Cubbon Road
Road Name: Cubbon Road named after
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 Mallik
References:
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