Lord Curzon - Goodbye to All That,

Overview

Lord Curzon of Kedleston

Among Curzon's reforms in India covered the Imperial Civil Service that retained the older title, ICS - Indian Civil Service. The ICS had succeeded the Honourable East India Company's service when the Crown took over India in 1858.

There were two levels in the ICS bureaucracy: the Covenanted Civil Service (the top British administrative class) and the Uncovenanted Civil Service (mostly Indian-born bureaucrats). These were Indians, Anglo-Indians, Eurasian or Europeans but all having been born in India. This service was divided into a provincial and subordinate service. It was often a slow bureaucratic muddle quick to embrace corruption.

Curzon, as best as any one could, reformed the workings of this system.

At the end of five successful years as viceroy, Curzon should have returned to England and mainstream British politics. He refused to go. He wanted to see the results of his reforms working for the Indian people.

The truth was that most of the people didn't know about them. Many of them had never even heard of Curzon. Worse for Curzon, there were changes taking place in the Indian bureaucracy, notably Lord Kitchener's appointment as commander-in-chief of the army and at home, St John Broderick's appointment as secretary of state.

Broderick was Curzon's oldest friend. However the confrontation that would be the undoing of Curzon in India was with the Kitchener. The Indian army had a c-in-c and a junior general as an adviser to the viceroy. Kitchener said the adviser could influence the viceroy thus going above the commander-in-chief's decisions and so should go.

Curzon refused.

Kitchener then plotted against Curzon and threatened to resign. Instead of supporting the viceroy, Broderick told Curzon that if the Cabinet had to choose between the two, then Kitchener would get the vote. In 1905 Broderick set up a committee of inquiry loaded with Kitchener's supporters.

In fact those who gave evidence said Kitchener was wrong and that the present system worked perfectly.

Broderick ignored the majority opinion and sent Curzon a compromise plan that effectively weakened the adviser's role. To Curzon's surprise Kitchener agreed the plan. Then not to Curzon's surprise, Kitchener changed his mind.

In August 1905 the Cabinet accepted Curzon's resignation. He was quickly succeeded by Lord Minto - an altogether different imperial figure.