Imperial Secretariat Service

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The Imperial Secretariat Service (commonly abbreviated as the ISS) was a civil service of the British Empire in British India during British rule in the period between 1919 and 1945. The members served in the 5 central departments (1924 to 1934) and then later expanded to 10 central departments at that time, Secretariat of the Viceroy's Executive Council and later Cabinet Secretariat and Central Secretariat.

Contents

The service was one of the "Imperial Services" with the Imperial Civil Service, Indian Imperial Police, and Imperial Forest Service of the Indian Government under the British colonial rule in India.

This service still continues in the contemporary Civil Services of India, Central Superior Services of Pakistan and Bangladesh Civil Service, though these are now organised differently post-independence. It is an earliest organised civil service.

History

The role of the service was ensuring of the continuity of administration in the Central Secretariat called as the “Administration of the Secretariat and House Keeping”.

In the year 1919, the Imperial Secretariat Service came into being as one of the offshoots of the Lewllyn-Smith Committee which had been set up on the eve of the introduction of the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. [1] As per Report of Government of India Secretariat Procedure Committee 1919, the general status of this service was recognised as equivalent to that of Provincial Civil Service (PCS) and that all members treated as gazetted officers. [2]

The posts of Assistant Superintendent, Superintendent, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary were filled by officers drawn from the Imperial Secretariat Service during the British Raj. [3]

In 1946, after India gained independence from Britain, the Imperial Secretariat Service was replaced by Central Secretariat Service in India. However, in Pakistan, a Central Secretariat Service was formed in Central Superior Services of Pakistan, [4] which was later replaced and renamed to Office Management Group (OMG) and Secretariat Group (SG). [4]

Recruitment

The recruitment of the members was made by Central Staff Selection Board, which was precursor of the Union Public Service Commission set up in 1926. [5] As per Report of Government of India Secretariat Procedure Committee 1919, it was suggested that Staff Selection Board should recruit from the main sections of the community namely Hindus, Muslims, Europeans and Anglo-Indian. [2]

All candidates chosen by examination were given probation for a year before their appointment in the Secretariat by a definite certificate of confirmation by the Secretary in the Department. [2]

Women

Women were recruited to Imperial Secretariat Service Class II but were disqualified for higher posts in the various departments under the control of the Governor-General of India like Imperial Secretariat Service Class I. [6]

Responsibilities and work profile

The officers were policy and coordination specialists. [2] The officers were engaged in [2] :

They were the official communication channel between - provincial Governments and the Central Government, the Central Government and the Secretary of State’s Office in London and different departments within the Central Government itself. [2]

Postings

The members of the Imperial Secretariat Service served in New Delhi after the capital shifted from Calcutta in 1912, and worked in Shimla during the summer months as the Government of India moved there seasonally. [7] They had previously been based in Calcutta before the transfer of the capital. [7]

Some officers were deputed to work in provincial secretariats in places such as Bombay, Madras, Lahore, and Rangoon to coordinate central–state administrative matters. [8] A small number were attached to the India Office in Whitehall as “Secretariat officers on special duty,” liaising between the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy’s Government. [9]

A few ISS officers served temporarily in places like Karachi (for commerce/shipping project work), Peshawar (frontier coordination), or Rangoon (Burma affairs) when specific tasks required. [10]

Salary and posts

Imperial Secretariat Service was classified into Class I and Class II.

Notable members

Many members were receipients of orders of chivalry [a] namely - Order of the Indian Empire, Order of the British Empire, Order of the Star of India and Knight Bachelor. They were also awarded the title of honor Rai Bahadur.

Notes

References

  1. "History: Central Secretariat Service". Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension . Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Report of Government of India Secretariat Procedure Committee 1919" (PDF). Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-11-15. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. Singh, Hoshiar (2011). Indian Administration. Pearson Education India. ISBN   9788131761199.
  4. 1 2 "Office Management Group: CSS Pakistan". Central Superior Services of Pakistan . Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  5. Maheshwari, Shriram (2002). A Dictionary of Public Administration. Orient Blackswan. ISBN   9788125022527.
  6. Gonsalves, Trijita (2022). Women in the Civil Services - Gender and Workplace Identities in India. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9781000601275.
  7. 1 2 Report of the Government of India Secretariat Procedure Committee, 1919. Government of India Press. 1919.
  8. Potter, David C. (1986). India’s Political Administrators, 1919–1983. Clarendon Press. p. 31.
  9. India Office List, annual edition. HMSO. 1930.
  10. "Political Department – Provincial Correspondence". National Archives of India.
  11. Basu, Narayani (2020). V. P. Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India . Simon & Schuster. ISBN   978-9386797681.

Further reading