# Allan Octavian Hume, C.B./Epilogue

EPILOGUE
It would be wrong to close this account of so remarkable a career in the Indian public service without seeking to draw from it lessons for the future wise guidance of Indian affairs. And this seems the more necessary because a Royal Commission has been appointed to consider the requirements of the Indian public service, and to "recommend such changes as may seem expedient." The scope of the reference is a wide one, opening up the whole question of the position and duties of the Indian Civil Service ; and the practical questions to be dealt with are, What are the defects of the present system ? and What are the changes needed to make it conformable to the best interests of the Indian people ?
When we look into the merits of the case, we find that the essential defects of the system belong to its historical origin as a foreign domination, and that these defects have been intensified by the policy of over-centralization, which is the natural development of any purely official organization. As regards origin, we know that England's first connection with India was not based on any altruistic sentiment ; it arose in the earlier centuries out of primitive impulses, the spirit of adventure and the pursuit of gain. Coming originally as traders, the servants of the East India Company became administrators by the force of circumstances, as the only means of evolving order out of the anarchy which prevailed ​in India at the close of the eighteenth century. Autocratic personal government was thus both unavoidable and beneficial in the early years of British rule ; and Lord Cornwallis, by a judicious reorganization, laid the foundations of the "Covenanted" Indian Civil Service which, on the whole, has shown itself the most efficient and most honest official body of which there is record. But, as the poet warns us, the old order changeth, and one good custom may corrupt the world. The conditions which necessitated, and justified, an official autocracy administered by a privileged class of foreigners, have long passed away; highly trained Indians are available for every branch of the public service ; while public opinion claims for the people a revival of the ancient forms of local self-government.
As regards the later history of the official system, the one development of paramount importance has been the gradual rise of the great centralized departments till they have become the chief power in the State ; and it will be necessary to note their action on the different branches of the Indian administration, for to their usurpations is due the over-centralization which has proved destructive alike to local administration and to the control which should be exercised by the Secretary of State and the House of Commons.
The main object of Liberal statesmen, as shown by the policy of Lord Ripon and Lord Morley, has been, and must be, to bring these overgrown departments into proper subordination, and limit them to their proper I functions. And fortunately, in dealing with this problem we possess, in the events of Mr. Hume's career, materials for forming a judgment with regard to the effects of over- centralization upon the working of the public service in its various grades. In order to show these effects, I proposed, at the beginning of this memoir, a practical ​test by which the merits, and demerits, of the present system of administration may be judged. In Allan Hume we have the ideal public servant — capable, industrious, and devoted to the public interests ; a man regarding whom the Government record testifies that he "sacrificed all personal considerations to the conscientious discharge of his duties." A good system would naturally welcome such a man in every grade of the service. If metal of this temper cannot be utilized in the official machinery, the fault must be with the machinery. Let us apply this test, first to the district administration, in which Mr. Hume was a striking success ; and secondly, to the Simla Secretariat from which he was summarily ejected.
While the village community is the social unit, the District or CoUectorate has always been the unit of the official administration ; and District Officers are the backbone of British rule, provided they possess adequate authority, and are in touch with the people. In the case of Mr. Hume these conditions were in great measure fulfilled. In those early days the Collector occupied a strong position as the local representative of the "Sirkar" in all departments ; and Mr. Hume, relying on the co-operation of the people, and the friendly counsels of his local friends, was master of the situation, whether in the stress of the Mutiny, or in the peaceful activities of a later period. As a local Akbar, in free communication with the people, he understood their requirements, and could promote economic developments according to the special needs of the District. Unfortunately the centralizing policy has barred further progress ; instead of strengthening the position of the Collector on a popular basis, it has gone far to destroy the powers and usefulness of the district administration, by transferring the executive authority from the district officers to the ​subordinates of the centralized departments at head-quarters.
Thirty years ago, when Lord Ripon was taking up the subject of local self-government, these great centralized departments, and their fatal encroachments, were thus described by one who knew : "Their name is legion : police, public works, forest, excise, salt, survey, irrigation, registration, sanitation, vaccination, and so forth. Each of these departments is represented in the rural districts by a swarm of ill-paid and hungry native subordinates, who prowl about the villages and gradually fatten themselves by plunder and oppression. Among all these departments and among all these petty oppressors the life of the poorer ryot may be likened to that of a toad under a harrow, so jarred is he and upset in all his dearest interests and prejudices. And it is the increasing irritation and unrest produced throughout the country by years of such a system which has hitherto constituted the real danger to our rule in India. Now at last efforts are being made to stop this daily torment, to give back to the Indian village communities the management of their own internal affairs. And we need not wonder that the ryot is glad and grateful. It must be borne in mind that, whatever system we follow, the actual details of administration must be done by natives. And the special purpose of the decentralization and local self-government measures now being brought forward, is to substitute the best kind of native agency for the worst ; to revive the ancient activity of rural municipal life, and to entrust the village management to the decent quiet villagers themselves instead of leaving it to a swarm of greedy underlings attracted to the Government service, not by the scanty pay, but by the power they enjoy, and the unlimited opportunities for exaction." Octopus-like these centra​lized departments extend their tentacles into every district and every village, paralysing the district administrators, and crushing the village organization. Decentralization is the remedy ; and this remedy Lord Ripon sought to apply by the only right method, that is, not by the multiplication of local autocrats, but by building up local self-government on the solid foundation of the village community.
I have likened the centralized departments, in their destructive action on the district and village organizations, to the grasp of the octopus. But if on the one hand the deadly tentacles have reached down to the ryot in his village, they have, with equally baneful effect, taken hold of the supreme Government at Simla and the Council of the Secretary of State at Whitehall, perverting to their own use the control of the House of Commons. They have thus been able to direct policy, and manipulate the Indian Legislature, which for many years has been simply an instrument for consolidating official authority. What is the object of the elaborate codes which, with ever increasing stringency, govern the operations of the Land Revenue, the Forests, the Excise, and other great departments ? Every one knows that all these codes originate with the department directly interested, and that they are all directed to increasing "efficiency," which means the perfecting of the official machine, and completing its domination over the outside public. Indian public opinion has little or nothing to do with the course of legislation : it is only consulted after the supreme Executive has made up its mind under the direction of the department interested. Hence the government of India has been called a tyranny of office boxes, only mitigated by an occasional loss of the key. It is in these office boxes that projects of law are incubated, and that ingenious devices are matured to close all loopholes of ​escape, and effectually to curb the liberty of the subject.
The Viceroy, being a statesman appointed from home, is the one powerful figure that is in a position to offer resistance, if so minded, to the coercion of the permanent departments. But he will not be so minded if he is tainted with the imperialistic spirit, or if he has not the 1 necessary courage and ability. In any case the task of resistance is a hard one, as shown by what befell Lord Canning, Lord Mayo, and Lord Ripon ; for the Viceroy stands almost alone among his Councillors, who for the ^ most part have themselves been the heads of depart- Iments; while in England he must count on secret hos- tility, instead of support, from the India Office, which is recruited from the ruling official clique at Simla. The two notable episodes of Mr. Hume's career at the Simla Secretariat, which have been already related, were 'connected with two Viceroys of very different character- istics, and these episodes illustrate forcibly the sinister power of bureaucratic influences. In the one case Lord Mayo's strong personal recommendation in favour of an Agricultural Bureau, with Mr. Hume at its head, was rejected owing to the combined opposition of officials at Simla and Whitehall ; while in the other case official hostility, with the sympathetic help of Lord Lytton, was able, without cause shown or even alleged, to oust Mr. Hume from a high office, for which admittedly he had special qualifications. The usual history of Viceroys and Governor-Generals has been this : when they have sought to hold the balance evenly, they have suffered obloquy and defeat ; when their sympathies have been racial and imperialistic, the occasion has been utilized to fortify and extend the domination of the European bureaucracy.
The causes from which these evils spring are deep​seated. The fault is not in the men, whose average character and abiUties are of a high order, but in the system, which places them in a position antagonistic to popular aspirations ; which gives them autocratic power without effective control ; which stimulates selfish ambi- tion, and penalizes independence of judgment. The treatment of Mr. Hume at headquarters resulted naturally from the hostility of the class of men who, under the existing system, are the most successful in reaching the top of the official ladder ; and for this the system is to blame. But in order to understand the unholy spirit generated in the inner official clique at Simla, it is necessary to bear in mind the conditions which govern recruitment and promotion in the Indian Civil Service. The old Company's system of nomination and training at Haileybury College, which kept the Civil Service in the hands of families traditionally connected with India, had its defects, but it also tended to maintain among the members of the service a certain atmosphere of friendly sympathy with the people. This atmosphere of sympathy was dissipated by the adoption of competitive examina- tions, Nvhich brought into the service a new class of men, self-confident, ambitious, and usually unconnected with India. These young men, coming to India fresh from their academic studies, without experience of English public life, and placed almost at once in posi- tions of authority over men of another race, form exactly the material needed to produce an extreme bureaucrat. Nor does their subsequent experience in a close service tend to correct the failings appurtenant to this character. For the conditions of promotion to high office are peculiar, owing to the violent oscillations of policy to which the Government of India is subject. At one time we have adventure abroad and retrogression at home, under Lord Lytton, followed, under Lord Ripon, ​by a return to Lord Lawrence's policy of masterly in- activity on the frontier, with masterly activity in domestic progress. It is evident that a man of strong convictions and independent character, cannot serve these two masters with equal zeal and equal claim for advancement. Mr. A, who is an honest admirer of Lord Lytton's 1 Imperialism, must lie low under Lord Ripon, while Mr. B, who is an enthusiast for local self-government, will be out in the cold when the *^ forward " policy is in the ^ ascendant. But Mr. X, who has no strong convictions either way, comes under no such disqualifications. He is equally ready to serve both masters ; either to gag the Press, or to free it ; either to befriend the leaders of the people, or to put them in gaol for sedition. To his mind, these are questions of policy, for which he is not respon- sible ; his business is to carry out the orders of Govern- ment ; if he does not do so, some one else will ; he will be superseded by a junior, and his chances of distinction will be lost. Such sentiments are abhorrent to men of the type of Mr. Hume. But to Mr. X they seem a mere matter of official business. *' Let who will be king," he gets his promotion, going up two steps of the official ladder for one step gained either by Mr. A or by Mr. B ; he becomes the chief of a centralized department ; and passes early into the group at headquarters who are eligible to be members of the Viceroy's Council and Lieutenant- Governors. Thus, by a process of natural selection, is formed the dominant Simla clique, which controls the Government, disregarding public opinion, and trampling on the rank and file of the service. Naturally enough, the members of this Junta and their adherents take the pick of official prizes; decorate themselves as a matter of course ; and ultimately co-opt each other into the Council of the Secretary of State at Whitehall, where they sit in secret as a Court of Appeal from India, and pass ​favourable judgments on their own past achievements, and those of their friends.
The Public Service Commission.
Decentralization in India.
Such is the condition of affairs with which India: reformers have to deal. A great opportunity is afforded by the appointment of the Royal Commission on the public service ; and it is hoped that Congress leaders will make the most of the occasion, tracing the defects of the present system, and placing before the Commission a well-considered scheme, showing the changes needed to make the Indian administration conformable to the best interests of the Indian people. Decentralization on a popular basis is the cardinal principle for the reform of the public service, and Lord Ripon's policy of local self- government should be carried out to its legitimate conclusions. Over-centralization must therefore be attacked in all its ramifications, as it affects the village and district organizations on the one hand, and as it affects the supreme Executive on the other. Fortunately the evils of the present system have already been recognized emphatically by the highest authorities ; and in 1909 Lord Morley appointed a Royal Commission to examine into the " great mischief of over-centralization," and to enquire how ^^this great mischief might be alleviated." The reference was admirable, and excellent results would have followed, if the Commission had possessed the element of judicial impartiality. But in the composition of the Commission there was no such element. A grievous mistake was made in the selection of the Commissioners, all of whom belonged to the class directly interested in maintaining the existing system. ​Of the six members of the Commission only one was an Indian, Mr. Romesh Dutt, while all, including the chair- man, were of the official class. Independent Indian opinion was therefore wholly unrepresented. And this initial defect was aggravated by the fact that the three Anglo-Indian civilians, who constituted half the Com- mission, belonged to the class of headquarters officials who are little in touch with the people, whose views generally differ from those of the rank and file of the service, and who are mainly responsible for the existing over-centralization.
As might have been expected, the Commission was a failure. Nothing was done to promote local self- government on a popular basis ; on the contrary, some of the recommendations in the report were of a retro- gressive character ; and the great mischief recognized by Lord Morley remained without alleviation. But though its conclusions were impotent, the Commission recorded some valuable evidence of Indian witnesses, notably that given by Mr. Gokhale on behalf of the Bombay Presi- dency Association. Mr. Gokhale showed that local self- government must be built up on the natural foundation of the village community; and, as in old times, the "Panchayat," or village council, should have the manage- ment of all matters pertaining exclusively to the village. As regards the district administration, the chief proposal was to strengthen the position of the District Officer by giving him a small District Council, partly elective and partly nominated, which he 'would be bound to consult on all important occasions. Large additional powers might be delegated to him, provided these powers were exercised in association with his Council, so that ordinary questions of administration would be disposed of promptly on the spot, without unnecessary reference to higher authorities. If such additional resources had been ​at the disposal of Mr. Hume as a District Officer, the lot of Etawah under his administration would have been indeed a happy one.
These are the lines upon which reform should proceed with regard to local self-government. But while dealing with specific grievances, regard must be had to the larger responsibilities belonging to the new era which has been opened out for the Indian people by Lord Morley's reforms, and by the Delhi declarations of King George. The existing system, under which a few hundred foreign officials govern autocratically a population of 250 millions, is obsolete. A very material change must be made i.. the official fabric ; the edifice requires to be remodelled from the foundations to the roof, from the village organization to the ultimate control by the House of Commons. And a change is also needed in the spirit of the administration : Trust in the people must be substituted for trust in bureaucracy. Public servants must be the servants of the public ; not its masters.
Control in England.
But there will be no security for popular rights unless provision is made for an impartial and effective control in England over the Indian Executive. Mr. Fox's Bill, a hundred and thirty years ago, proposed to effect this by placing the control in the hands of a strong and independent commission appointed by Parliament from among the most trusted public men in England, men unconnected with the Indian administration, and pre- pared to enforce publicly and with judicial impartiality the broad principles of justice and good government. This was the scheme so eloquently supported by Edmund Burke, who *^ desired to regulate the adminis- tration of India upon the principles of a Court of Judicature, and to exclude, as far as human prudence ​can exclude, all possibility of a corrupt partiality, in appointing to office, or covering from enquiry and punishment, any person who has abused, or shall abuse his authority." As a move in this direction some practical reforms might now be adopted, as recom- mended in the Minority Report of Lord Welby's Com- mission. As regards the responsible advisers of the Secretary of State, it was proposed (para. 34) that " a sufficient number of representative Indians of position and experience should be nominated to the Council of the Secretary of State on the recommendation of the elected members of the Viceroy's and Local Legislative Councils." Perhaps, as a beginning, representative Indians, selected in this way, might constitute not less than one-third of the Council ; another third being officials ; and the remaining third being selected from "the most trusted public men in England," unconnected with the Indian administration.
As regards control by Parliament, the recommendation of the Minority Report ran as follows : " In the time of the East India Company a Parliamentary enquiry was held every twenty years, before the renewal of the Charter. From these enquiries date the most important reforms for the benefit of India, Also the prospect of such an enquiry tended to check abuses. This old practice should be revived by statute." Further, " in order to maintain the controlling authority over Indian expenditure, the salary of the Secretary of State for India should be placed upon the British estimates." And in order to give reality to the *' Indian Budget debate," the House of Commons should each year appoint a Select Committee to enquire into and report upon the financial conditions of India, as shown in the Budget, and in the discussions thereon in the Legislative Council of the Viceroy. Lord Morley has told us that we should realize " the enormous weight, com​plexity, delicacy, and hazards" of our obligations towards India. The measures above suggested would do some- thing towards giving Parliament the knowledge and opportunity needed to fulfil its duties as trustee for the Indian people.
Conclusion.
It was, I think, Thomas Carlyle who said that old age was " dark and unlovely." But this was not so with Mr. Hume. Even under physical suffering, there were for him elements of brightness and beauty. For his mind to him a kingdom was : up to the last he was actively engaged in the scientific pursuits which were always his special joy; and his eyes were privileged to see, though in the dim distance, the salvation of India. To use his own expression, he had a " great and endur- ing Hope " for the future of India ; and he said that if he could only live to see that Hope realized, he would " die content and happy." His labours are now bearing rich fruit, and it has been a consolation to his sorrowing friends that, before he passed away, he had the assurance that a happier day was dawning for the people that he loved so well.
On the 31st of July 191 2, in his eighty-fourth year, Allan Octavian Hume passed peacefully away. His funeral at Brookwood Cemetery was simple ; and the words on his monument were few. But far away, among the millions of India, there was deep sorrow. In telegrams, in letters, and in Resolutions at public meetings, the feel- ings of the people throughout the land were expressed in touching language. Some of these are given in Appendix IV. No one could have had mourners more multitudinous, or more sincere. For his name and his good deeds were known in the remotest villages of ​India ; and everywhere the people came together to lament the loss of a friend, who had laboured for them, who had suffered for them, and who had shown them the way of national salvation. The Leader of Allahabad, in its issue of 31st August last, published a most interest- ing note of reminiscences (reproduced Appendix V) by Mr. Zorawar Singh Nigam, a Municipal Commis- sioner of Etawah, in which he revives memories showing " what Mr. Hume's name means in the city and district." Though half a century has elapsed the people have not forgotten his good works, and on the news of his death the shops in the Etawah Bazar were closed as a mark of respect. At the Hume Memorial Meeting the Collector, Mr. H. R. Neville, presided, and spoke feelingly of the progress and prosperity of the district under his ad- ministration.
When we look back upon Mr. Hume's career, and his noble scheme for the harmonious evolution of East and West, we are reminded of the culture hero of Greece — Prometheus, the spirit of progress, " he who thinks for- wards " ; withstood in all ages, and among all races, by Epimetheus, " he who thinks backwards," the prototype of blind authority, which learns nothing, and forgets nothing. Prometheus brought the sacred fire from heaven, to endow men of clay with spiritual life ; and taught them the arts and sciences, bringing upon him- self the vengeance of the ruling powers : he suffered for the people, but triumphed in the end, when Hercules slew the vultures that preyed upon his vitals, and unloosed his bonds. In every nation the same struggle goes on between progress and autocracy, between enlightenment and obscurantism ; and it is well for India that her destiny is linked with England ; and not with Russia, where the spirit of the people is crushed by a dull and deadly bureaucratic despotism. In England, the ancient home ​of freedom, those who trust in Russian methods can only prevail for a season ; and for India's future we may well share in Allan Hume's assured Hope that though sorrow may endure for a night, joy will come in the morning.