Chapter Info (Click Here)
Book No. – 8 (Modern India – History)
Book Name – British Rule in India and After (V.D. Mahajan)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
Note: The first chapter of every book is free.
Access this chapter with any subscription below:
- Half Yearly Plan (All Subject)
- Annual Plan (All Subject)
- History (Single Subject)
- CUET PG + History
Public Services in India
Chapter – 25
The history of Public Services in India dates back to the early days of the English East India Company.
When political power fell into the hands of the Company, the actual administration was left in the hands of Indian subordinates.
The few servants employed by the Company had no formal training in their work and were paid low salaries.
These servants made up the deficiency in their salaries by engaging in private trade and accepting presents.
Despite their small salaries, they made fortunes within a short time.
It is well-known that Lord Clive forced the servants of the Company to enter into new covenants, binding them not to engage in private trade or accept presents.
As a result, these services came to be known as the Covenanted Civil Services.
To compensate the servants of the Company, Lord Clive formulated a scheme, but it was rejected by the Directors.
Reforms of Cornwallis
Lord Cornwallis is credited with making radical changes in the Civil Service of the Company.
He reserved all superior jobs for Englishmen and Europeans, believing that only they were fit to rule the country due to their birth and training.
Subordinate jobs were given to Indians.
He prohibited private trade for the servants of the Company and stated that those who violated this rule would be severely dealt with.
On the positive side, Cornwallis raised the salaries of the servants so they could maintain a decent standard of living in India and also take something back home.
For example, the salary of a Collector was fixed at Rs. 1,500 a month, and his commission on revenue collection also brought him money.
Other servants also benefited similarly.
The object of these reforms was to make the servants both efficient and honest.
The Charter Act of 1793 put Cornwallis’ reforms on a permanent footing.
It was declared that “all vacancies in any of the offices or employments in the civil lines of the Company’s service in India shall be filled from amongst the Civil Servants of the Company belonging to the President.”
No office with a salary of more than £500 a year was to be given to any servant who had not lived in India for at least three years as a covenanted servant.
The seniority rule was to be strictly followed in matters of promotion.