Lord Hardinge II and Capital Transfer

Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, served as the Viceroy and Governor-General of India from November 1910 to April 1916. Grandson of Lord Hardinge I (Governor-General from 1844 to 1848), his viceroyalty proved to be a eventful period in modern Indian history. His tenure saw the revocation of the Partition of Bengal, the shift of the imperial capital from Calcutta to Delhi, the Delhi Durbar of 1911, the Delhi Conspiracy Case, and the outbreak of the First World War. His administration adopted a conciliatory policy toward moderate Indian political opinion while managing wartime mobilization across the subcontinent.

Delhi Durbar of 1911 and Capital Transfer

The Coronation Durbar

In December 1911, Lord Hardinge II organized a grand Imperial Durbar at Coronation Park in Delhi to celebrate the accession of King George V and Queen Mary. This was the only Delhi Durbar attended in person by a reigning British monarch. During the assembly on December 12, 1911, King George V made two major royal announcements that altered the administrative landscape of British India.

Annulment of the Partition of Bengal

To appease intense nationalist agitation and reunite Bengali-speaking populations, the 1905 Partition of Bengal was formally revoked. The province of Bengal was reunited under a Governor-in-Council. To maintain administrative balance, new provincial boundaries were established:

• Bihar and Orissa: Separated from Bengal to form a distinct lieutenant-governor’s province.
• Assam: Reverted to its former status as a Chief Commissioner’s province.

Strategic Reasons for Capital Shift

The royal proclamation announced the immediate transfer of the imperial capital of British India from Calcutta to Delhi. Multiple administrative and political factors prompted this strategic decision:

• Central Geographical Position: Delhi offered a more centralized location for controlling the subcontinent compared to the eastern port city of Calcutta.
• Neutralizing Political Agitation: Moving away from Calcutta removed the central government from the intense nationalist atmosphere of Bengal.
• Historical Imperial Significance: Delhi held traditional prestige as the historic seat of the Mughal Empire, appealing to both Muslim and Hindu traditions.
• Proximity to Summer Capital: Delhi was geographically closer to Shimla, the official summer capital of the British Raj.

The Delhi Conspiracy Case (1912)

The Bomb Outrage at Chandni Chowk

On December 23, 1912, as Lord Hardinge II made his official state entry into the new capital of Delhi, a homemade bomb was thrown at his elephant procession in the Chandni Chowk bazaar. Hardinge suffered severe shrapnel injuries, and his attendant was killed, though the Viceroy survived the assassination attempt.

Investigation and Executions

The secret underground network led by revolutionary leader Rash Behari Bose organized the attack alongside Sachin Sanyal. The secret investigation led to the arrest of several revolutionaries involved in the northern underground network. In the subsequent trial, known as the Delhi Conspiracy Case (or Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy Case), Master Amir Chand, Bhai Balmukund, Avadh Behari, and Basanta Kumar Biswas were convicted and executed. Rash Behari Bose evaded police capture and escaped to Japan in 1915 to continue revolutionary activities abroad.

First World War and Imperial Mobilization

Indian Contribution to the War Effort

With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Lord Hardinge II committed British India’s resources to support the Allied war effort. India dispatched over one million troops and non-combatants to overseas theaters, including France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Gallipoli, Egypt, and East Africa.

Internal Security and Legislative Measures

To counter wartime revolutionary activities, particularly the Ghadar Movement organized by overseas Indians, Hardinge’s government passed the Defence of India Act in March 1915. This emergency statute allowed special tribunals, trial without jury, summary proceedings, and preventive detention to suppress anti-colonial uprisings.

Education, Agrarian, and Social Reforms

Banaras Hindu University Act (1915)

Lord Hardinge II supported educational initiatives aimed at winning the goodwill of Indian leaders. He backed the establishment of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) proposed by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. The Banaras Hindu University Act was passed in 1915, and Hardinge laid the university’s foundation stone at Varanasi in February 1916.

Islington Commission on Public Services (1912)

In 1912, Hardinge appointed the Royal Commission on the Public Services in India, chaired by Lord Islington. The commission evaluated demands for increasing Indian recruitment into higher civil services. Its report, submitted in 1915, recommended that 25% of superior posts in the Indian Civil Service be filled by direct recruitment within India.

South African Indian Issue and Gandhi

Lord Hardinge II took an unusual diplomatic stance by publicly criticizing the South African government’s treatment of Indian indentured laborers. In a speech at Madras in November 1913, he expressed open sympathy for Mahatma Gandhi’s passive resistance (Satyagraha) movement against discriminatory laws in South Africa. This stance facilitated the passage of the Indian Relief Act in South Africa and prepared the ground for Gandhi’s permanent return to India in January 1915.

Profile Overview of Lord Hardinge II

Key Facts for Quick Revision

• Lord Hardinge II served as Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1910 to 1916.
• King George V and Queen Mary attended the Delhi Durbar in December 1911 in person.
• The 1905 Partition of Bengal was annulled at the 1911 Delhi Durbar.
• The capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi on December 12, 1911.
• Bihar and Orissa were separated from Bengal as a distinct province in 1912.
• Lord Hardinge II survived a bomb attack organized by Rash Behari Bose in Chandni Chowk on December 23, 1912.
• Master Amir Chand, Bhai Balmukund, Avadh Behari, and Basanta Kumar Biswas were executed in the Delhi Conspiracy Case.
• The Defence of India Act was enacted in March 1915 to suppress wartime revolutionary activities.
• The Islington Commission on Public Services was appointed in 1912 to review civil service recruitment.
• Hardinge laid the foundation stone of Banaras Hindu University in February 1916.
• He publicly supported Mahatma Gandhi’s anti-apartheid Satyagraha in South Africa during his 1913 Madras speech.
• Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa on January 9, 1915, during Hardinge’s viceroyalty.