Puslapio vaizdai
PDF
„ePub“

In respect, however, of certain special subjects they retain a certain power of control in the hands of the Government of India by making the subjects "provincial subject to Indian legislation." In the case of reserved subjects the committee rocognise that no specific restrictions can be imposed on the Government of India's general powers of control, but feel that the control should vary according as the subjects are administered by provincial governments as agents of the Government of India or as provincial functions properly so called. In respect of the former the Government of India's powers of control must remain absolute, but in regard to the latter they propose to secure that the Governor-General-inCouncil shall exercise his power of control with due regard to the purpose of the new Government of India Act.

4. The general effect of the proposals will be to leave the provinces free to legislate on provincial subjects, reserved and transferred which are not specially made subject to Indian legislation, except in cases where the proposed. Bills affect powers expressly reserved to the Government of India by statute, or amend any provision of certain specified all India Acts, or amend any section of an Act which by the terms of the Act itself is specially protected. They also propose that the Governor shall have power to serve for the consideration of the Governor General provincial Bills which appear to him to affect any matter specially committed to his charge, any all-India subject or the interests of any other province, and shall be required similarly to reserve Bills which affect the religion or religious rights and usages of any class, university Bills, Bills shifting boundaries of reserved and transfered subjects, and railway or tramway Bills.

5. Section III.-The committee preface their discussion of the transfer of subjects with a statement of reservations which accompanied the proposals of local Governments. The Madras Government were wholly opposed to any scheme involving dualism, the Governments of Bombay and the Punjab and the Chief Commissioner of Assam proposed alternative schemes involving no division of functions and the Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces desired a period of training before the introduction of the Report scheme. The most important subjects proposed for transfer are local self-government, medical administration and education, sanitation, education (with certain exceptions), provincial buildings, communications other than those of military import

ance, light and feeder railways and tramways (in certain cases), agriculture, civil veterinary department, fisheries (except in Assam), co-operative societies, forests in Bombay, Excise (except in Assam) subject to certain safeguards, and the development of industries. Mr. Couchman is unable to recommend the transfer of any subject in Madras as he feels that the proposals of the Franchise Committee will result in the return of a large majority of Brahmans, in whose hands the interests of the masses will not be safe.

6. The committee recommend that the Governor should be free to intervene in the administration of transferred subjects

(i) in defence of reserved subjects. (ii) in defence of his special responsibilities under the instrument of instruction.

In cases of the former description if the Governor fails to get departments concerned to agree, he will himself decide the point at issue and will be empowered to call on the minister to resign in cases of necessity. If the case is an emergent one requiring immediate action, the Governor will be able to certify it as such, whereupon the Governor in Council will take action. Rules are suggested for regulating the relations between the two portions of the Government and defining the authority of the Governor. The gist of these is (1) each side is not to interfere unduly with the other (2), the Governor shall decide which side has jurisdiction when that is in doubt (3) the Governor shall see that all orders of the Governor-General in Council are carried out, (4) the Governor shall call joint meetings in cases where reserved and transferred departments are concerned and shall decide in cases of disagreement, (5) the Governor in Council can administer a transferred subject in an emergency in the absence of a minister,

7. In defence of his special responsibilities under the instrument of instructions the Governor should have similar powers, Draft clauses defining the Governor's special responsibilities are included in the report: the matters covered by them are the maintenance of peace and tranquillity and prevention of religious and racial conflict, the grant of monopolies of special privileges to private undertakings contrary to the public interests and unfair discrimination in commercial and industrial matters, the protection of the interests of the Anglo-Indian or Domiciled Community and of the public services, and the protection of the special educational interests, Muslims, religious institutions, and depressed and backward classes,

+

8. Section IV.-Public services.

The committee recommend that the public services employed under provincial governments be classified into three divisions, namely, Indian, provincial and subordinate. The chief criterion will be the appointing authority. The Indian services will be recruited according to methods laid down in statutory orders by the Secretary of State and appointments to these services will be made by the Secretary of State, who will also fix rates of pay, sanction all new appointments, and secure pensions by statutory orders under the new Government of India Bill. The committee recommend that statutory rules should provide that no orders affecting adversely emoluments or pensions shall be passed in regard to officers of allIndia services in transferred departments without the concurrence of the Governor. As a special measure of protection in the case of the Indian Medical Service they propose that if the medical department is transferred, statutory orders should provide that the private practice of officers of the Indian Medical Service will be regulated only by the Secretary of State. They further recommend that the Governor should be charged with the protection of the public services and with the duty of seeing that no orders affecting adversely the pension or emoluments of any officer are passed before they have been considered by both parts of the government. Appeals against such orders should lie to the Government of India and Secretary of State, and no officer of an all-India service should be liable to dismissal except by order of Secretary of State. Questions of promotion, posting and discipline of officers with duties in both reserved and transferred departments should be treated in the manner explained above in connection with the relations of Governor-in Council and ministers.

Frovincial Division: Pending legislation which will regulate recuitment, training, discipline, and the general conditions of service of the provincial services, it is proposed that existing rules should mutatis mutandis be binding on ministers as regards transferred departments. In regard to pay, allowances, leave etc., local Governments will be granted wide powers. cipline the main features of the procedure proposed for all-India services should apply to existing members of provincial services. In case of future entrants all orders of dismissal, should require the personal concurrence of Governor.

In the matter of dis

Subordinate Division: The rights and privileges of present incumbents should be maintained by

means of directions to the Governor-in-Council as regards reserved subjects and instructions to the Governor in respect of transferred subjects. So far as future entrants are concerned the Governor-in-Council and Governor and ministers must be left to regulate the entire working of the services.

In conclusion the committee suggest that as far as possible members of all-India services should be secured in the benefits of the conditions under which they were recruited. The principle that alterations shall not press hardly on members of the services should be formally recognised in the future.

9. Section V.-Finance.

Under this head the most important proposals

are

(1) that a strong audit system independent of the Governor-in-Council and ministers be established and that audit reports be laid before provincial legislatures:

(2) that provincial finance departments should be reserved and that in relation to transferred subjects the duties of the department should be to advise and criticise, final decision resting with the minister subject to assent of the Governor ;

(3) that a list of taxes which local Governments may impose without previous sanction of

the Government of India should be included in a schedule to be provided for by rule;

(4) that provincial governments should ordinarily borrow through the Government

of India, but, subject to approval of that Government as to time and method of borrowing, should be free to borrow in Indian market in certain circumstances; (5) that subject to certain simple regulations. provincial governments should be left to their own responsibility in the disposal of their balances;

(6) that a schedule of municipal and local taxation should be prescribed by the GovernorGeneral-in-Council and previous sanction should only be required in case of tax not included in schedule.

O one who has been carefully watching the course of events on the North-West frontier can view with equanimity the sudden development of a very critical state of affairs in Afghanistan caused by the misguided enthusiasm of the new Amir in embarking on an unprovoked war of aggression against the British in India. The fears entertained in certain quarters, despite Lord Curzon's assurances otherwise, that the death of Habibullah Khan meant not only the end of peaceful and orderly progress of Afghanistan for the promotion of which Abdur Rahaman and Habibulla had laboured hard but also the interruption of friendly relations between Great Britain and that country, have unfortunately come to be true. The country which had been during the trying period of the world-conflict a bulwark against German intrigue and German machinations,' has been plunged into war and the entante cordiale built up on good feeling and right understanding has been ruthlessly and wantonly sacrificed. To appreciate properly what all this means to Afghanistan and India, intimate acquaintance with the nature and history of the relations that subsisted between the two countries is of immense importance.

[ocr errors]

At the outset, it is best to state that the alarms of an invasion by land, at first by France then by Russia, have largely shaped the foreign policy of the English in India and led to the concentration of their efforts to adopt proper measures to safeguard the only vulnerable side of the land frontier. With the fall of France, Russia was left without a rival and her rapid advance in the East naturally caused deep concern to the English in India.

There is no denying the fact that the Russian advance in Central Asia is a serious menace to England and may gravely affect her interests in India. "The apparition of European armies marching from the Caspian to the Oxus began to trouble the prophetic imagination of English statesmen." The importance of the dealings of the English with Afghanistan is due to the necessity to guard against this threatened danger. What exactly should be the real policy in this matter gave rise to serious differences of opinion, and this prevented their following a settled plan of action till the latter part of the nineteenth century.

The first occasion on which the English interfered in the affairs of Afghanistan was on behalf

of Shah Shuja. It may be said that this interference was quite in consonance with the dictum laid down by the British Government that the independence and integrity of Afghanistan free from the influence of any other European power excepting the English were necessary for the security of India. But the circumstances under which Lord Auckland committed himself to this course of action and the steps taken to force an unpopular monarch on a free and independent people resulted in nothing but unparalleled disasters.' Successful attempts were made to retrieve the honour; but the only solution lay in restoring Dost Muhammad and in cultivating friendly relations with him. This they wisely adopted.

With the death of Dost Muhammad and the fratricidal war of succession that ensued opens another chapter in the relations of the British with the Afghans, Though that was an occasion on which perhaps British interference would have been justifiable, Sir H. Lawrence kept studiously neutral and refused to have anything to do with the internal politics of Afghanistan. After a good deal of wrangling, Sher Ali succeeded in establishing himself on the throne. He had become so much disappointed with England that he longed for an alliance with Russia. Lawrence was determined to resist any sort of interference by Russia in Afghanistan, and so urged on the attention of the authorities at home the desirability of arriving at an understanding with Russia by which Afghanistan was to be entirely outside Russian influence. Meanwhile Lord Mayo became the Governor-General. The adverse decision on the question of Seistan greatly increased Sher Ali's hatred for England. By this time, and after protracted negotiations, England secured the concurrence of Russia to an agreement based on the lines suggested by Lord Lawrence, When Sher Ali's appeal, first of all to Lord Mayo, then to Lord Northbrook to conclude a defensive and offensive alliance against all his enemies was not heeded, Sher Ali, in spite of the of the new agreement with Russia, began to intrigue and went so far as to receive a Russian envoy-an act of infidelity to British connection. The war that followed ended in the treaty of Gundamuk by which 'the external policy of Afgha nistan was placed under British control,' and a British Resident was stationed at Kabul. But all was not well, and there was something rotten

in the State of Denmark.' Their utter dislike of foreign interference resulted in an outbreak of the most hostile character. Lord Roberts was despatched to Kabul with a large contingent of troops. Kabul and Kandahar were won back. Lord Lytton, if he willed, could have annexed the territory gained. But he was averse to such a course and was quite willing to hand it over to the elect of the people. The claims of Abdur Rahaman, grandson of Dost Muhammad, were recognised, and Lord Ripon, much against the declared policy of his predecessor, acting under instructions from home, made over Kandahar too. In answer to the indictment in regard to this made by Randolph Churchill Lord Ripon, in the course of a speech at Bolton in 1885, said

:

I went out to India fully sharing the view which had been unmistakably expressed at the General Election of 1880-that the war in Afghanistan should be brought as speedily as was consistent with safety and with honor to a termination, and that friendly relations should be re-established with the ruler and the people of that country and therefore, I issued the orders which had been previously given to withdraw from Eastern Afghanistan. But I was most earnestly desirous that before our forces were taken away from that country we should have been able to see established a stable government, which would save the Afghan people from all tremendous evils of anarchy. Therefore, I continued the negotiations which had been begun by my predecessor Lord Lytton, with the present Amir, and I brought these negotiations to a satisfactory conclusion. I entered with that remarkable man into friendly and cordial relations, which have ever since, I am rejoiced to think, been maintained. It was always a part of my policy which I advocated to withdraw as speedily as possible from Kandhar. I always believed it to be the right thing to do."

Before concluding this part of the narrative which has brought us to a period when the British formulated, after much vacillation, a settled line of action we need make no apology to quote a few sentences from Noyce's book on England and Afghanistan which sum up the trend of the policy of England towards Afghanistan.

64

The history of Afghan affairs in the 19th century would seem to point clearly to the conclusion that neither a policy of masterly inactivity, such as that of Lords Mayo and Northbrook, nor one of aggression, such as that of Lords Auckland and Lytton, is likely to meet with success. The policy of a strong and united Afghanistan independent but bound by the closest ties of interests to the British, which possesses elements of both the other policies, but leans definitely to neither has been the most successful in the past and will probably remain so in the future".

The tribute paid to Abdur Rahaman by Lord Ripon was well deserved and the friendly relations thus established continued till the murder

835

of Habibullah Khan in February last, though there were occasions which might have afforded sufficient excuses for the out-break of hostilities. Abdur Rahaman was steadfast in his loyalty to the British connection. He never wavered and was always glad to say in public that he would, if necessity arose, stand up and smite any enemy of the British Government. All the small differences which might have on some occasions loomed large and necessitated a conflict, were removed by the Durrand Agreement concluded in 1893 by which a boundary line was drawn demarcating his territories and the subsidy to the Amir was increased to eighteen lakhs. After his death Habibullah Khan ascended the throne. The fact that during the recent war he could not be persuaded to accept the German offer and the failure of all the efforts of the Central Powers to wean him from the British connection, are sufficient to show His Majesty's fidelity to the British cause. At the invitation of the Government of India, the Amir paid a visit to India in 1907. He was so much impressed with the welcome accorded to him and the facilities afforded to him to see everything for himself, that His Majesty said in his farewell speech:

"Let me say that at no time will Afghanistan pass from the friendship of India so long as the Indian Empire desires to keep our friendship, so long will Afghanistan and Britain remain friends".

Since the murder of Habibullah Khan events have progressed so rapidly that it is hardly possible to state the causes with any degree of certainty. The circumstances under which Nasuralla Khan ascended the throne and his subsequent acts to strengthen his position may lead one to suspect his complicity in the murder of his brother which is still shrouded in mystery. But at the instigation of a few friends of the late Amir, Amanullah Khan proclaimed himself Amir at Kabul. To obtain popular support, he carried out some measures such as doubling the pay of the Army, instituting a scheme of voluntary service etc. There were some rival factions in the country which would not tamely submit to his rule. He could have gained the moral support of all classes by dealing with justice and firmness all persons involved in the plot to murder his father. Nasurallah Khan and Amanullab's brothers had also renounced their claims to the throne. Amanullah would have done well if he had taken advantage of all these circumstances. At a Durbar held on the 13th April, Amanullah accused Nasurallah of complicity in the

murder of his father and produced some papers in support of his contention. Nasurallah was condemned to imprisonment for life. This decision did not satisfy the people. The result was the immediate spread of disaffection, especially among the tribesmen and troops with whom Nasurallah stood in high favour, based on the belief that the innocent had been punished and that the guilty had been allowed to go scot free. There might be other factors also contributing to weaken the authority of the young Amir, such as the spread of Bolshevism. As disaffection threatened to grow into rebellion, to distract the attention of the people from internal troubles Amanullah hit upon this perilous misadventure of invading British territory by spreading all kinds of grossly exaggerated stories of the disturbances in the Punjab. He has promised them rich booty such as the followers of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali secured in days long gone by. For all intents and purposes, he has successfully tried to win the support of all sections of the people' by appealing to their avarice and depicting the Punjab as lying defenceless at the mercy of the Afghan invader.'

But the news that he has been receiving from the theatre of war must have been really disquieting making him feel sorry for underrating the strength of the British in embarking on this insane enterprise. The Afghans have been driven out of their forward positions and "advanced troops under General Crocker, who had been sent up the Khyber to support the Khyber Rifles at Landi Kotal pending our concentration, pushed forward in order to eject the Afghans who had encroached within our limits. The Afghans were driven out of Ash Khel and that village was occupied by us to secure our right flank, while an advance was made down the pass to the west of Landi Kotal." The Afghans have also tasted the bitter fruits of bombing and machine-gunning from aeroplanes. It is said that these have had a striking moral effect on the people. Khargali and Bagh have been taken after inflicting heavy loss on the enemy. The frontier station of Dakka which the enemy had in mind to use as the advanced base, has been oc cupied. The Viceroy has issued a proclamation setting forth in detail the relations that existed between Great Britain and Afghanistan since the days of Abdur Rahaman, how Abdur Rahaman and Habibulla had always tried to promote friendly feelings between the two nations and how that had secured innumerable blessings

to Afghanistan. His Excellency has rightly pointed out the ruin the Afghans are courting by rendering help to Aminulla who for no reason at all has stirred up hostility against Great Britain and has thus deprived Afghanistan of all the advantages till now enjoyed by her on account of friendship with India. The proclamations are being widely disseminated. But the communique issued on the 15th speaks of the request from the Afghan Commander-in-Chief for cessation of hostilities throwing the whole blame for the war entirely on the British. Of course, this impertinent letter has received the treatment it really deserves. The latest telegram speaks of a recent British victory in which the enemy sustained heavy loss. The frontier tribes are standing loyally by the British and this greatly helps the course of operations. The recent successes have put out of consideration all thoughts of rebellion. Khyber is now no longer in the danger zone. The danger ground has been shifted to Kurram Valley. The British are now in possession of important posts. Sherabad cantonment and Robat Fort lying at the foot of the ridge west of Dakka have also been taken possession of. While the Afghans are being driven out everywhere, the author of the war is staying comfortably at Kabul. Naturally the troops demand his presence at Jellalabad. His absence from the scene of operations has caused grave dissatisfaction. The Afghan is now realising what he had forgotten till now in his over. weaning pride, that the British Lion once disturbed will not rest quiet till the disturber is taught a severe lesson. Afghanistan may have to pay a very heavy price before she becomes conscious of her real strength. What worse fate attends that unfortunate country, let us await with

interest.

"All About The War-The Indian Review War Book."-A comprehensive and authentic account of the War with numerous illustrations, portraits, cartoons, maps and diagrams contributed by officers of the Indian Civil, Military and Medical Services, Ministers of Native States, Engineers, Educationists, Journalists, Lawyers, Publicists and other specialists. Edited by G. A. Natesan, with an introduction by His Excellency Lord Pentland and an appreciation by His Excellency Lord Hardinge. Price Rs. 4. Special offer for a short time only Rs. 3,

G. A. Natesan & Co., Publishers, George Town, Madras.

« AnkstesnisTęsti »