Lord Curzon

Lord Curzon
 

News: The Bardhaman municipality, West Bengal has decided to erect a statue of an erstwhile maharaja in front of the landmark Curzon Gate in the city. It is the statue of Bardhaman’s Maharaja Bijay Chand Mahatab and his wife Radharani. Mahtab had built the gate in 1903 when Curzon visited the town.

Who was Lord Curzon?

o He served as Under-Secretary of State for India (1891-1892), and for Foreign Affairs (1895-1898), before being appointed Viceroy of India in 1899.
o Of all the Viceroys of India, Curzon is possibly the most criticized. He was the one who partitioned Bengal in 1905, and triggered a wave of Bengali nationalism that contributed to the wider Indian national movement. He was also one of the more openly imperialist of viceroys, and a man who saw Britain’s rule over India as critical to the survival of the empire.
o In 1900, Curzon famously stated, “We could lose all our [white settlement] dominions and still survive, but if we lost India, our sun would sink to its setting.”
 

What were some of the reforms of Lord Curzon?

o Educational reforms – Curzon brought in the Indian Universities Act of 1904, which brought all the universities in India under the control of the government.
o Administrative reforms – He instituted a Police Commission in 1902 under the chairmanship of Sir Andrew Frazer.
o Military reforms – Imperial cadet corps was set up which became an instrument for the Indianisation of the army later.
o He passed a law called the Ancient Monuments Act, 1904 which made it obligatory on the part of the government and local authorities to preserve monuments of archaeological importance and their destruction an offence.
o The Agriculture Research Institute in Pusa (Bihar – Bengal Presidency) was established.
o During the Curzon regime, the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) was established which covered roughly the areas of the upper course of the River Indus.
o Afghan policy – Lord Curzon’s Afghan policy was condi¬tioned by the political and economic interests, fear of Russian expansion in Central Asia and Persian Gulf area. From the very start there was an estrangement of relations between Afghans and the British.
o The Calcutta corporation act, 1899 was passed during his tenure. The act reduced the number of elected legislatures and increased the number of nominated officials to deprive Indians from self-governance.