Explanation: Indian Councils Act of 1861: After the great revolt of 1857, the British Government felt the necessity of seeking the cooperation of the Indians in the administration of their country.

• In pursuance of this policy of association, three acts were enacted by the British Parliament in 1861, 1892 and 1909.
• The Indian Councils Act of 1861 is an important landmark in the constitutional and political history of India.

The features of this Act were as follows:

• It made a beginning of the representative institutions by associating Indians with the law-making process.
• It, thus, provided that the Viceroy should nominate some Indians as non-official members of his expanded council.
• In 1862, Lord Canning, the then Viceroy, nominated three Indians to his legislative council–the Raja of Benaras, the Maharaja of Patiala and Sir Dinkar Rao.
• It initiated the process of decentralisation by restoring the legislative powers to the Bombay and Madras Presidencies.
• It, thus, reversed the centralising tendency that started from the Regulating Act of 1773 and reached its climax under the Charter Act of 1833.
• This policy of legislative devolution resulted in the grant of almost complete internal autonomy to the provinces in 1937.
• It also provided for the establishment of new legislative councils for Bengal, North-Western Provinces and Punjab, which were established in 1862, 1886 and 1897, respectively.

Source: Laxmikanth Polity