India’s most powerful company with its own army, intelligence, people paid bribe to get a job, was controlled by…, name is…

India’s most powerful company: There was a company in India that ruled over many countries of the world. This company also had an army and intelligence unit of millions of soldiers. They also had the right to collect taxes. Established on 31 December 1600, the company is credited with establishing metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

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If you are asked today what is the most powerful company in the world? So perhaps your answer will be Tesla, Microsoft, Google, Apple or Meta including a few others. But there was a time when there was a company that ruled not only India but many countries of the world. This company had an army of millions of soldiers and also its own intelligence unit. This company also had the right to collect tax. The company was established on 31 December 1600 by the name of the British East India Company.

The East India Company was established in Britain during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was given a free hand by the Queen to do business in Asia. Time took such a turn that many countries of Asia including India came under the rule of the company. It also got control over big ports like Singapore and Penang.

The company is also credited with setting up metros like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. In Britain, it became the largest employer company. It had an impact on the lives of people not only in Britain but in many countries of Europe. Its products were used by people from many companies.

An army of more than 2.5 million soldiers

A writer named Nick Robbins wrote a book on the East India Company. He was quoted as saying in a BBC report that the company got permission to form its own army from the beginning. In India, the company had an army of more than two and a half million soldiers. The East India Company at that time tried to please the kings and rulers of different states. It was everyone’s dream then to work in it, but it was not easy. One needed a long-drawn recommendation to get a job in the East India Company. People used to get jobs in this company only on the recommendation of a director of the company.

Only men were appointed

Documents related to this company are still kept in the British Library. The BBC report quoted its caretaker, Margaret Makepeace, as saying that the company had 24 directors. It was only on their recommendation that someone could get even the smallest job. In fact, at one time, the number of job applications far exceeded than the number of vacancies in the company. Mostly only men were employed. Women were employed only for cleaning. Not only this, but people also had to give an undertaking to work in this company. The bigger the post, the greater the undertaking. It was about five hundred pounds at that time, or about Rs 33 lakh as per today.

Initially, people had to work without salary

The job in the East India Company was without any salary. One had to work without pay for almost five years. In 1778, the time limit for working without pay was reduced to three years. After working for free for so many days, one used to get a salary of 10 pounds. In the year 1806, this company started the East India College to prepare its employees. This college was started in Haileybury. The staff was taught law, history and literature as well as languages such as Hindustani, Sanskrit, Persian and Telugu.

Lavish office in London

The London headquarters of the East India Company was considered to be very lavish in its time. It was located in the Leadenhall area of London. There was also a statue of King George III of England fighting at its gate. Not only this, this company had many warehouses in London. Then this company also made arrangements for the stay of its employees. Many of the employees lived in the office compound in London. However, those who misused the company’s facilities were also punished severely.

It was completely closed in 1874

The employees of the East India Company could take part in its share trading. The officers of the company had the right to spend money for entertainment purposes. Then came a time when the people of the company were accused of corruption and poor management. In the year 1764, the people of the Company were banned from accepting gifts worth more than a certain amount. Then in the year 1857, after the Sepoy Mutiny, the condition of the company started deteriorating and in the year 1874 the British closed it completely.

An Indian bought the company

The East India Company, which ruled India for more than two hundred years, was bought by an Indian. The company, which became the richest by looting India, was bought by Indian-origin businessman Sanjeev Mehta in 2010. For this, he had a deal of $ 15 million, or about Rs 120 crore. Mehta, a businessman of Indian origin, has made it an e-commerce platform.