Lord Cornwallis

Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, was appointed the Governor-General of Bengal and Commander-in-Chief in India in 1786. Unlike his predecessor Warren Hastings, Cornwallis demanded absolute executive authority, which led to the passage of the Amending Act of 1786 allowing him to override his Council in critical situations. His tenure marked the institutional transformation of the East India Company (EIC) from an opportunistic trading entity into a professional administrative state through comprehensive code codification, judicial separation, and agrarian restructuring. He returned for a brief second term in 1805 but died shortly after his arrival at Ghazipur.

Legal and Constitutional Foundations

The Amending Act of 1786

Passed specifically to entice Cornwallis to accept the office, this Act combined the offices of the Governor-General and the Commander-in-Chief. It granted the Governor-General the constitutional power to override the majority decision of his Executive Council in cases deeply affecting the safety or interests of the British Empire in India.

The Cornwallis Code (1793)

Enacted on May 1, 1793, this body of legislation institutionalized the principle of governance by written law rather than personal discretion. The Code separated revenue administration from judicial administration, bounded state officials to the jurisdiction of civil courts, and introduced the concept of the sovereignty of law in British India.

Administrative Overhaul and the Covenanted Civil Services

Europeanization of the Services

Cornwallis harbored a systematic distrust of native administrative capacity, believing that British oversight was vital to prevent corruption. He excluded Indians from all high-ranking administrative, judicial, and military offices, reserving posts with a salary of 500 pounds or more per year exclusively for Europeans. This institutionalized a racial divide within the bureaucracy.

The “Cornwallis Civil Service” Reforms

To curb the rampant bribery, embezzlement, and private trade that had plagued the EIC, Cornwallis introduced three structural changes:

• Abolition of Commissions: He stopped the practice of allowing officers to take commissions on revenue collection.
• Enhancement of Salaries: He raised the salaries of public servants significantly. The salary of a District Collector was raised to 1,500 rupees per month plus a one percent commission on the revenue collected from their district.
• Strict Prohibitions: He enforced absolute bans on private trade and the acceptance of presents or commercial benefits by EIC officials, requiring them to sign strict binding covenants.

Agrarian and Revenue Architecture

The Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793)

Developed in coordination with John Shore (President of the Board of Revenue) and James Grant, this system completely restructured land ownership and tax assessment across Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and later extended to Varanasi and Northern Sarkars.

Structural Mechanics of the Settlement

• Proprietorship Shift: Traditional land revenue collectors (Zamindars) were transformed into absolute landlords and legal owners of the soil, making land a transferable and inheritable private property.
• Fixed Revenue Demand: The state’s revenue demand was permanently fixed at a high baseline. The EIC claimed 10/11ths of the rental collection from the peasantry, leaving only 1/11th for the Zamindar.
• The Sunset Law: Zamindars were required to deposit their fixed revenue at the state treasury before sunset on a specific calendar date. Failure to comply resulted in the immediate auctioning of their estate to recover arrears.
• Peasant Subjugation: Traditional occupancy rights of cultivators (Ryots) were revoked, reducing them to the status of tenants-at-will who could be evicted by landlords without legal recourse.

Judicial Reorganization and the Adalat System

Separation of Revenue and Judiciary

Cornwallis abolished the judicial powers of the District Collectors, ending a conflict of interest where collectors acted as both tax gatherers and judges of tax disputes. He restricted the Collector’s duties purely to revenue management and transferred judicial duties to a newly established cadre of District Judges.

Four-Tier Court Hierarchy

The Cornwallis Code set up a structured system of civil courts to handle disputes at every level of society:

• Munsif and Amin Courts: Grassroots courts presided over by native judicial officers to handle small-value civil disputes.
• Registrar’s Courts: Presided over by a European officer, handling mid-level civil cases.
• District Courts (Zilla and City Adalats): Headed by a European District Judge, serving as the principal court of original jurisdiction for the district.
• Provincial Courts of Appeal: Four intermediate appellate courts established at Calcutta, Murshidabad, Dacca, and Patna. These courts were headed by European judges and reviewed appeals from the District Courts.
• Sadar Diwani Adalat: The supreme civil appellate court in Calcutta, presided over by the Governor-General and his Council.

Criminal Justice Reforms

Cornwallis abolished the Mofussil Faujdari Adalats (district criminal courts) run by native judges. In their place, he established four Circuit Courts staffed by European judges who traveled across the provinces to try criminal offenses. The Sadar Nizamat Adalat (Supreme Criminal Appellate Court) was moved from Murshidabad to Calcutta and placed directly under the control of the Governor-General and Council. He also replaced Islamic criminal punishments with English legal practices, banning mutilation and execution by drowning.

Police and Internal Security Restructuring

Regularization of the Police Force

Cornwallis relieved the Zamindars of their traditional police duties and their responsibility to maintain local law and order. He divided each district into circles (Thanas), covering an area of roughly 20 square miles.

The Post of Daroga

Each Thana was placed under the command of a Daroga, a native police officer appointed and paid directly by the government. The Darogas operated under the direct supervision of the European District Magistrate.

Urban Policing

In large cities, the administration established a Kotwal system, creating an urban police force to maintain law and order, manage municipal watchmen, and prevent crime.

Military Strategy and the Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792)

The Breach of Peace

The war broke out when Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, attacked the Kingdom of Travancore, a protected ally of the EIC. Cornwallis personally took command of the British forces, reversing the initial setbacks suffered by General Medows.

The Triple Alliance

Cornwallis formed a strategic military coalition, uniting the EIC with the Maratha Confederacy and the Nizam of Hyderabad to surround and isolate Mysore.

Treaty of Seringapatam (1792)

Following the siege of Mysore’s capital, Tipu Sultan was forced to sign this treaty, which redrew the geopolitical map of Southern India:

• Cession of Territory: Tipu Sultan surrendered half of his kingdom. The EIC acquired Baramahal, Dindigul, and Malabar. The Marathas gained territory up to the Krishna River, and the Nizam acquired lands along the Tungabhadra River.
• War Indemnity: Mysore was fined over three crore rupees. Tipu Sultan had to surrender two of his sons as hostages to Cornwallis until the indemnity was fully paid.

Comparative Matrix of Institutional Evolutions

Historical Trivia for Civil Services Examination

Father of Modern Civil Services

Cornwallis is officially recognized as the “Father of Civil Services in India” for introducing professional standards, high salary structures, and anti-corruption covenants to the bureaucracy.

Father of the Indian Police Service

By systematically breaking the feudal control over law enforcement and introducing the district-wide Thana-Daroga network, he is also regarded as the “Father of the Indian Police.”

The Epitaph at Ghazipur

Cornwallis is the only Governor-General of the EIC era buried in India. He died of illness during his second term on October 5, 1805, at Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, where an official tomb and domed monument stand in his honor.

The American Connection

Before his assignment to India, Cornwallis was a major British military commander in the American Revolutionary War. He famously surrendered his entire army to George Washington at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, a defeat that led to Great Britain losing its American colonies.