Indian Political Department

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The Indian Political Department, formerly part of the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India, was a government department in British India.[1] The department looked after the diplomatic and "political" relations with the subsidiary states of the British Empire in India, and some states overseas. The nature of its work was indirect rule.[2] The department was disbanded at the time of Indian independence and replaced by a newly formed States Department in the Government of India.

History[edit]

A department was originally formed under the name "Secret and Political Department" on 23 September 1783,[3] It was created by a resolution of the board of directors of the East India Company; this decreed the creation of a department which could help “relieve the pressure” on the administration of Warren Hastings in conducting its "secret and political business".[4] From 1784 to 1842, the department was divided into three branches: secret, political and foreign.[3]

In 1843, the department was renamed the Foreign Department,[3][5] and renamed again to Foreign and Political Department in 1914. A post of Political Secretary was created in 1914 as well.[3]

A separate Political Department came into being only in 1937, necessitated by the Government of India Act, 1935, which separated the two functions of the Viceroy of India, viz., Governor-General (for the administration of British India) and Crown Representative (for the supervision of the princely states). A fresh post of Political Advisor to the Crown Representative was created, with a cabinet rank. The post-holder headed the Political Department.[3] Sir Conrad Corfield was the last person to hold this post before Indian independence.

Staff[edit]

The staff employed by the IPD, known as the Indian Political Service, were generally referred to as political officers, or colloquially as "politicals", and were recruited from four areas:[6]

All members of the IPS were seconded from their original service and were subject to their original service's pension and retirement rules. The IPS was allowed to recruit two ICS officers every year, which was reduced to one every fifth year. On the Army side, four or five Indian Army officers were recruited on alternate years. When the process of Indianisation reached the IPS, some were also recruited from the Provincial Civil Services and services connected with the frontier.

Employees of the political service were predominantly European, although small numbers of Indians were employed.[7] In 1947 it had a staff of 170 officers, of which 124 were serving.[1] They included 17 Indians, of which 12 were Muslim, four Hindus and one Sikh.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Coen 1971, pp. 4, 55
  2. ^ Coen (1971), p. 4.
  3. ^ a b c d e Coen (1971), p. 47.
  4. ^ Indian Foreign Service, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, retrieved 17 March 2024.
  5. ^ Onley, James (2009). "The Raj reconsidered: British India's informal empire and spheres of influence in Asia and Africa". Asian Affairs. 40 (1): 44–62. doi:10.1080/03068370802658666. ISSN 0306-8374. S2CID 162217901.
  6. ^ Wendy Palace (2004), The British Empire & Tibet 1900 - 1922, London: Routledge, ISBN 0415346827, OCLC 834529138, OL 3291326M
  7. ^ Hansard 26 June 1939

Bibliography[edit]