The Lords' Dreams are Dust

Under British rule, the post of the Governor-General was the highest office- the man who sat there practically set the course for the future of the entire nation. Have a look at Lord Cornwallis’ run.

Charles Cornwallis, the third Governor-General of India; Source: Public Domain

“A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the value of life."

"There's time enough, but none to spare."

"I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great."

These words sound like the quotes of some motivational speaker whose videos your teacher or boss recommend you. Don’t get deceived, in history things are not what they seem. These are the words of Charles Cornwallis- 1st Marquess and 2nd Earl Cornwallis, Viscount Brome, Baron Cornwallis of Eye. Simply put, Lord Cornwallis, the governor-general of India from 1786 to 1793. Of the many positions that he held for the British empire and the company, this one left the most lasting legacy.

Born on 31 December, he was the eldest son of the Baron of Cornwallis and hence, was inducted into the life of the elite from the beginning. His fate was stamped, he was to serve the crown.

Charles’ career began as a general in the British army fighting the revolutionaries in the American war of independence. He even managed to secure a short-lived victory over George Washington.

Despite being the most successful British General on the American soil, he was present at the Battle of Yorktown when the Americans led by Washington and the French army outflanked him from both sides, sandwiched him, and forced a surrender.

On February 23, 1786, he assumed the position of governor-general in India. Of the many policies that he undertook, the most notable was the Cornwallis Code and the permanent settlement system. The Cornwallis Code essentially divided the company workers into- revenue, judicial, and commercial branches. The workers belonging to the first two branches were not allowed to run any private business enterprises. To make the system loophole-free, he increased their salaries.

The permanent settlement was a revenue system under which newly appointed Zamindars would have to pay the British a certain amount of money despite the actual revenue that was collected. Cornwallis initially set the revenue amount too high in order to compensate for the increased future returns that would go into the pockets of the Indian Zamindar.

To say that his policy wreaked havoc in the countryside of Bengal would not be an exaggeration.

High revenue demand pushed peasants into a state of mind numbing toil. They had to meet the fixed revenue no matter the type or the amount of crop produced. Another problem that soon emerged was the indifference of the Zamindars towards the land. As their only concern was to gain maximum cut from the revenue, they never cared enough to invest in increasing the productivity of the land.

His policy proved to be such a disaster that James Mill dedicated 200 pages of his book to its scathing critique.

He defeated Tipu Sultan in the Third war of Mysore but could not sustain his victory for long. All in all, Cornwallis’ tenure in India proved to be a series of failed experiments. But history does not pass its judgment as per the simple binary of success and failure, it's about the changes. His imperial policies created rippling effects in India, hence he finds a mention in Indian history.