History of Civil Services in India

Lord Cornwallis (Governor-General, 1786-93) was the first Governor-General to start and organize these services in India. He took the following steps to stop corruption:

Salary increase.
Complete ban on private trade.
Complete ban on taking bribes and gifts etc. by officials.
Incentive to be given promotion on the basis of seniority.

In 1800, Wellesley (Governor-General, 1798–1805) established the Fort William College to train new officers of administration. In the year 1806, the Court of Directors canceled the recognition of this college in Wellesley and in its place the East India College was established in Haileybury, England for the training of newly appointed officers.

Before being appointed here in India, these newly appointed administrative servants had to undergo training for two years.

Indian Civil Services Act 1861-

By this act some posts were reserved for the civil servants attached, but it was arranged that an entrance examination for recruitment to the administrative services would be conducted in English medium in England, in which there would be subjects of languages like Greek and Latin etc. Initially the age for this exam was 23 years. Thereafter it was reduced to 23 years, 22 years (in 1860), then 21 years (in 1866) and finally to 19 years (1878). In 1878-79, Lord Lytton presented a plan for a statutory civil service.

According to this plan, 1/6th of the attached posts of administration were to be filled from Indians of high rank. For these posts, the provincial governments would recommend and after the approval of the Viceroy and the Secretary of India, the candidates would be appointed. Their rank and salary were less than the pensioned service. But this statutory civil service failed and after 8 years it was abolished.

In 1853, the English Parliament introduced a competitive examination for recruitment to the Indian Civil Service. Indians were also allowed to appear in this exam, but due to many constraints, it was difficult for Indian people to take this exam. This was due to the following reasons –

One, the examination had to be given not in India, but in London.
The curriculum was also something that was beyond the understanding of Indians.
The emphasis was on the knowledge of Greek, Latin and English languages in the curriculum.
The maximum age limit to take the exam was less.
According to the Civil Services Act, 1861, the Civil Services Examination was to be held in London every year.
It stipulated that any person, whether Indian or European, may be appointed to any office provided he has been in India for a minimum period of 7 years.
The candidate had to pass the examination in the local language of the district in which he was working.
In 1863, Satyendra Nath Tagore earned the distinction of being the first Indian to succeed in the Indian Civil Service.

Demand of the Indian National Congress After its establishment in 1885, the Congress demanded that-

Age should be increased for admission in these services. And
These examinations should be conducted in both UK and India respectively.

Aitchison Committee on Public Services, 1886 This committee was formed by Dufferin in 1886. This committee made the following recommendations-

The words covenanted and uncovenanted should be abolished in these services.
Increase the age limit in civil services to 23 years. In 1893, a resolution was passed in the House of Commons of England that entrance examinations for these services would now be held in both England and India respectively. But this proposal was never implemented. India Secretary Kimberley said that "there must be sufficient number of Europeans in the civil services. This is an issue which cannot be abandoned”.
Civil services should be classified into three parts-
1. Civil Services: Entrance examinations for this should be conducted in England.
2. Provincial Civil Services: Entrance examinations for this should be conducted in India.
3. Subordinate Civil Services: For this also entrance examinations should be conducted in India.

The Mont-Ford Reforms, also known as the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms or more briefly as the Mont-Ford Reforms, were reforms introduced by the British Government in India to gradually give India the status of a self-governing institution.

The reforms are named after Edwin Samuel Montagu, India's Secretary of State during World War I, Lord Chelmsford, who was the Viceroy of India between 1916 and 1921. It was created on the basis of the Government of India Act of 1919. Among these improvements-

By this act, the responsibility of powers was clearly divided among the central provinces.
Defence, Foreign Affairs, Railways, Currency, Commerce, Communication, All India Services handed over to the Central Government.
The province subjects were divided into two categories. First protected and second transferred. Land revenue justice, police, jail, etc. were kept in the protected category.
Agriculture, industry, education, health etc. were placed in the shifted area. Due to the protected category, the system of dual government started in the provinces.
This policy was announced that - "If a responsible government is established in India, then more and more Indians will be appointed in the civil services, which will be in the interest of Indians".
It also recommended the conduct of the civil services entrance examination in England and India respectively.
It recommended that one-third of the posts in the administrative service be filled only by Indians and suggested to increase it at the rate of 1.5 percent per annum.

Recommendations made by Lee Commission-

The Secretary of India should continue the process of appointments in the Indian Civil Service, Engineers of the Irrigation Department, and Indian Forest Service etc.
The responsibility of appointments in the transferred areas such as education and public health services should be given to the provincial governments.
The participation of Indians and Europeans in the Indian Civil Services should be in the ratio of 50:50 and arrangements should be made for Indians to achieve this ratio in 15 years.
A Public Service Commission should be set up at the earliest (it was also recommended in the Government of India Act of 1919).

History of Indian Police:

Lord Cornwallis was the architect of the present police regime. In the present day, the unit of crime related work in our country, whose responsibility is on the police, is the police station or police station. These duties are performed by the officers and employees appointed in the police station. On the basis of the Police Act of 1861, police rule is established in each state.

Under this, the district police government is established in the state under the chairmanship of the Inspector General and under the supervision of the Deputy Inspectors General. The police work under the supervision of the Superintendent of Police in each district. According to the Act of 1861, the District Collector has been considered as the head of the crime-related government of the district and as such, the director of the work of the district police.

Lord William Bentinck, Governor-General 1828-35 The office of the Chief of Police (S.P) was abolished by Lord William Bentinck. Now it was arranged that the Collector or Magistrate (Magistrate) of the district would be the head of the police department and the commissioner of each division would also perform the responsibility of the post of superintendent of police.

Many side effects have arisen due to this arrangement. As the organization of the police force became weak and the district magistrates were burdened with the work. After which the functions of district magistrates and collectors were separated in the first presidency towns.

Indian Police Act 1861-

Provision has been made in this Act regarding the constitution of the police force, the power to prevent crimes by the police force, and the punishment to be given to the members of the police force for the breach of duty. In 1860, the recommendations of the Police Commission led to the formation of the Indian Police Act 1861. This commission made the following recommendations-

Arrangement of Civil Police Corps - It will operate the existing surveillance system of the villages (watchman used to do this work in the villages) and it will have direct relation with other police vehicles.
In the provinces, the Inspector-General will be the head of the police department of the entire province. The Deputy Director General of the Range and the Superintendent of Police (S.P) will be the police chief of the district.

Due to the organization of the police department, there was a gradual reduction in various criminal activities such as dacoity, theft, murder, cheating etc. The government also misused the police extensively in suppressing the national movement. The British did not establish a police system on an all-India basis.

The Police Act of 1861 contained guidelines relating to the formation of police departments only at the provincial level. In 1902, the Police Commission gave Central Bureau of Investigation at the Center and C.I. in the provinces. recommended installation.

Charter Act of 1853-

By this act, the protection of directors in the matter of appointments ended and all the appointments were made through a competitive examination in which no discrimination of any kind was kept. From the very beginning, the gates were completely closed for Indians for appointment to the high posts of the Company. Cornwallis was of the view that "every citizen of India is corrupt".

By the Charter Act of 1793 all posts with an annual income of £500 were reserved for the Company's attached officers. The reasons for keeping Indians separate from the administrative posts of the Company were:

The belief of the British that in order to fulfill the British interests, the British should take over the responsibility of administration.
British belief that Indians are unworthy, unreliable and insensitive to British interests.
The belief that when Europeans are available in sufficient quantity for these posts and there is a tough competition among them to get these posts, then why should these posts be given to Indians.

Although the Charter Act of 1833 opened the gates of entry for Indians to the posts of the Company, but in reality this provision was never followed. After 1857, Emperor Victoria's Declaration in 1858 assured that the government would not discriminate on the basis of color for appointment to the civil services and that all Indians would be able to freely hold administrative posts according to their qualifications.

But even after this announcement, all the high administrative posts remained reserved only for the British. The posts of deputy magistrates and deputy collectors were created to entice Indians and to pretend the principle of equality, so that Indians felt that they could get these posts, but the situation remained the same.