Why did Edmund Burke become concerned about the East India Company’s rule in India?

Edmund Burke’s concern regarding the East India Company’s rule in India stemmed from his deep moral conviction that the company’s administration was characterized by corruption, disorder, and the abuse of power.12

As a leading member of a parliamentary committee investigating Indian affairs, Burke concluded that the company’s governance was fundamentally flawed and that its vast patronage should not remain in the hands of a private trading concern or the crown. He was particularly troubled by the actions of Warren Hastings, the governor-general of Bengal, whose policies—such as the treatment of the Begums of Avadh and the deposition of Raja Chait Singh—Burke viewed as harsh, high-handed, and morally indefensible.312

Burke challenged the notion that Western standards of legality and authority could not be applied to the East, appealing instead to the Law of Nature to argue that all people are subject to universal moral principles. Ultimately, he sought to establish that the company’s servants were responsible for their conduct toward those they governed and must be held accountable to Parliament.312