Lord Curzon (1899-1905)

Introduction #

Born into British nobility in 1859, he attended the prestigious Eton College School and Oxford University for his studies. In 1891, he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for India. (In the British government, the deputy minister in charge of India). He served as Under-Secretary of State for India (1891–1892) and for Foreign Affairs (1895–1898), before being nominated Viceroy of India in 1899.

Significant Events During His Tenure  #

Economic #

When the British pound was accepted as legal tender in India in 1899, it was determined that one pound was equal to fifteen rupees.

• The salt tax was reduced by Curzon from 2.5 rupees per maund (one maund is approximately 37 kg) to 1.3 rupees per maund.
• Taxes were paid by those with annual incomes of greater than Rs. 500. Income taxpayers also received a discount.

Famine #

When Curzon arrived in India, a terrible famine had gripped the country’s broad southern, central, and western areas. Curzon provided all kinds of help to the affected people.

• People received labour in return for payment, and farmers were exempt from paying taxes.
• Curzon appointed a Commission to look into the reasons for the famine after it was over in 1900 and make suggestions for preventive measures that would subsequently be taken into consideration.

Agriculture #

The Co-operative Credit Societies Act was developed in 1904, mostly to shield peasants from the clutches of moneylenders 

• They often charged high-interest rates and encouraged individuals to organise cooperative credit societies for the purpose of deposits and loans.
• The 1900 Punjab Land Alienation Act restricted the sale of peasants’ assets to money-lenders in situations when debtors were in arrears.

Railways #

Curzon decided to modernise the nation’s rail system and make it a profitable business for the government.

• The Public Works Department was replaced with a three-member Railway Board, the number of railway lines was expanded, and the railway department was abolished.

Education #

Curzon sponsored a conference on education at Shimla in 1901, and as a result, the University Commission was established in 1902.

• The commission’s recommendations led to the passage of the Indian Universities Act, 1904.
• Both the Indian public and commission member and judge of the Calcutta High Court Gurudas Banerjee had stated their opposition to the Act in the report, but it was all in vain.

Tibet Mission Of Younghusband (1904) #

The Younghusband’s mission, a military expedition, was sent by Lord Curzon to Tibet in order to stop Russian penetration and settle the border conflict between Tibet and Sikkim.

• A British trip to Tibet called the Younghusband Expedition started in December 1903 and ended in September 1904.
• The Tibet Frontier Commission, whose declared goal was to forge diplomatic ties and settle the border dispute between Tibet and Sikkim, authorised the expedition, which was essentially a brief invasion by British Indian Armed Forces.

Bengal Partition (1905) #

British Raj officials reorganised the Bengal Presidency’s territory during the first Partition of Bengal (1905).

• The reconfiguration separated the eastern, predominately Muslim districts from the western, predominately Hindu parts.
• In 1911, Lord Hardinge brought Bengal back together to placate Bengalis after riots caused by the Swadeshi movement protested the strategy.

Evaluation Of His Tenure #

The seven years of missions, commissions, and omissions under Curzon’s administration in India caused a powerful reaction in the Indian mind.

• The Bengal split, the Indian Universities Act, the Calcutta Corporation Act, and other administrative measures passed during his reign made clear to Indians the inherently reactionary nature of the British administration in India.
• Lord Curzon was viewed by the Britishers as the ideal candidate. Prior to his arrival, India was engulfed in a terrible economic and political crisis.
• Lord Curzon was a virulent racist who believed that white people were superior to all other races and that Indians were beneath the British. 
• He opposed India’s political objectives. Many policies were implemented while he was in office.

Conclusion #

Curzon may have been the only Governor General to engender such hatred in the minds of the populace. He was the clear-cut representation of Britain’s imperial approach to India. India was already undergoing a serious crisis when he took there as viceroy. Growing unrest among the populace and a seething uproar among nationalists were the results of the great famine of 1896–1898, which was followed by the bubonic plague.