Impeachment of Warren Hastings
Topic: Europeans in India and the Rise of Company Rule · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General of Bengal. After he returned to Britain, Parliament impeached him, meaning it formally accused him of serious wrongdoing and put him on trial. Edmund Burke led the attack, charging him with corruption and cruelty in India. The trial in the House of Lords lasted from 1788 to 1795, and Hastings was finally acquitted (declared not guilty). It showed growing concern in Britain about how the Company ruled India.
Example
One main charge concerned the Begums of Awadh, the mother and grandmother of the Nawab. Hastings was accused of forcing their wealth to be seized for Company use. Other charges related to Raja Chait Singh of Benares and to the hanging of Maharaja Nandakumar in 1775.
Don't confuse with
- Robert Clive: he faced questions in Parliament in 1772–73 about the fortune he made in Bengal, but he was never impeached. Hastings was the one put through a full impeachment trial.
Related concepts
- Charles Metcalfe
- Warren Hastings
- Regulating Act 1773
- Supreme Court at Calcutta 1774
- Pitt's India Act 1784
- Cornwallis Code 1793
- Charter Act 1793
- Covenanted civil service
- Fort William College
- Haileybury College