this policy
Admissionsmints to silver” in 1892, and in 1893 it put this policy
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Other Important commissions and

committees during British rule in India on
Currency:
1. Fowler Commission
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Currency_Comm
ittee#:~:text=The%20Indian%20Currency%20Committ
ee%20or,coinage%20had%20largely%20been%20base
d.) by Elgin II in 1898
2. Babington Smith Commission by Chelmsford in 1919
3. Hilton Young Commission by Linlithgow in 1926

Important Law commissions and

committees during British rule in
India
Law Commissions in India have a pre-independence
origin. The first Law Commission was formed in 1834
as a result of the Charter Act, of 1833 under the
chairmanship of TB Macaulay.
The first commission’s recommendations resulted in
the codification of the penal code and the Criminal
Procedure Code.
Three other law commissions were constituted before
independence by the British government.
All four pre-independent law commissions have
contributed to the statute books immensely.
After independence, the first Law Commission was
constituted in 1955 in a continuance of the tradition of
bringing law reforms in the country through the
medium of law commissions.
Second Pre-Independence Law Commission,1853 – Sir
John Romilly
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John Romilly.
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Law Commission, 1862- Sir
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John Romilly.
Fourth Pre-Independence Law Commission, 1879 – Dr
Whitley Stokes.

Other Important Commissions and

committees during British rule in
India
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the
Governor
Committees/Commission Year committees/
General/Viceroy
Commissions

Scott-Moncrieff
1901 Lord Curzon Irrigation
Commission

Fraser Commission 1902 Lord Curzon Police Reforms

Punjab
Hunter Committee Report 1919 Lord Chelmsford
Disturbances

To examine the

working of

Diarchy of the
Muddiman Committee 1924 Lord Reading
Montague-
Chelmsford

reforms

Indian State’s

relation with
Butler Commission 1927 Lord Irwin
the British

Crown

Whitley Commission 1929 Lord Irwin Labour

To investigate

the progress of

the governance
 the governance
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1928 Lord Irwin scheme and
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suggest new

steps for

reforms.

Sapru Commission 1935 Lord Linlithgow Unemployment

Chatfield Commission 1939 Lord Linlithgow Army

Tenancy in
FIoud Commission 1940 Lord Linlithgow
Bengal

Conclusion
The Princely States created the Indian Public School
Education in 1822 to manage India’s education, which had
been dominated by Orientalists who supported Oriental
study over Anglicans. To advance Western education, they
put a lot of pressure on the British India Company.

The Lord Macaulay Education Policy of 1835 aimed to

create a university committee that would only teach the
upper class in English. Before the entrance of the British,
Hindus and Muslims received their education at Pathsala
and Madrassa, but the Missionaries emerged as a new
educational institution as a result of the British.

Article written by Aseem Muhammed

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