Question

Answer the following question briefly:

With reference to the establishment of Dual Government in Bengal (1765-72) answer the following:

The evils of the Dual Government led to the collapse of the administration and the economy. Explain.

Answer 1

The conditions of the people worsened when Bengal was hit by a terrible famine in which one-third of the population perished. Nobody cared, neither the Company nor the nawab, who in any case had neither the authority nor the resources to lessen the miseries of the people. The Company, through its power to nominate the deputy nawab, only interfered in the general administration without assuming any responsibility. The evils of the Dual Government began to manifest themselves. The administration and economy collapsed. In 1772, the Court of Directors of the Company appointed Warren Hastings as the Governor of Bengal. In 1773, by the Regulating Act, he was made the Governor-General of British territories in India. The Governor-General was now the most important functionary of the East India Company.