As regards the organisation of the Army, we may note that the Command system introduced by Lord Kitchener in 1904 was abolished by him in 1907, when the Indian Army was divided into two sections, the Northern and the Southern. The war of 1914-18, during which Indian troops of all descriptions rendered valuable services, showed the defects of this system, and it was reorganized after the war was over. The Indian territory was divided into four commands, subdivided into fourteen districts, each district containing a certain number of brigade commands. One of these, the Western Command was abolished on I st November, 1938.
The defence forces of India consisted in 1939 of the Regular Army, including units from the Britsh Army; the Auxiliary Force, the membership of which was limited to European British subjects; the Territorial Force, composed of three main categories, provincial battalions, urban units and the University Training Corps Units; the Royal Air Force from October, 1932; and the Royal Indian Marine, designated as the Royal Indian Navy from October, 1934. There were also the Indian State Forces, formerly known as the Imperial Service Troops, raised and maintained by the rulers of States at their own cost and for State service.
There were two main categories of officers in the Indian Army, those holding the King’s Commission and those holding the Viceroy’s Commission. The latter were all Indians having a limited status and power of command. As for the King’s Commission, Indians had been eligible for it since 1918 in three ways (a) by qualifying themselves as cadets at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and the Indian Military Academy at Dehra Dun (opened in October, 1932) (b) by the selection of efficient Indian officers or promotion of non-commissioned officers of regiments from the ranks, and (c) by the award of honorary King’s Commissions to officers who cannot qualify themselves for these on account of their advanced age or lack of education. In 1932 the Government announced its intention of Indianisng a Division of all Arms and a Cavalry Brigade. Another important stage in the Indianisation of the Indian Army was marked by the passing of the Indian Army (Amendment) Act by the Central-Legislature during its autumn session of 1934. According to this measure, officers commissioned from the Indian Military Academy would enjoy legal status and would be designated as “Indian Commissioned officers”.
Important steps were taken during succeeding years to bring the equipment and organisation of the defence forces of India into line with modern conditions. In September, 1939, the recommendations of the Chatfield Committee were published. Provision was made for a gift of thirty-three and a half crores by the United Kingdom for bringing about the desired reforms, and a loan of eleven and three-quarter crores free of interest was also provided for. The establishment of British troops was to be reduced by about 25 percent. The Army was to be distributed on the following basis, namely, frontier defence, internal security, coast defence and general reserve. Provision was also made for light tanks and armoured cars and for motor transport. Artillery regiments were to be mechanized and better equipped with guns. The Air Force was to be provided with bomber squadrons, flights for coast defence and for co-operation with the army. The Royal Indian Navy was to be strengthened by vessels of the newest type. Ordnance factories were to be reconstructed and expanded.
Financial Administration
To Lord Mayo’s Government belongs the credit for taking the first important step towards financial decentralization in India by giving to each Provincial Government a fixed grant for the maintenance of certain definite services, such as police, jails, education and the medical services, with powers, under certain financial rules, to allocate the revenues assigned to them at their discretion and to provide for extra expenditure by economizing, or, if necessary, by raising local taxes. The next significant step in this direction was taken in 1877 during the Viceroyalty of Lord Lytton, when, as we have already noted, certain important heads of revenue were provincialised, while the responsibility of Provinces as regards expenditure was extended to the departments of land revenue, general administration, and law and justice. Settlements on these lines were made in 1882 and 1897 with, however, no change of principle in any case.
A departure was made in 1904 with the introduction of ” the system of quasi-permanent settlements” under which assignments of revenues made to Provincial Governments were definitely fixed and were not subject to change by the Central Government except under extraordinary circumstances. Something more was gained by the Provinces a little later, by the introduction of the famine insurance scheme, according to which a fixed amount was placed by the Government of India to the credit of each Provincial Govern- ment, which the latter could utilize in case of famine without touching its normal resources. In 1917 the famine relief expenditure was made a divided head, the expenses being borne by the Central and Provincial Governments in the proportion of three to one.
No radical change in financial relations between the Centre and the Provinces was proposed by the Royal Commission on Decentralization in India appointed in 1908. But in 1912 Lord Hardinge’s Government made the financial settlements permanent, reduced the fixed provincial assignments and increased the share of the Provinces in the growing revenues. The restrictions on the financial powers of the Provincial Governments were still very stringent. The Montagu-Chelmsford Report pointed out how seriously the existing financial arrangements operated ” as an obstacle to provincial enfranchisement” and suggested a wider degree of financial devolution. Accordingly a Committee, known as the Financial Relations Committee, was appointed, with Lord Meston, who had been Lieutenant Governor of the United Provinces and the Finance Member of the Governor-General’s Executive Council, as Chairman. The scheme set up according to the recommendations of this Committee, with slight modifications made by the joint Select Committee of Parliament, is known as the Meston Award. It avoided, as far as possible, divided heads of revenue. To make the financial relations between the Central and Provincial Governments clear and definite, certain sources of income, such as Land Revenue, Excise, Irrigation, Forests, Judicial Stamps and Registration Fees and Minerals, were made Provincial, while sources like Customs Duty, Income Tax, Railway Revenues, Posts and Telegraphs, Salt and Opium were reserved for the Central-Government. Total abolition of the divided heads was not possible and it was laid down that the Provinces should receive some share in the increase of revenue from income tax. The contributions to be made by the Provincial Governments to meet the Central deficit, varying in amount, were also fixed, their total being a little less than ten crores of rupees. The Province of Bihar and Orissa was not required to make any contribution at all. The Provinces protested against these contributions, which, being consequently reduced in amount in successive stages, finally disappeared from the Budget in 1928-1929.
