Mysore Commission

Chief Commissioner of the Kingdom of Mysore
Chief Commissioner of the Kingdom of Mysore
Status	Abolished
Reports to	Governor-General of India
Residence	Bangalore
Appointer	Governor-General of India
Formation	19 October 1831
Abolished	22 February 1881

Last updated March 26, 2024

The Mysore Commission, also known as commissioners' rule or simply the Commission Rule,^[1] was a period and form of government in the history of the Kingdom of Mysore and the neighbouring province of Coorg from 1831 to 1881 when British commissioners administered the kingdom due to the deposition of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III and later due to minority of Yuvaraja Chamaraja Wadiyar X. A board of commissioners constituted the chief executive body and provincial head of the kingdom's government. The commission began with uninstallation of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III as King in 1831 and ended with investing Chamaraja Wadiyar X as King in 1881.

Coorg province, ruled as a "non-regulation" province under Mysore Commission,^[2] however, would never again return to its Coorg rajas and would remain part of Madras Presidency until India's independence from the British crown, after which it was absorbed into Mysore State and became a district. After Mysore Commission was dissolved, a new Chief Commissioner of Coorg was appointed.

History

After the execution of Tipu, the Sultan of Mysore, at the end of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the Mysore throne was restored to the Wadiyar dynasty under a regency.^[3] The hereditary Wadiyar prince Krishnaraja Wodeyar III was an infant and could not be installed on the throne. In his stead, his adoptive grandmother Maharani Lakshmi Devi reigned over the kingdom as Queen Regent, with Tipu's prime minister Purnaiah as her own royal adviser and diwan. The regency, referred to as Lakshmi Vilas Sannidhana, lasted until 1810 when she died. In two years' time, Purnaiah died, too, in 1812, at about the time the young prince attained the age of majority. He was inducted as the maharaja of Mysore by Duke Arthur Wellesley who had defeated Tipu in 1799.

The young infant prince Krishnaraja Wadiyar III

An aged Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, the epicentre for the institution of the Commissioners' Rule

William Bentinck, the governor general of India who placed Mysore under the Commission Rule

The newly installed Maharaja of Mysore Chamaraja Wadiyar X at the end of the Mysore Commission

According to British accounts, in around 1830, groups of peasants and locals in the village of Nagar (in present-day Shimoga district) in the north of the kingdom are said to have protested against the despotic land revenues imposed during the reign of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III,^[4] resulting in the Nagar revolt, leading to some hundreds of deaths.^[5]^[6] Taking note of this, William Bentinck, then Governor-General of India, asked for a committee to be formed to investigate the incident.

A committee was then formed, consisting of General Sir Thomas Hawker, J M Macleod, General Sir William Morison, and Lt. General Sir Mark Cubbon, the latter two of whom would later on be appointed as commissioners. The committee, after a year-long investigation and based on oral testimonies and sources some of which might have been unreliable, criticised the maharaja's style of rule and personal character and made no remarks particularly on the taxation. After the report was submitted, Bentinck decreed that a commission shall administer the state. Eventually, a commission was formed and came to effect on 19 October 1831.^[7] Later, it came to knowledge that reports of misgovernance were grossly exaggerated.^[8] This entire affair came to be seen as British usurpation of the kingdom under Bentinck.^[9]

Commissioners' rule

The commissioners' rule began with General John Briggs and his deputy, Lushington, from Madras Presidency. Briggs' appointment was not seen favourably by Madras Presidency. Owing to heated squabbles between the two, they were replaced by Sir William Morison,^[10] a Scottish general from Madras Artillery. In 1834, Morison resigned to become a member of the Supreme Council of India. Sir Mark Cubbon succeeded him.^[11] Cubbon became the longest-serving commissioner of Mysore, for nearly three decades. Cubbon Park and the Cubbon Park Metro Station in Bangalore are named after him. Cubbon was succeeded by Lewin Bowring.

During both Cubbon and Bowring's commissions, Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III appealed for a return of power—an idea to which both commissioners were opposed during their respective administrations, and the deposed king died a dejected man.^[9]

Bowring was succeeded by General Sir Richard Meade, a British Indian Army officer. During his commission, Meade himself mentored the new young prince of Mysore, Yuvaraja Chamaraja Wadiyar X, for his future role as Maharaja, and the two would develop a lasting professional relationship.^[2]

List of commissioners


No.	Chief commissioner	Tenure	Appointing Governor-General
1	John Briggs	October 1831 - May 1834	William Bentinck
2	Sir William Morison	May 1834 - June 1834
3	Sir Mark Cubbon	June 1834 - 1861
4	Lewin Bowring	1861 - 1870	Charles Canning
5	Sir Richard Meade	1870 - 1881	Richard Bourke

Dissolution

In 1881, Chamaraja Wadiyar X attained the age of majority, making him eligible to take over as the ruler of the kingdom. Consequently, Marquess George Robinson, the governor-general of India at the time, enforced the now famous Rendition of Mysore Act of 1881, inducting the prince as King. With this, the Mysore Commission was dissolved and the kingdom would return to the Wadiyars—for one last time, until it would be merged into the Republic of India in 1950.

With this, the Mysore Commission was dissolved, a Mysore Resident represented British India at Mysore Palace, and a separate Chief Commissionership was formed for Coorg.

Related Research Articles

The Wadiyar dynasty, also referred to as the Wadiyars of Mysore, is a late-medieval/early-modern South Indian Hindu royal family of former kings of Mysore from the Urs clan originally based in Mysore city.

The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in the southern part of Deccan Plateau traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 by two Hindu brothers, in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with British India. The British took direct control over the princely state in 1831. Upon accession to the Dominion of India, it became Mysore State, later uniting with other Kannada speaking regions to form the state of Karnataka, with its ruler remaining as Rajapramukh until 1956, when he became the first governor of the reformed state.

The Anglo-Mysore Wars were a series of four wars fought during the last three decades of the 18th century between the Sultanate of Mysore on the one hand, and the British East India Company, Maratha Empire, Kingdom of Travancore, and the Kingdom of Hyderabad on the other. Hyder Ali and his succeeding son Tipu fought the wars on four fronts: with the British attacking from the west, south and east and the Nizam's forces attacking from the north. The fourth war resulted in the overthrow of the house of Hyder Ali and Tipu, and the dismantlement of Mysore to the benefit of the East India Company, which took control of much of the Indian subcontinent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chamarajendra Wadiyar X</span> Maharaja of Mysore from 1868–1894

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Mysore district, officially Mysuru district, is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mysore division. Chamarajanagar District was carved out of the original larger Mysore District in the year 1998. The district is bounded by Chamrajanagar district to the southeast, Mandya district to the east and northeast, Kerala state to the south, Kodagu district to the west, and Hassan district to the north.

Kempananjammanni Devi (1866–1934) was the Maharani of Mysore and later queen mother and regent of the Kingdom of Mysore.

Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ ನಾಲ್ವಡಿ ಕೃಷ್ಣರಾಜ ಒಡೆಯರು; 4 June 1884 – 3 August 1940) was the twenty-fourth Maharaja of Mysore, reigning from 1902 until his death in 1940.

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, sometimes simply Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, was the twenty-fifth and last ruling Maharaja of Mysore, reigning from 1940 to 1950, who later served as the governor of Mysore until 1964 and as governor of Madras from 1964 to 1966.

Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar was the heir apparent of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1895 until his death in 1940.

The maharaja of Mysore was the king and principal ruler of the southern Indian Kingdom of Mysore and briefly of Mysore State in the Indian Dominion roughly between the mid- to late-1300s and 1950. The maharaja's consort was called the maharani of Mysore.

The Daly Memorial Hall, is a heritage building located in Bangalore, Karnataka that houses the Mythic Society. The Mythic society, founded in 1909, is a pioneering institution of Catholic-Indic studies in South India. Daly Memorial Hall, built at a cost of INR 24,783, was inaugurated on 25 July 1917 by the Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar (the Yuvaraja of Mysore. The Hall is named after Sir Hugh Daly, who served as the Resident of Mysore State and Chief Commissioner of Coorg.

Krishnaraja Wodeyar III was an Indian king who was the twenty-second Maharaja of Mysore. He ruled the kingdom for nearly seventy years, from 30 June 1799 to 27 March 1868, for a good portion of the latter period of which he was merely a nominal ruler. He is known for his contribution and patronage to different arts and music during his reign. He was succeeded by his biological grandson and adopted son, Chamarajendra Wadiyar X.

The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom in southern India traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the region of the city of Mysore in Karnataka. For the most part, the Wodeyar dynasty ruled the southern Karnataka region until the kingdom united with the Dominion of India in 1947. During the kingdom's history, it went through various phases of administration, with increasing foreign influence from the eighteenth century.

Lieutenant-General Sir Mark Cubbon KCB was a British army officer with the East India Company who was the Chief Commissioner of Mysore 1834 to 1861. During his tenure, he established a law and order system, introduced judicial and economic reforms and through action in all spheres of governance helped develop the economy of Mysore. He resigned from his office in 1860 due to ill-health and left for England for the first time since his arrival in India as a cadet in 1800. The administration of the Kingdom of Mysore under his leadership ensured that the 1857 rebellion had almost no impact in the region. He died in 1861 on board ship at Suez. Cubbon Road and Cubbon Park in Bangalore are named after him.

KrishnacharyaPurnaiah, popularly known as DewanPurnaiah, was an Indian administrator, statesman, and strategist who served as the first dewan of Mysore from 1782 to 1811. He was instrumental in the restoration of the rule of the Kingdom of Mysore to the Wadiyar dynasty. After the death of Tipu, he continued to advice Lakshmi Devi, the queen regent to the newly installed monarch Krishnaraja Wodeyar III.

Coorg Province was a province of British India from 1834 to 1947 and the Dominion of India from 1947 to 1950. Mercara was the capital of the province. It was administered by a Commissioner and later, Chief Commissioner appointed by the Government of India. The Chief Commissioner, was usually based in Bangalore. From 1834 to 1881, the Chief Commissioner, was also the Commissioner of Mysore. From 1881 to 1940, the Chief Commissioner was usually the British Resident to the princely state of Mysore.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Daly was a British Indian Army officer and colonial administrator.

Chamaraja Wodeyar IX was the twenty-first maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1776 for two decades until 1796.

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Chamarajapuram is one of the earliest settlements and localities in Mysore, Karnataka, India, located in the centre of Mysore city. Initially an agraharam inhabited by the Mysore nobility, parts of it were later allotted other local dwellers as well.

References

↑ Rice 1897 , p. 434
1 2 Thornton, Thomas Henry (1898). General Sir Richard Meade and the feudatory states of central and southern India; a record of forty-three year's service as soldier, political officer and administrator. University of California. London, New York [etc.] Longmans, Green, and co.
↑ Kamath, Suryanath U. (2001) [1980]. A concise history of Karnataka : from pre-historic times to the present. Bangalore: Jupiter books. LCCN 80905179. OCLC 7796041.
↑ Bell, Evans (1866). The Mysore Reversion, "an exceptional case" (2 ed.). London: Trübner and Co. pp. 9–12.
↑ Sastri, K N Venkatasubba (1932). The Administration Of Mysore Under Sir Mark Cubbon (1834-1861). London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
↑ Sastri (1932):15-18
↑ Rice, B.L. (1897). Mysore. A Gazetteer Compiled for Government. Revised Edition. Volume 1. London: Archiband Constable and Company.
↑ admin (2020-02-27). "Lord Ripon". civilspedia.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
1 2 "The Hindu : Diwans take over". The Hindu . 2003-06-22. Archived from the original on 2003-06-22. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
↑ Hunter, W.W. (1886). The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Volume X. London: Trubner & Co. p. 95.
↑ H. M. Stephens & James Lunt (reviser) (2004). "Sir Mark Cubbon (1784–1861)". In Lunt, James (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6857.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

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[rice1897-434-1] Rice 1897 , p. 434

[:1-2] 1 2 Thornton, Thomas Henry (1898). General Sir Richard Meade and the feudatory states of central and southern India; a record of forty-three year's service as soldier, political officer and administrator. University of California. London, New York [etc.] Longmans, Green, and co.

[SUKHist-3] Kamath, Suryanath U. (2001) [1980]. A concise history of Karnataka : from pre-historic times to the present. Bangalore: Jupiter books. LCCN 80905179. OCLC 7796041.

[4] Bell, Evans (1866). The Mysore Reversion, "an exceptional case" (2 ed.). London: Trübner and Co. pp. 9–12.

[KNVS-5] Sastri, K N Venkatasubba (1932). The Administration Of Mysore Under Sir Mark Cubbon (1834-1861). London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. Retrieved 29 July 2019.

[6] Sastri (1932):15-18

[7] Rice, B.L. (1897). Mysore. A Gazetteer Compiled for Government. Revised Edition. Volume 1. London: Archiband Constable and Company.

[8] (2020-02-27). "Lord Ripon". civilspedia.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.

[:0-9] 1 2 "The Hindu : Diwans take over". The Hindu . 2003-06-22. Archived from the original on 2003-06-22. Retrieved 2022-12-26.

[10] Hunter, W.W. (1886). The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Volume X. London: Trubner & Co. p. 95.

[odnb-11] H. M. Stephens & James Lunt (reviser) (2004). "Sir Mark Cubbon (1784–1861)". In Lunt, James (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6857.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

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