Why Britishers did announced Civil Services in India and what was the method of recruitment?

The Civil Service:

The main job of the civil service was to translate law into action and the collection of revenue. The term ‘civil services’ was used, for the first time by the East India Company mainly to demarcate its civilian employees from their military and ecclesiastical counterparts.

The service was initially only commercial in nature, but was late transformed into a public service. The method of recruitment, however, remained through the system of patronage in the hands of the court of Directors who were free to nominate their sons and nephews for the services.

The idea of ‘competition’ for recruitment (as against nomination practiced earlier) was introduced the first time by the Charter Act of 1833. But it was to be a very limited competition and could be termed as nomination-cum- competition for recruitment.

The Court of Directors was to first nominate four times the number of civil servants required. These nominated candidates had to go through a competitive examination through which one fourth could ultimately be selected to join the coveted Civil Services. But gradually the demand for open Public competition started gaining ground.

The Charter Act of 1853 ultimately took away the power of the court of Directors to make nominations and made a provision for open competition. For regulations regarding age, qualification and subjects for the competitive examination a committee was appointed headed by Macauly which was to submit its recommendations to the Board of control.

Subsequently the college at Hailybury was abolished in 1858 and the competitive examinations became the sole responsibility of the civil Service Commission.

This gave him total authority in the district. Given the large size of some of the districts, a post of Deputy Collector placed between the Collector and the Tahsildar in the hierarchy was also created after 1831.

The Indian Civil Services in years to come, developed into one of the most efficient and powerful civil services in the world. Its members played a very crucial role in the framing of the British Policies in India and also in maintaining and running the mighty British Empire in India. After 1947, independent India inherited this system of Civil Services, which continue in its essentially original form even today. The Army and the Police

The army played a crucial role in the expansion of British dominions over the Indian rulers. However, after the conquest over India was over and the rivalry with foreign powers eliminated. Keeping India under subjection became the main task of the army.

A secondary task was to fight England’s wars with the Russian or the French or with Indian neighbouring countries. Police, the third Pillar of the British administration was created by Cornwallis. So far, the function of the Police was performed by Zamindar through their armed retainers.

They were now stripped off their power, their armed retainers were disbanded and in its place, a police force was set up. This force was entirely at the command of the government of the East India Company. This force as grouped into Thanas, headed by a Daroga who was an Indian.

These thanas were initially under the general supervision of the District Judge. 1-ater the post of District Superintendent of Police was created to head the Police organisation in the district. Finally the organisation of the police force as handed over the civil service and the collector in the district also controlled e police.

The main task of the police was to handle crime and also to prevent conspiracy against the British rule. Later, in the 20th century the police was employed in a big way to suppress the growing national movement.

This system of a hierarchy of courts was tried and implemented first in Bengai which had assumed the states of a Laboratory for the British rule where they could make experiments in the field of administration, and they extend it to the rest of the country.

The chart above shows the Sadar Diwani Adalat Sadar Nizamat Adalat formed the top of the pyramid and was situated in Calcutta. Below these were the provincial courts of appeal (in the case of civil courts) and the courts of circuit (in the case of criminal courts) which were established in the towns of Calcutta, Dacca, Murshidabad and Patna. Belos these were the registrar’s courts and all those were presided over only by the Europeans.

One important feature of the system of law that was erected was that enough tolerance was displayed toward the existing traditional and religious laws. The criminal courts did not altogether abolish the Muslim criminal law, but it in a somewhat modified form, so as to make it less harsh.

Similarly the civil courts also did not do away with the customary laws which had been followed by the local people. Evidently at this stage the East India. Company was no bent upon an overhauling of the system. Only a partial modification was- attempted. The existing institutions of justice and also revenue appropriate were not dismantled.

Another feature of the new judicial system was the establishment of a who network of laws through the process of enactment of laws and codification 0′ old laws. This was well in keeping with the 19th century British passion the codification of laws. The traditional system had been based on

Customary laws based on traditions and social practices, laws based on Shastras and Shariat, and laws flowing from the will and authority of the rulers, as against this, the British created a new system of laws. They introduced regulations, codified the existing laws and systematized and the laws were n0w upon to judicial interpretations and subsequent amendment.

Through the Charter Act of 1833, all law making authority was vested in the Governor General-in-Council. In the same year, a Law Commission was appointed, graded by Lord Macaulay, it prepared the India Penal Code which was applicable throughout the country. Thus, came into being for the first time, a set of laws which included into its fold every Indian.

The judicial system introduced in Indian did have the merit of saving in motion the process of the unification of India. Now it was possible to conceive of India, in judicial terms at least, as one unit. The British formulate and used the idea of legality as an instrument of controlling India.

But later, in the 20th century, the same instrument of legality was to be used by the leaders of the national movement to defend civil liberty and right to challenge government authority within the limits of law. Administrative System

The main aim of the British administration in India was the maintenance of law and order and the perpetuation of the British rule. A fairly adequate body of written laws had already been created to facilitate the tasks of the administration. The three main pillars of the British administration in India were.

(i) The civil service

(ii) The Army, and

(iii) The police.