Thursday, February 4, 2016

Cubbon Road by Advaita Mallik – SKCH


Cubbon Road

Road Name: Cubbon Road named after Sir Mark Cubbon KCB

 
Famous for/ Contributions to society: Cubbon road was named after Sir Mark Cubbon, who was a British army officer with the EIC. He later went on to become the British Commissioner of the Mysore state. During his tenure, he made great contributions to the functioning of Mysore as a state. He established a law and order system, introduced judicial and economic reforms, and through action in all spheres of governance, he helped raise the economy of Mysore. Due to his sound administration system, the revolt of 1857 had close to no repercussions in Mysore. To mark these achievements, Cubbon Road was renamed after him.

 
Summary:
Sir Mark Cubbon was a miracle to India. Had he been alive now, our country would not have been as poor as it is now. He contributed a lot to India, not being an Indian. Not only did he contribute to Mysore’s economy, he introduced many reforms too. Not only that, he also used very innovative methods of administration. The Karnataka Govt. has made a wrong decision by renaming Cubbon Park to H.H. Chamaraja Wadiyar Park. This is a man who must be remembered for ever, as a man who loved India, though it was not his country.

Detailed Description:
In 1827 Cubbon succeeded Sir William Morrison as Commissary-General, and in 1831 served as Commissioner to inquire into the Mysore rebellion. He was appointed Colonel in the same year. In 1834 the Governor-General of India, William Bentinck, in pursuit of fiscal efficiency, appointed Cubbon as Commissioner of Mysore state. Cubbon restructured the government of Mysore, helped reform its finances, and created a peaceful and prosperous state. Cubbon is credited with the construction of over one thousand miles of roads, hundreds of dams, coffee production and improvements in the tax and revenue systems. Cubbon improved the system of Silladars (native horsemen) who would provide services to the government for a fixed monthly charge. To ensure that they could not be corrupted, he raised their monthly salary. He formed a force of around 4000 horses with seven regiments, one detachment for every taluk. He formulated a police hukumnama in 1834. He set up a reporting structure which consisted many Indians, almost the whole office was made of Indians. Cubbon supported educational institutions run by missionaries and worked on healthcare, establishing hospitals and homes for lepers. He also issued rules against various forms of slavery that were followed in parts of Mysore. All forms of punishment, forced labour and torture in civil life became illegal. The prison system was improved and convict labour was utilized in public works. Cubbon drew upon and expanded a system described by his uncle Wilks in 1804. He created a judicial system that became quite popular. He was the superior authority for handling serious crimes. In some cases he intervened and there were some cases where he conflicted with the decisions taken by the courts. To settle disputes between different religious thinkers, Cubbon used a majority vote. During the 1857 rebellion, Mysore was relatively peaceful owing to governance of Cubbon. A small band of Mohammedans in Srirangapatna were however planning rebellion. Cubbon stopped them secretly with the help of a small band of Coorg warriors. An exception in the Disarmament Act was made for Coorg to reward this action.
 
Contributed by: Advaita Mallik8-F, Sri Kumaran Children’s Home CBSE
 
References:

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