4 - The Patchwork Nature of Colonial Governance

Summary

This chapter explores some of the particular dynamics of differentiated colonial governance at the apex of colonial rule, and how governance changed in response to political and economic shocks of the twentieth century. It begins with the establishment of the Government of India following the rebellion of 1857, and the general characteristics of colonial rule in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. It then provides snapshots of aspects of governance, based on a variety of data from the 1910s, differentiated by governance category. It provides data on land revenue and total revenue, judicial and nonjudicial stamp tax, income taxes and the number of government servants, police deployment and army recruitment and deployment. The chapter then surveys some of the key changes in politics and government of the last decades of the colonial era, including economic dislocations and the rise of the nationalist government. I use data from the 1940s, including revenue and policing, to demonstrate that these governance distinctions remain relevant despite significant pressures toward greater institutionalization, and that the influence of the Indian National Congress itself varied by territory.