INDORE INSTITUTE OF LAW, INDORE

SUBJECT: LEGAL HISTORY

TOPIC: INFLUENCE OF ENGLISH LAW IN INDIA

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

MRS. MADHURI MODI PARYUSHI KOSHAL

[B.A. LL.B]

ROLL NO. – 11

SESSION: 2018-2023

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 SEMESTER – 4th
CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Paryushi Koshal , B.A.LLB (HONS.) , 2 nd year – 4th semester
has successfully completed the project assignment in partial fulfillment of
requirements for the knowledge of legal history provided by Mrs. Madhuri Modi
prescribed by INDORE INSTITUTE OF LAW .

This assignment is the record of authentic work carried out during the academic
year 2020 - 21.

Signature of faculty ----------------------------

Date - ----------------------------

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 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project assignment entitled ‘Influence of English law in
India’ submitted for fulfilling the essential criteria of INDORE INSTITUTE OF
LAW, is a record of an original work done by me under the guidance of Mrs.
Madhuri Modi, B.A.LLB, Indore Institute of Law for the Academic session
2020 – 21.

Paryushi Koshal

BA.LL.B (Hons.)

2nd year – 4th sem

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Trust in the lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understandings; in all your ways
acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.

It is not possible to prepare a project without the assistance and encouragement of other people.
This is certainly no exception. On the very outset of this project I would like to extend my
sincere and heartfelt obligation towards all the personages who helped me in this endeavour.
Without their guidance, help, cooperation and support I would not have made headway in this
project.

I am ineffably thankful to Mrs. Madhuri Modi for conscientious guidance and encouragement
to accomplish this assignment.

I extend my sincere gratitude to INDORE INSTITUTE OF LAW for giving me this

opportunity.

I also acknowledge a deep sense of reverence, my gratitude towards my friends and family
members who have always supported me morally as well as economically.

Last but not the least I want to thank THE ALMIGHTY who made everything possible.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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 INTRODUCTION
India became an independent democratic republic in 1947 and its constitution, which came into
force on 26th November 1949, is the supreme law. India has a common law legal system whose
infrastructure bears the influence of British colonial rule. The constitution is based on
the Government of India Act 1935 passed by British Parliament. The Indian constitution lays out
a federal Union of 28 States and 8 union territories 1 of which is the national capital territory that
is Delhi. The Union and States have separate executive and legislative branches, whereas the
territories are ruled by the national government. Law generated by the Union is superior to that
of the States.
The nominal head of the Union executive is an elected President, but the Prime Minister, leader
of the majority party and head of the Union Council of Ministers, is more politically
powerful. India has a bicameral Parliament whose upper house is the Council of States (Rajya
Sabha) and whose lower house is the House of People (Lok Sabha). The State executive is
headed by a Governor, and while most have a unicameral legislative body called the Legislative
Assembly, some are bicameral with a Legislative Council as well.
British rule from the time after the mutiny is often called the Raj. During this period a tiny
number of British officials and troops (about 20,000 in all) ruled over 300 million Indians. This
was often seen as evidence that most Indians accepted and even approved of British rule. There
is no doubt that Britain could not have controlled India without the co-operation of Indian
princes and local leaders, as well as huge numbers of Indian troops, police officers, civil servants
etc.

Other historians point out that British rule of India was maintained by the fact that Indian society
was so divided that it could not unite against the British. In fact, the British encouraged these
divisions. The better-off classes were educated in English schools. They served in the British
army or in the civil service. They effectively joined the British to rule their poorer fellow
Indians. There are huge arguments about whether the British created or enlarged these divisions
in Indian society (British society was deeply divided by class), or whether the British simply
took advantage of divisions that were already present in Indian society. For much of the 1800s
the average Indian peasant had no more say in the way he or she was ruled than did the average
worker in the United Kingdom.

The British view tended to portray British rule as a charitable exercise - they suffered India's
environment (eg climate, diseases) in order to bring to India good government and economic
development (eg railways, irrigation, medicine). Modern admirers of British rule also note these
benefits.

Other historians point out that ruling India brought huge benefits to Britain. India's huge
population made it an attractive market for British industry. In the 1880s, for example, about

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20% of Britain's total exports went to India. By 1910 these exports were worth £137 million.
India also exported huge quantities of goods to Britain, especially tea, which was drunk or
exported on from Britain to other countries. Then there were the human resources. The Indian
army was probably Britain's single greatest resource. Around 40% of India's wealth was spent on
the army. This army was used by Britain all over the world, including the wars in South Africa in
1899-1902 and the First and Second World Wars. It was the backbone of the power of the British
empire. In 1901, for example, the British viceroy (governor) of India, Lord Curzon, said 'As long
as we rule India, we are the greatest power in the world. If we lose it we shall straightway drop to
a third rate power'

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