Lord Curzon's Reforms

Studying in England, Curzon wrote about the allurement and responsibility of the post of Viceroy. The Indian Viceroy's salary was twice that of the Prime Minister of England and 700 employees were appointed for his service. Curzon believed that he was born for this position. He knew more about India than any other Viceroy. For this he had traveled to the Indian subcontinent several times. He wrote three books on the problems of Asia. Yet he believed that the East was a university where a student never got a certificate.

 Challenges in india

The challenges he had to deal with in India were as follows-

1.    Effects of Famine and Plague : Revenue Deficit

2.    Administrative laxity: Files moved like the daily cycle of the earth, gracefully, seriously, and slowly

3.    Awakened India: The Moderate Age of Congress and the Colonial epistemology of economy

4.    The Question of Defense of the Empire: The Background of the First World War and the Fear of Russia

Vision for improvement

He believed that administration is another name for the satisfaction of the ruled. But as Bipin Chandra Pal says his goal was to achieve autonomy but for the Indian government and not for the Indian people just like Ripon wanted.

1.     Police Reforms

In 1902, The Police Commission was constituted under the chairmanship of Sir Andrew Frazer, which submitted its report in 1903. Which said that the police force is totally incompetent, faulty in training, corrupt and oppressive organization. Curzon himself believed that there had never been a more clear and profitable report than this. Among the suggestions of the report were salary increase, increase in manpower, establishment of police school and intelligence department. Obviously this led to an increase in government expenditure which in 1898 was 21,17,000  Pound, this increased 32,12,189 Pound in 1908.

2.    Educational Reforms

Curzon believed that educational institutions had become factories of political rebels. So he formed the University Commission in 1902. In 1904 a Universities Act was passed. By which government control was increased and the number of members nominated by the government in the Senate was increased. Emphasis was placed on research and study.

3.     Economic Reforms

The salt tax was reduced and the income tax limit was increased to ₹ 1000 per annum. A famine commission was set up under the chairmanship of Sir Anthony Mcdonnell. In 1901, Irrigation Commission was formed under the chairmanship of Colin Scott Moncrieff. The Imperial Agriculture Department was created under an Inspector General. A new department named Commerce and Industry was created. The indian coinage and paper Currency Act was introduced in 1899. The English pound was made an ligal tender in India. a pound was equal to ₹15. Which was placed on the gold standard of India. Most of the railway lines in India were laid during Curzon's time. Mr. Tomas Robertson who was a railway specialist was invited from England to India. He suggested the establishment of Railway Board.

4.    Judicial Reforms

Calcutta High Court has been increased during Curzon's time. Along with this, the salary and pension of the judges of the subordinate courts were also increased. The Indian Civil Procedure Code was also amended during its period.

5.    Military Reforms

For Reorganization of Army Lord Kitchener was responsible. He was the chief general from 1902–1908. The Indian army was divided into two commands, the northern command was at Mari, whose strike center was Peshawar and the southern command was Poona, whose strike center was Quetta. There were three brigades in both the divisions in which two were local and one British brigade. For Army Training College was opened in Quetta on the lines of England's Camberley college. Each battalion had to go through a rigorous test called Kitchener Test.

6.     Calcutta Corporation Act 1899

Whatever good work Ripon had done in the field of local self-government, Curzon ended it under the guise of efficiency. According to the Calcutta Corporation Act, the number of elected members was reduced. The number of British in other committees was increased. The corporation remained only as an Anglo-Indian assembly. 28 elected Indian members resigned in protest against this reform. He viewed local self-government with suspicion and said that he would like to be the mayor of Calcutta after retiring as Viceroy .

7.     Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904

Curzon was a scholar of history and archaeology, he passed an act for the repair, replacement and protection of ancient monuments. For this The budget of the 50,000 pound was fixed. And efforts were made to build a museum.

8.     Partition of Bengal 1905

Curzon did the most reprehensible act in India by partitioning Bengal in 1905. It was to be said that the growing up of Bengal causes administrative inconvenience. But it was associated with political and communal purpose. Lieutenant governor of Bengal Province Andrew Frazer said on communal lines that I have two wives, of which I like the Muslim wife more. Although this partition was rejected in 1911, Curzon was successful in his communal objective.

9.     Curzon Kitchener controversy and Curzon 's resignation

Two military officers were in the Governor General's Council. In 1902, Kitchener came to India as the Chief General. Curzon disagreed on the question of the rights of the military officer of the Council. The Secretary of India had taken the side of Kitchener in this dispute, so Curzon resigned in August 1905 .

Evaluation

Curzon gained popularity among Indians in his early days due to certain works. These actions were to punish white soldiers for the gang rape of a woman in Rangoon. For lynching an Indian in Sialkot to take disciplinary action against the Ninth Lancers. And to punish the manager of a tea garden in Assam for the murder of a kuli. But Curzon was as racist on his basic questions as anyone else, and is said to have spoken very softly to Indians, in a tone best used for domesticated animals. According to Rabindranath Tagore, there was no human element in him. Montague said he kept cleaning the motor because he didn't know where to go. Gokhale compared him with Aurangzeb.