Lord Curzon: Administrative and Cultural Reforms

1.1 When was he Viceroy?

A Viceroy was the British Crown’s chief representative in India. George Nathaniel Curzon was born in 1859. He studied at Eton and Oxford. He was Viceroy from 1899 to 1905.

1.2 What was his style of rule?

His rule was known for intense activity. He cared deeply about efficiency. He set up commissions on many subjects. Of all the Viceroys, he is possibly the most criticised.

2.1 What happened to the ASI?

The ASI is the Archaeological Survey of India. It had been abolished in 1865 and reopened in 1870. Cunningham was its director-general then. In 1902 Curzon formalised it as a department with three branches.

2.2 Who led it, and why does it matter?

John Marshall became the third director-general in 1902. His work ran from 1902 to 1928. His appointment began a new phase of activity. In 1921-22 trial digs at Harappa and Mohenjo Daro revealed a forgotten civilisation. It pushed Indian cultural history back to the third millennium BCE.

2.3 What did the 1904 Act do?

The Ancient Monuments Preservation Act was passed in 1904. It aimed to preserve ancient monuments. It also controlled the trade in antiquities and excavation in certain places. Since 1904 it has brought thousands of monuments under protection. Curzon also sanctioned £50,000 for preserving old monuments.

2.4 What is the Victoria Memorial?

Curzon envisaged a memorial to Queen Victoria after her death. The Prince of Wales, later George V, laid its foundation stone on 4 January 1906. By 1921 the building was complete, except for the cupolas on the four corner towers.

3.1 Why was a new province created?

The frontier zone had been part of Punjab. In 1901 it became the North-West Frontier Province. It had two parts. The settled area came under direct British rule. The tribal area was largely autonomous and lay next to the Afghan border.

3.2 What was the Tibet expedition?

In 1904 a British expedition went to Tibet. It is known as the Younghusband expedition. Curzon sent it.

3.3 How did he change the army?

Lord Kitchener arrived as Commander-in-Chief in 1902. A staff college was set up at Quetta. It was modelled on Camberley College in England.

4.1 How did he respond to famine?

The famine of 1899-1900 caused great suffering. Curzon appointed a Famine Commission. In 1901 he also appointed an irrigation commission. Its chairman was Sir Colin Scott-Moncrieff, an irrigation expert.

4.2 What did he do for land and farming?

The Punjab Land Alienation Act (1900) was passed to stop land passing to absentee landlords. The Co-operative Credit Societies Act followed in 1904.

The foundation stone of the Pusa institute was laid on 1 April 1905. Henry Phipps donated generously to set it up. Today it is the Indian Agricultural Research Institute.

4.3 What changed in the police?

A Police Commission was appointed in 1902 under Sir Andrew Fraser. It reported that the police could not work efficiently. It advised police training schools. Curzon also attached the Department of Criminal Intelligence to the central government.

Learn the year and the one-line purpose for each.

5.1 How did the Act come about?

Curzon called a conference on higher education at Shimla in 1901. In 1902 he appointed the Raleigh Commission. It was to study the state of Indian universities. Sir Thomas Raleigh chaired it. The 1904 Act included its recommendations.

5.2 What did the 1904 Act change?

The main aim was to bring universities under government control. Affiliation was made harder. Affiliation means a college is formally linked to a university. Colleges now needed proper libraries and equipment. Some fellows of the university senate were to be nominated by the government.

6.1 What happened in Calcutta?

In 1899 the Calcutta Municipal Amendment Act cut the number of elected members in the Calcutta Corporation. British members gained a majority. Twenty-eight members resigned in protest.

6.2 What about the press?

The Indian Official Secrets Amendment Act (1904) reduced the freedom of the press even further.

6.3 How did he treat the Congress and soldiers?

In 1900 Curzon declared that the Congress was “tottering to its fall”. He also disciplined soldiers of the 9th Lancers. They had beaten an Indian cook to death in Sialkot in 1902.

7.1 What was the 1903 Durbar?

A Durbar is a grand royal assembly. The 1903 Delhi Durbar was held on 1 January 1903. It marked the coronation of Edward VII as Emperor of India. Curzon planned it. It had two weeks of festivities and a great display of wealth. There were three Delhi Durbars in all.

7.2 What was the dispute with Kitchener?

Curzon’s departure in 1905 followed a bitter dispute with Lord Kitchener. It was about how the Indian Army was organised.

The Military Member of the Viceroy’s Council was Sir Edmond Elles. One option was to abolish his post. The Commander-in-Chief would take over its functions. The committee rejected it. The Viceroy’s despatch of 10 August 1905 warned that the Commander-in-Chief’s proposals would concentrate all military power at Army Headquarters.

7.3 What about Bengal?

In July 1905 Curzon announced the partition of Bengal into two provinces. It took effect on 16 October 1905.

It was undone in 1911, when the government announced Bengal’s reunification. Home Secretary H. H. Risley had warned in 1904: “Bengal united is a power; Bengal divided will pull in several different ways.”

8.1 Which traps come up most?

• Marshall: third director-general of the ASI, appointed in 1902.
• Two Acts of 1904: Ancient Monuments and Universities. Learn which does which.
• NWFP: separated from Punjab in 1901.
• Durbar: 1903, for Edward VII. There were three Delhi Durbars in all, so check the year.

8.2 How do I remember his story?

Think of the four steps in the timeline above. He built things, he tightened control, and he left after quarrels. The two quarrels were with Kitchener over the army and with Bengal over partition.