millions whom we govern, -a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect. To that class we may leave it to refine the vernacular dialects of the country, to enrich those dialects with terms of science borrowed from the Western nomenclature, and to render them by degrees fit vehicles for conveying knowledge to the great mass of the population. Macaulay A charter is a grant by a country’s sovereign power to start a company, university, or city with rights and privileges clearly stated. The East India Company was started with Queen Elizabeth’s Charter of .
It came to be renewed every twenty years, after Warren Hastings took over as Governor General since . The Charter of was the last one before the Company government was taken over by the Crown. XI History - Lesson - - Effects of British Rule Railways, Postal & Telegraph Systems The first serious proposal for constructing railways was made by the European business community. The Directors were doubtful whether railways could be successfully built in India.
Governor General Dalhousie however persuaded them arguing that the railways would bring very considerable economic advantage. Yet before the Great Rebellion less than three hundred miles of track had been laid. Though several proposals for the laying of telegraph communication between India and London were put forward, the telegraph service was inaugurated only in . During the Great Rebellion of its importance was realised.
In the aftermath of , it became an urgent necessity. The time of communication between London and Calcutta came down from several days to twenty eight minutes. With the opening of Suez Canal in , the journey between Europe and India was reduced by some miles. By1870 the government of British India was in effective contact with Secretary of State, India Office, London.
Subsequently, with the exception of Curzon, Governor Generals were reluctant to do anything without seeking the permission of Whitehall, the headquarters of the East India Company. The railway line from Bombay to Thane was opened