Company Rule

1765: Company acquired the diwani of Bengal 1765-1833: Company had dual role of trader and ruler
1833: its commercial role was abolished

Civil Services under the company divided into

Covenanted Civil Service: consisted only of Englishmen Uncovenanted Civil Service: included Indians, Parsis, English and the Portuguese

 Regulating Act 1773

Laid down the skeleton of the present governmental system in the country Gov Gen and council appointed in Bengal Provided that a Supreme Court of justice be established

Pitts India Act, 1784

Board of Control established in England The Court of Directors was retained but was subjected to the authority of the Board of Control BoC became the real ruling authority over India Gov Gen was given more effective power over the council Positives
After years of irresponsible administration, Act was a measure to rationalise the system

 Hastings
Civil service became structured Company became a govt and took up functions of revenue and maintenance of law and order. Establishment of the secretariat system The post of collector was introduced He laid the foundation on which Cornwallis built a super-structure Civil and Criminal courts established Supreme court

Cornwallis
Area administration
Consolidated Indian districts into definite administrative units Each district placed under a magistrate and a collector

Law and order

Each district was divided into a number of police circles, or thanas

Judicial Administration
Comprehensive system of justice

Introduced highly liberal system of remuneration Efforts to remove patronage and see that all important offices are held by covenanted CS Cornwallis Code: concerned with correctives against the abuse of power by the officials Separated customs from the revenue department Permanent Settlement Boards were set up for administration: board of trade, board of revenue, military board and medical board

Cornwallis
Positives
Introduced into the organisation of civil service a definitive, legal and rational principle, expressed in the separation of revenue and judicial functions Cornwallis Code
Defined the powers of civil servants in each capacity, with fixed salaries assigned according to the degree of responsibility

Drawback
Europeanisation of Civil Service: his systematic effort to exclude Indians from taking part in the administration Could not give India a modern code of law

Conclusion
Cornwallis created certain basic conditions for the growth of bureaucratization Apart from consolidating the foundations of state authority, he brought corporate, legal and professional concepts into bear upon the organisation of his administrative staff

 Wellesley
Contribution in the field of training: Fort William College in Calcutta in 1800. (abolished in 1802). Hartford Castle (1806): the qualification of candidates was tested by a written and an oral examination

Bentinck: evolved the modern concept of district magistrate Charter Act of 1833
Centralisation was the guiding principle Gov Gens council enlarged Presidency of Bengal divided into two parts: Bengal and Agra (nullified in 1835) Gov Gen of Bengal became Gov Gen of India The activities of the Company as a commercial body came to an end Mentioned that Indians should not be debarred from holding office under the company

 Dalhousie
Post and telegraph Public Works department Division of governmental functions into well-defined departments was yet another of his reforms

Charter Act of 1853

Introduced a system of open competition for recruitment Released the gov gen from direct involvement in the details of provincial administration

Macaulay Committee Report, 1854

Laid the foundations for administrative reforms in India Competitive recruitment and training Proposed a detailed scheme of the examination

 Consequences of the Company rule

Decadence of the indigenous institution of selfgovernment Provinces grouped arbitrarily Enormous growth in public taxation and expenditure Insufficient attention to education, public health, irrigation Neglect of indigenous industry and agriculture -> famines Excessive curbs on the political activities of the people

 Act of 1858 1859: Portfolio system by Canning

Work of the govt, divided into several branches, was entrusted to different members of the Gov Gens council

Act of 1861
Initiated the process of decentralisation Member in-charge of his dept could issue final orders with regard to matters which concerned his department Restored some of the powers of the legislative councils of Madras and Bombay Provided for setting up of new councils in other provinces as well Provision for inclusion of some Indians in the council of the gov gen

 Aitchison Commission (1886-87)

Supported the formation of a lower, local civil service to be called the provincial civil service Covenanted CS was abolished and three services were carved out
Imperial Civil Service Provincial CS Subordinate CS

 Councils Act 1892

Enlarged the functions of the legislative councils Elected representatives in LC

Councils Act 1909

Provided for a distribution of powers between the centre and the provinces The division however, did not make India federal. Centre was still very powerful Further increased the size of legislative councils Communal Award

Decentralisation Commission (1909) made recommendations for the revival and growth of panchayats

 Govt of India Act 1919

Dealt with the structure of provincial governments Dyarchy: provincial subjects were divided into reserved and transferred LSG became a provincial and transferred subject under a responsible Indian minister

 Why dyarchy failed?

Dividing the govt into branches proved to be unscientific and unnatural Destroyed the unity of purpose of govt activities Governor had the last word. No system of collective responsibility. Finance was a reserved subject

1923: Royal Commission on superior civil services in India

Chair: Lord Lee of Farham Recommended the establishment of a Public Service Commission

 Act of 1935
Abolished dyarchy in the provinces but introduced it in the centre Provincial autonomy Three lists: Union, state and concurrent Relaxed some autocratic control of the Crown in certain spheres and replaced it with a popular government Created an All-India Federation

Drawbacks
It was not mandatory for the princely states to join the federation Federal features of the constitution were thus not implemented

 Features of the British rule can be discussed under the following heads
Creation of the ICS Secretariat system Pay, promotions and transfers Provincial civil service Financial administration Financial accountability Law and order Administration of justice Local self government Bureaucratic leadership

BUREAUCRACY

Bureaucratic Development
Three phases under Company rule
Phase 1: Upto 1765 when it emerged as a territorial power Phase 2: 1765-1798 period of parliamentary intervention without definite political policy Phase 3 1798 onwards developments by Wellesley

Phase 1
Royal charter of 1661 authorised the company to appoint governor to the provinces Writers were appointed Organisation of CS contained modern ingredients such as a centralised agency of recruitment, graded heirarchy, contractual service and a body of rules governing the transaction of its corporate business Patronage was rampant

 Phase 2
To check nepotism and abuse of nomination, the Charter Act of 1793 laid down that all vacancies occuring in Civil offices below the Council should be filled by the members of the Convenant CS belonging to that province Made CS a compact body of officers who were paid according to the number of years of service

Phase 3
Wellesley Fort William College for training of CS established Charter of 1813 During this phase there were two competing principles of administration
First recognised the rule of law as the ruling force Second advocated a form of rule by discretion of executive inter-position

Selection on merit and promotion on seniority

 1858-1919
Efforts at rationalisation of the bureaucracy Was a period of bureaucratic despotism where every level of hierarchy tried to tighten the chains around the subordinates Act of 1858 provided for recruitment to CCS through open competitive exam held at London Indian Civil Service Act, 1861: reserved certain high posts in administration for the members of ICS 1876: age limit for recruitment reduced to 19 1892: min age raised to 21 and max to 23

1919-1947
Towards decentralisation 1907: decentralisation commission
Collector to be recognised as the head of the district in all administrative matters Rural and municipal councils

1935: provincial autonomy

INDIAN CIVIL SERVICES

 Even before 1765, the company had set up an elaborate system of administration
Apparantice and Writers constituted the lowest level

Two types
Covenanted Un-covenanted

Beginning of Civil Services

Hastings took steps to separate the commercial and administrative activities of the company Gave large powers to the covenanted civil servants Mixed system of administration
Both Europeans and Indians in the CS Though Europeans were at higher posts.

 Europeanisation of Civil Services

Cornwallis abandoned the system of mixed administration Since he introduced rule of law and security of property (European concepts) he needed Europeans to man the administration

Organisation and Recruitment

Divided into two main classes
Covenanted Uncovenanted (After 1892 these were called ICS and Provincial CS respectively)

ICS consisted of only that body of civil servants recruited according to provisions of the GoI Act, 1858 and for whom certain posts were reserved Later other methods besides open competition were also used Between 1858 and 1919 recruitment to the ICS was made chiefly by open competition held in London

 Act of 1833 made two major changes regarding recruitment

Cornwallis policy of excluding Indians was repudiated The policy of combining nomination with examination was adopted (early it was mostly nomination)

Act of 1853
Removed the provision of nomination to the covenanted CS All recruitment hence was to be through an open competition

First competitive exam held in 1855 First Indian civil servant: Satyendra Nath Tagore (1864)

Statutory Civil Service

Instituted in 1879 by Lord Lytton
Was a device to appease educated Indian who were agitating for employment in the covenanted civil service Appointments were generally confined to young men of good family and social position possessing fair abilities and education

Indian Civil Service

1892, the two services rechristened as
Indian Civil Service Provincial Civil Service

Macaulay Report: Led to the establishment of a merit based bureaucracy 1858-1919

Recruitment to ICS made on the basis of an open competitive examination which was held in London Emphasised that this be a service of men endowed with the best intellectual traditions, ideas and sentiments Macaulays ideas of recruitment lent support to the power elite theory of bureaucracy being the ruling class

Idea of specific age limit for taking the exam evolved with Macaulays report By 1920, there were a total of five methods of entry into the higher civil service Competitive exam conducted by and independent agency Another substantial contribution was institutionalizing a training system

Indianisation of ICS
1870: Parliament passed an Act making provision for appointment of Indians to certain posts reserved for ICS This arrangement proved to be unsatisfactory and was abolished on the recommendation of the Aitchison Committee (1889) 1877-79: Indian Association organised agitation on the civil services question This resulted in the creation of Statutory CS Congress also took up the issue Curzons govt reiterated the policy of English occupying the highest posts By 1913 only 5 pc of the ICS were Indians

 1886: Public Service Commission

Chair: Lord Aitchison Upheld the recruitment policy of 1858 Provincial and Indian CS Continuance of the London test was strongly defended

Through the commissions recommendations, a three tier structure was adopted

ICS, PCS and Subordinate CS This structure continues to till date In a sense, the commission imparted finality to the public service structure

1912: Royal Commission on Public Services in India

Chair: Lord Islington Rejected the demand for simultaneous exam Recommended that recruitment to be made through two channels
One in London open to all One in India open to statutory natives only

Creation of a provincial civil service

On the recommendation of the Aitchison Commission the following changes were made
Covenanted CS renamed as Indian Civil Service Uncovenanted CS renamed as Provincial CS

An element of reservation existed in PCS to provide representation to different classes

Secretariat
Portfolio System (1858) Staffing
Central pool for drawing manpower Recruitment to the upper division of the secretariat made through direct appointments 1937: Maxwell committee recommended that the ministerial staff should be divided into two main grades assistants and clerks

Features of the secretariat system

Reliance on precedents Incapacity of the lower grades of officials to share responsibility Practice of excessive record keeping and noting

Secretariat Reforms
Secretariat Procedure Committee, 1919
Recommended a pyramidal organisation

Lewellyn Smith Committee (1920)

Recommended that tenure of the secys and dy secys be fixed to bring stability

Secretariat Committee (Wheeler), 1935

Studied the problem of delays in working Rec. practice of double notings to speed work

Tottenham Committee (1945-46)

Reported on the organisation of departments, the question of staffing and reorganisation of the entire secretariat system

Pay, promotions and transfers

Posts divided into superior and inferior categories. Pay depended on this. The system of promotion brought about an onslaught on the traditional-bound Indian society
Promotion provided an element of social mobility, especially for the lower castes

The frequency of transfers sapped the vitality of the British administration

Area Administration
After the revolt, a four tier structure was adopted
District Administration Provincial Government Government of India Home Government

The administrative links between these four tiers were provided by statures, rules and conventions

Revenue Administration
Permanent Settlement of Cornwallis

Financial Administration
Initially the Accountant General of Fort William of Bengal controlled the finances From 1846, the Secy to the Govt of India in the Finance Dept was nominated the ex-officio Accountant General of India Creation of the general department of accounts in place of separate accounts for each presidency During Company rule, revenue came from
Land and taxes on trade and personal property

Expenditure
Security or defence Social and development services

1860: The most important administrative innovation was the introduction of the budget sytem
Financial resources to be ascertained before the start of the year

1860
Central Revenue Department created Imperial Audit Department was set up

 Creation of reform committees in the field of revenue administratiion

Resolution of 1860 provided for the creation of a Budget and Audit Committee

Introduction of govt paper currency in 1860

Financial Accountability
1772: Supervisors as collectors in district 1781: Board of Revenue became the controlling authority for revenue purposes 1829: Divisional commissioners appointed to supervise the collectors 1919: C&AG was made responsible to the central admin 1922: Central Public Accounts Committee created 1926: given power to inspect any government office of account 1934: RBI established

Law and Order Administration

Foundations of the contemporary police administration laid during British rule Indian Police Act, 1861 IGP head of state police. SP at district level. Subordinate police force consisted of the inspectors, head constables, sargeants and constables Prior to the Police Act, the magistrate was the head of the district police After 1861, magistrate ceased to be a direct police functionary but still had some control over police matters, in addition also retained judicial authority. Thus, DM now had powers over the district police as well over subordinate magistracy. Over centralisation of authority in one official paved the way for administrative despotism at the district level.

 Report of the Police Commission (1902-03)

A European service to be recruited entirely in England A provincial service to be recruited entirely in India Upper subordinate service consisting of inspectors and sub-inspectors Lower subordinate service comprising head constables and constables

A province to be divided into ranges IPC, 1960, CrPC, 1861, Indian Evidence Act etc constituted the legal framework of criminal justice administration that helped the police system to exercise its functions effectively

Judicial Administration
Hastings organised two courts in each district
Exercising civil and criminal jurisdiction

Cornwallis introduced the separation of power between executive and judiciary

Cornwallis code of 1793 took away the judicial powers of the Collector. Laid the foundation of independent judiciary

Code provided for a three tier system

European judges with the zilla and city courts at the bottom Four Provincial court of appeal at the middle level Sadar Diwani and Nizamat Adalat at the top. Besides, Privy Council at the top

Criminal justice was in the hands of the four provincial courts

Called Circuit Courts At the top was the Sadar Nizamat adalat to hear appeals from the Circuit Courts

Holt Mackenzie
Removed the intermediate tier as it slowed down the process Recommended that primary jurisdiction in all cases, except a few, be vested in Indians

Judicial Administration
Judicial admin created perpetual problems
People did not know the laws of the rulers Rulers did not know the traditions of the people

Bentinck introduced major reforms to improve the situation

The district judges of Cornwallis creation had to surrender their magesterial powers to the district collectors Thus there emerged the district officer who was the DM, collector and the head of the police force DM of Bentick continued till the end of the British Administration

Local Self Government

1864: statutory recognition was granted to panchayats as petty courts in Bombay and Madras 1870: Mayo included the panchayats in the management of funds devoted to education, public works etc Ripon
1882: recommended the extension of the elected element in rural bodies, reduction in the size of the official element, an elected non-official as the chairman of rural bodies and financial decentralisation

Decentralisation Commission of 1909 recommended

Three tier system Village Panchayat Local tehsil District board

1919
LSG became a provincial and transferred subject under a responsible Indian minister

Conclusion
Indian Administration built on its British heritage
Eg. All India services, recruitment, training, secretariat system, district admin, revenue admin, police system, fin admin

Uniform system of administration

The princely states had different systems of administration

Their Acts and statutes are still in use Innovation and stuff