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by Jonathan Orr (Author)
Four Irish-born officers shaped northern India's administration, forging a paternal yet principled ethos through land revenue, governance, and public service.
This book explores the remarkable careers of George, Henry and John Lawrence and Robert Montgomery (Field Marshall Montgomery of Alamein's grandfather) who served in the East India Company during the first half of the nineteenth century. From modest backgrounds in the north of Ireland, all four men would assume leading roles in the colonial administration of India. After initial training in England and in Calcutta, they served their apprenticeships in the Delhi Territory and in the North-Western Provinces (modern day Uttar Pradesh) as military officers (George and Henry) and Collectors (of revenue) and District Magistrates (John and Robert). Henry would later make the move from military to civilian employment when he became a land revenue surveyor. As this book reveals, these years were incredibly important in the formation of their administrative style. Ruling large swathes of northern India in paternal fashion, John and Robert became highly knowledgeable on local agrarian affairs. Likewise, Henry's role as a revenue surveyor gave him a worm's eye view of village life that was far removed from the cloistered environment of the military cantonment. Such experiences would cultivate an ethos of respecting local culture and institutions while exercising a high standard of public service and personal devotion to duty. The book assesses the Lawrences and Montgomery's efforts in the challenging fields of land revenue surveying and assessment, as well as their campaigns against female infanticide, thuggee and other forms of criminality. Beyond India, the part played by George and Henry in the disastrous First Anglo-Afghan War is followed in detail, while the latter's time as British Resident at the Court of Nepal explores his passion for writing on important Anglo-Indian topics. This study will argue that the knowledge and skills developed by this talented quartet of Irishmen provided the crucial foundations for their later careers in the Punjab and beyond.
