ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Government of India Act 1858

Okay kiddo, so a long time ago, India was ruled by the British. This meant that India was not free to make its own decisions and the British had complete power over the country.

In 1858, the British government realized that this was not fair and decided to change things. They passed a law called the Government of India Act 1858, which gave more power to the British government in India.

Under this law, the British government took over the management of India from the British East India Company. This meant that the British government had more control over India's policies and decisions.

Another important thing that the Government of India Act 1858 did was to make Queen Victoria the Empress of India. This was a way for the British government to show that they were making an effort to treat India as an equal partner.

The law also created a new post called the Secretary of State for India, who was responsible for overseeing India on behalf of the British government. There were also new administrative divisions created in India, such as provinces and districts, to make it easier for the British government to govern the country.

Overall, the Government of India Act 1858 was an important step towards giving India more autonomy, but it still gave a lot of power to the British government. It was not until 1947 that India finally gained full independence from Britain.