‘To what extent should Curzon be shown as a failure’?

Curzon’s journey as viceroy began on the 31st December 1898, when he arrived in Calcutta. Curzon differed from previous viceroys, as he was not reluctant to play the position of viceroy in India, but was actually eager to partake in this opportunity. Many factors contributed to his eager attitude to becoming viceroy, like the fact that he had always been interested in Indian history and his fascination of travelling also played a part in his desire to become viceroy, so much so that he described it as ‘ the greatest of his various ambitions’. Curzon had two terms as viceroy that were overall quite successful, however due to controversial and failed policies that he embarked upon in his second term , his reputation and legacy was severely damaged. He also contributed to the corrupt reputation of the British rule and as a result of Curzon’s failed policies, many campaigns were triggered and after 50 years, it would lead to the independence of India.

Curzon’s desire to become viceroy and his well-travelled nature meant that he was able to gain a better insight into the culture and lives of the Indians. As a result of the Indian mutiny, queen victoria made it clear in the royal proclamation that the British viceroys were to serve the interests and care for her Indian subjects, as well as keeping out external threats and remaining in control of uprising within India. For this reasons it may be argued by some historians, that Curzon was a success because of his clarity when it came to problem solving and his willingness to break governmental boundaries in order to ensure control and protection of Indian citizens. Another characteristic of Curzon’s rule that made him popular was that he reasserted British control, that had evidently been lost during the mutiny and also the fact that he had the ambition to revitalize ‘the jewel in the crown’ and make sure that British rule of India, benefited the empire as a whole. This is because he supported the British raj and his imperialistic personality made it easier to understand the importance of India, to Britain in terms of international status and power.

Another reason why Curzon can be seen as a success is because; he understood how fundamental the princes were in assisting and sustaining the British raj. Curzon understood that British co-operation with the princes was vital in ensuring a successful rule, so therefore Curzon wanted to improve the quality of the rule of the princes. He believed that in order to improve the Raj and the lives of its subjects, he would have to improve the lives of the rulers first. He wanted to reform their reckless ways and make sure that they behave ‘not as relics but rulers’. He wanted them to have a more optimistic outlook on their rule and use their taxes to make change that would help to improve the lives of their subjects and not just use taxes for their own personal consumption, which was often corrupt. He made sure, that the princes would improve the lives of their subjects by controlling the number of opportunities they had to go abroad as he believed that this drifted the prince’s attention away from more important issues at home. He also kept detailed reports on the personal activities of the princes, to make sure that they were not partaking in activities that could misrepresent the British raj in the eyes of the prince’s subjects. This is significant because he understood the importance of the princes and tried to use the princes as a way of engaging with Indian people, by giving them important roles in events that were fundamental in displaying British power such as the Delhi durbar. The fact that Curzon was so determined in improving the rule of the princes is important because its shows Curzon’s dedication to the raj and his eagerness to improve the lives of the subjects and in general the British rule. We can say that Curzon was a success because even after his departure, the princes remained loyal allies of the British and wanted to sustain the British raj, even when it was at the brink of disappearance.

Another reason why Curzon can be seen as a success is because of his attempts to make government more efficient. Curzon understood that if British rule was to be sustained, the administration and government of India needed to improve. It can be argued that his genuine love for Indians was a pushing factor in making government more efficient because he understood that it correlated with making the lives of Indians better and improving social conditions, and as a result make them more supportive of the raj. He was successful in doing this because he acknowledged that the ICS was over beuracratic and slow in making decisions, he reformed the way the ICS worked by making sure that the decision making process was sped up. As well as this he aimed to revolutionize public institutions, with the hope that Indian faith in the raj would be restored. Another reason why he could be seen as a success is because he acted on the royal proclamation and made sure that Indians were protected and their interests were being served and that there legal rights were protected and the same rights were given to Indians and Europeans. This is significant because it shows that he was motivated by a sense of morality and was actually seen as fulfilling the promise to the crown. This suggests that he was seen as success because unlike previous viceroys, he wasn’t there just to complete a term but actually made a difference to the lives of Indians and he fulfilled his promise and duty to the Indians and the crown to the best of their abilities.

It may be argued by many Historians that Curzon is seen as a failure due to the partition of Bengal in 1905. After investigation by the ICS Curzon decided to partition Bengal into two provinces; east and west. By doing this Curzon aimed to reform all governing institutions within the raj with the hope that it would lead to restoration in faith in the raj. He chose leaders who would be in charge of the partition of Bengal, these were member of the congress party and were publicly critical of members of the congress party, he also tried to secure more Indian support and use them to bring about the destruction of the congress party. Some historians may see the partition of Bengal as a success because it made the government of India more efficient and helped the British rule. Bengal was a large area and the two differing cultures caused conflict. This influenced Curzon’s decision because he felt that it was more practical to split it into 2 provinces. However Curzon’s decision to partition Bengal played a vital role in the rise of nationalist groups that would later lead to Indian independence. When Curzon arrived the British were faced by many problems such as the plague, but when Curzon left he left india in more hostile conditions. Curzon’s one decision had triggered national revolutions that would a year later mean that the congress party would come into power.
The invasion of Tibet can also be seen as a failure. Russian expansionist policy threatened Curzon’s imperialist views and as a result Curzon decided to invade Tibet in 1903-1904. Curzon sent troops to Tibet, they were met with resistance but Curzon’s heavily armed troops meant that civillians and resistors had no option but to comply with the influence of the British Empire. The invasion of Tibet gained a lot of media attention and the brutal images that were published of monks being murdered faced backlash from the Indian public. Despite all of these actions, there was no sign of Russian presence in Lhasa it is argued that Curzon’s imperialistic views blurred his realistic views and led him to making irrational decisions. His reckless behavior shows that he didn’t value the lives of Indians and was not careful in how he used British and Indian resources. His eagerness to spread British influence meant that he didn’t think logically and only used Russian expansion as an excuse to invade Tibet. It is also shows that Curzon wasn’t focused on Indian affairs but rather on spreading british influence, and also his irrational views resulted in many people going against the British rule as they had seen the horrific effects of british imperialism and an example of this is the Boers war where they used concentration camps.

To conclude, despite Curzon’s genuine love and interest in for the Indian people and his work to improve the efficiency and administration of the government of India, his failures definitely outweigh his success. In my opinion one of the most crucial failures that led to the downfall of Curzon was the partition of Bengal, this was important because it led to nationalist uprising and led to the congress party gaining power which would 50 years later lead to the independence of India.