SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This thesis presents a study of the problems of law and order and the branches of the administration which tackled them in Oudh from its annexation in 1856 until its amalgamation with the North-Western Provinces in 1877, It has been demonstrated that an efficient and forward-looking administration could not be established in Oudh before the outbreak of the Revolt of 1857; that the administration contrived to alienate all sections of the people during the first seventeen months of its rule. The policy of reconciliation, backed by coercion whenever necessary, and the development of an elitist bias in policy with a view to the rapid restoration of order and the pacification of the province after its reoccupation have been traced and analysed. The development of a more efficient and economical police system, which set the pattern of police reform in India had been discussed. The principal defects of the new police have also been analysed. Changes in the judicial system have similarly been assessed - the abandonment of the non-regulation system, decentralisation, the appointment of Honorary Magistrates and attempts to devise appropriate scales of punishment. A statistical analysis of crimes has been presented. The factors giving rise to crime in general, and the various categories of crime, their extent and regional and social distribution have been analysed. The success of the Oudh administration in all these fields has been assessed while its failures have been recognised.