The Administration of Lord Auckland in India, 1836-42 (An Old and Rare Book)

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Primarily based on the records of the National Archives of India and other unpublished and published documents as well as contemporary works, the present volume gives a comprehensive account of the hitherto-neglected aspect of modern Indian history. It throws new light on the internal administration of the East India Company during the Governor-Generalship of Lord Auckland and thus fills a vital gap in modern Indian historiography.

The present volume is a welcome addition to modern Indian historiography. Hitherto, Lord Auckland's period of administration was treated from the point of view of British imperial policies. Thanks to the legacy of earlier historical works, his name was more well known for the British adventure in Afghanisthan. But the more important aspect of Lord Auckland's Governor-General- sh'p his interral administration-was neglected by researchers. Needless to say, his period formed a momentous epoch in the history of the evolution of the internal administration in India. Following the passage of the Charter Act of 1833, important changes in the social and economic spheres also had been taking plaec. In the midst of these mighty changes Lord Auckland's role assumed a great significance. He stood for cautious, pragmatic and gradual change in respect of administrative reform. Dr. P. S. Mukharya has done a great job by giving a comprehensive accourt of the problems and policies of the Company's government in India during the period of Lord Auckland in ten chapters of his work. Starting with general administration, he has discussed in detail the legislative reforms, Black Act, judicial administration, police ard prisons, financial and revenue administration, trade and commerce, banking and currency, transport and communications, and military administration. For the first time a complete picture of internal administration of Lord Auckland has been presented. The social impact of there administrative measures is also equally important. Dr. Mukharya has, however, done his part of the job quite well. It was beyond the scope of his work to trace the social impact which remains for the future researchers to examine, to give us a complete study of Lord Auckland's administration in India.

With the hectic period of Lord William Bentinck in the field of internal administration and the passing of the Charter Act of 1833 in the background, the period of Lord Auckland constitutes a very important link in the process of evolution of administration of the East India Company. It is rather surprising that adequate attention has not been paid by the historians to this aspect. Though they have written volumes on his foreign policy leading to the Afghan War, they have dismissed his internal administration only in a few pages.

**Contents and Sample Pages**