After the Great Revolt of 1857, two particularly controversial viceroys ruled India. The first was Lord Lytton, and the second was Lord Curzon. Both were people supported by conservatives and radical imperialists in England. Lord Lytton served as the Viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880 A.D. Lord Lytton was not as liberal a ruler as Lord Ripon. Through his administrative policies, he created deep disappointment in the minds of English-educated Indians and caused considerable damage to the British Empire.
Policies of Lord Lytton
To ensure British dominance in India, Lord Lytton implemented several changes in various fields, among which repressive policies were more prominent. Below are all types of policies discussed.
Lord Lytton’s Famine Policy
Lord Lytton’s reign was eventful and full of various imperialistic political activities. During his time, between 1876 and 1878, a terrible famine occurred in Northwest, West, and South India. About 5 million people lost their lives in this famine. Lord Lytton took the policy for famine relief that “it is the government’s duty to provide relief when famine occurs.” He appointed the Famine Commission in 1880 under the leadership of Richard Strachey, also known as the Strachey Commission, to investigate the causes of famine and prevent it in the future and to form permanent policies.
The Strachey Commission recommended several special policies for conducting famine relief, which were:
- Improving irrigation systems in agriculture to increase agricultural production and output.
- Providing relief works during droughts, and it was recommended to keep 15 million rupees fixed from revenue every year for famine and relief.
- Changes like reducing taxes in famine-affected areas were also recommended.
- This commission also stated that the responsibility for famine relief must be taken by the government.
Lord Lytton’s Financial Policy
- Lord Lytton enacted financial reforms to improve the amount and method of tax collection and to control public expenditure to maintain the administration of British India. With the help of Sir Richard Strachey, he established equality in salt tax across different provinces. For this, the complex customs system that already existed was abolished. He abolished the duty on sugar in 1878 and removed import duties on about 29 types of imported goods. He reduced the import duty on machine-made cloth imported from England by 5%. He left the income from land revenue and excise duty to the provincial governments for their expenditure. Arrangements were made to give fixed financial allocations to provinces from the central government.
- Lytton’s tax and duty policies were consistent with the nature of his imperialist rule. By abolishing import duties on sugar and various imported goods, he increased the sale of British products in the Indian market. Particularly, the reduction of import duty on machine-made cloth imported from England was the main cause of damage to the Indian textile industry. Although Indian artisans strongly protested against this, Lytton paid no attention to it. He was only busy protecting the interests of the Lancashire industrial group and establishing a monopoly of foreign cloth in India’s market.
Royal Titles Act, 1876 and Grand Darbar of 1877
- During Lytton’s administration, the Royal Titles Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1876. Under this act, the British Parliament conferred upon Queen Victoria of England the title of “Empress of India” or “Kaiser-i-Hind.” This act was, from one perspective, a key strategy for legitimizing and consolidating British rule in India. This act enhanced the prestige of the British monarchy in India and strengthened British dominance and social authority.
- To celebrate this conferment of title on Queen Victoria, Lord Lytton organized an expensive durbar in Delhi on January 1, 1877, which is also known as the 1877 ‘Delhi Durbar’ or ‘the Proclamation Durbar’. Indian royalty and high-ranking officials enhanced the grandeur of this durbar. However, some educated Indian middle-class people and Surendranath Banerjee strongly condemned this celebration. This was because Lord Lytton held this grand durbar celebration in Delhi when a terrible famine was ongoing in Western and Southern India. After this durbar, the educated class of India began to demand their rightful rights. The Delhi Durbar awakened in every Indian’s mind the consciousness that under British rule, they were nothing more than subjugated subjects. From this point forward, the demand for independence began to grow strong among all Indians.
You can also read about Ilbert Bill of 1883: Background, Controversy and Outcomes.
Repressive Policies of Lord Lytton
Lord Lytton’s repressive policies included:
Vernacular Press Act, 1878
The most criticized step during Lord Lytton’s time was the enactment of the ‘Vernacular Press Act’ in 1878. Due to Lord Lytton’s autocratic policies, his failure to control famine, the enormous expenditure for the ‘Delhi Durbar’ or ‘Grand Durbar’, and his failure in the aggressive war in Afghanistan and the huge expenses of this war, he had imposed a heavy burden of revenue on Indians. Educated Indians began to strongly protest through vernacular language newspapers, highlighting these extremist activities of Lord Lytton and the exploitation of common people.
He feared that reading these criticisms written in vernacular language would increase political consciousness among the general public, which was critical and alarming for the British government in maintaining their empire. Therefore, to suppress these newspapers, he passed the Vernacular Press Act of 1878. This act stated that:
- The editor and printer of the news cannot publish anything that might cause people to become dissatisfied with the government. Nothing should be printed in newspapers that could increase racial hatred between the English and Indians.
- No government employee could edit a newspaper without government permission.
- If any anti-government writing was published in a vernacular language newspaper, everyone involved, including the editor and publisher, would be arrested, the newspaper’s security deposit would be forfeited, and if necessary, all equipment of those newspapers would be confiscated.
Many mockingly referred to the Vernacular Press Act as the “Gagging Act.” As soon as this act was passed, ‘Somprakash’ and ‘Sohochar’ newspapers were shut down. To escape this act, the popular Bengali newspaper ‘Amrita Bazaar Patrika,’ written by Sisir Kumar Ghosh, changed from a Bengali to an English publication.
Arms Act, 1878
The hardcore imperialist Viceroy Lord Lytton issued the notorious ‘Arms Act’ in 1878 to destroy India’s nationalist awakening.
- This act directed that Indians could not keep firearms without government permission, but this did not apply to Europeans residing in India. Indians were not even allowed to manufacture or sell guns.
- If illegal weapons were found in someone’s house, it would be considered a punishable offence and could result in punishment.
- This unfairly applied act created considerable discrimination between Indians and Europeans.
- This Arms Act was a deliberate attempt to prevent armed resistance by Indians against British rule.
The Indian Association, under the leadership of Surendranath Banerjee, called for a movement against the Arms Act. A protest meeting was organized at Calcutta’s Town Hall on April 16, 1878, under the presidency of Krishna Mohan Banerjee. Lord Lytton primarily enforced this act to protect imperialist interests and ensure the safety and security of British lives in India. Surendranath Banerjee commented on this matter saying, “They have stamped us with the mark of racial subordination.” Although the importance of this act diminished somewhat after Lord Lytton’s time, the law nevertheless remained in place.
Lord Lytton’s Afghan Policy and the Second Afghan War
- Lord Lytton’s foreign policy was quite eventful in terms of his Afghan policy. Lytton offered Amir Sher Ali of Afghanistan a favourable treaty proposal, but Sher Ali wanted to maintain friendly relations with both Russia and British India. However, when Sher Ali rejected a British envoy while accepting a Russian envoy, Lytton became angry and attacked Afghanistan, which led to the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
- The Second Anglo-Afghan War finally ended with the ‘Treaty of Gandamak’ on May 26, 1879. The Treaty of Gandamak accepted all the British demands. It was also stated that a British envoy would be permanently stationed in Kabul and that the British government would advise the Amir of Afghanistan on foreign policy.
Law for ICS Examinees
- Lord Lytton reduced the age limit for ICS examinees from 21 years to 19 years. It was difficult for any Indian student to pass the competitive examination in England at such a young age. For this reason, Surendranath Banerjee, on behalf of the Indian Association, strongly protested against this age reduction and campaigned for this cause by travelling to various cities in India. He demanded that the age limit for ICS examinees be increased from 19 to 22 years. But Lord Lytton paid no attention to it.
- As an alternative arrangement, he introduced the ‘Statutory Civil Service’ in 1879. Under this system, one-sixth of the Covenanted Posts would now be filled by Indian officials from high families. These appointed officials were called people of the Statutory Civil Service. Provincial governments received the right to appoint these officials with the viceroy’s approval. In fact, Lord Lytton was unwilling to implement the assurance given in the Charter Act of 1833 and Queen Victoria’s proclamation that appointments in India would be made regardless of caste, religion, and race. That’s why he blocked Indians’ path to joining the ICS examination through the Statutory Civil Service. In reality, through the Statutory Civil Service, Indians’ direct path to joining ICS service became blocked.
