ADMINISTRATION--GENERAL
~Panjáb Districts.~--The administrative unit in the Panjáb is the district
in charge of a Deputy Commissioner. The districts are divided into
_tahsíls_, each on the average containing four, and are grouped together
in divisions managed by Commissioners. There are 28 districts and five
divisions. An ordinary Panjáb district has an area of 2000 to 3000
square miles and contains from 1000 to 2000 village estates. Devon, the
third in size of the English counties, is about equal to an average
Panjáb district.
~Branches of Administration.~--The provincial governments of India are
organized in three branches, Executive, Judicial, and Revenue, and a
number of special departments, such as Forests and Irrigation. Under
"Judicial" there are two subdivisions, civil and criminal. The tendency
at first is for powers in all three branches to be concentrated in the
hands of single individuals, development tends to specialization, but it
is a matter of controversy how far the separation of executive and
magisterial functions can be carried without jeopardy to the common
weal.
~The Lieutenant Governor.~--At the head of the whole administration is the
Lieutenant Governor, who holds office for five years. He has a strong
Secretariat to help in the dispatch of business. The experiment of
governing the Panjáb by a Board was speedily given up, and for sixty
years it has enjoyed the advantage of one man government, the Lieutenant
Governor controlling all subordinate authorities and being himself only
controlled by the Governor General in Council. The independence of the
Courts in the exercise of judicial functions is of course safeguarded.
~Official hierarchy.~--The following is a list of the official hierarchy
in the different branches of the administration:
_A._ Lieutenant Governor.
_B._ Five Judges of Chief Court (_j_).
_C._ Two Financial Commissioners (_r_).
_D._ Five Commissioners, (_e_) and (_r_).
_E._ Sixteen Divisional and Sessions Judges (_j_).
_F._ Deputy Commissioners, (_e_), (_r_) and (_crim_).
_G._ District Judges (_civ_).
_H._ Subordinate Judges (_civ_).
_J._ Assistant and Extra Assistant Commissioners, (_e_), (_j_) and (_r_).
_K._ Tahsíldárs (_e_), (_r_) and (_crim_).
_L._ _Munsifs_ (_civ_).
_M._ _Náib-Tahsíldárs_, (_e_) (_r_) and (_j_).
The letters in brackets indicate the classes of functions which the
official concerned usually exercises. Translated into a diagram we have
the following:
Lieutenant Governor
Judicial Executive Revenue
Chief Court Financial
Commissioners
Divisional and Sessions Judges Commissioners
Civil Criminal
District Judges Deputy Commissioners
Asst. and Extra Asst.
Commissioners
Subordinate
Judges
_Tahsíldárs_
_Munsifs_
_Náib-Tahsíldárs_
~Tahsíldárs and Assistant and Extra Assistant Commissioners.~--Thus the
chain of executive authority runs down to the _tahsíldár's_ assistant or
_náib_ through the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner, the
_tahsíldár_ being directly responsible to the latter. The Assistant and
Extra Assistant Commissioners are the Deputy Commissioner's Assistants
at headquarters, and as such are invested with powers in all branches.
The _tahsíldár_, a very important functionary, is in charge of a
_tahsíl_. He is linked on to the village estates by a double chain, one
official consisting of the _kanungos_ and the _patwáris_ or village
accountants whom they supervise, the other non-official consisting of
the village headmen and the _zaildárs_, each of whom is the intermediary
between the revenue and police staffs and the villages.
~Subdivisional Officers.~--In some heavy districts one or more _tahsíls_
are formed into a subdivision and put in charge of a resident Assistant
or Extra Assistant Commissioner, exercising such independent authority
as the Deputy Commissioner thinks fit to entrust to him.
~The Deputy Commissioner and his Assistants.~--As the officer responsible
for the maintenance of order the Deputy Commissioner is District
Magistrate and has large powers both for the prevention and punishment
of crime. The District Superintendent is his Assistant in police
matters. The Civil Surgeon is also under his control, and he has an
Indian District Inspector of Schools to assist him in educational
business. The Deputy Commissioner is subject to the control of the
Divisional Commissioner.
~Financial Commissioners.~--In all matters connected with land, excise,
and income tax administration the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner
are subject to the control of the Financial Commissioners, who are also
the final appellate authority in revenue cases. As chief district
revenue officer the Deputy Commissioner's proper title is "Collector," a
term which indicates his responsibility for the realization of all
Government revenues. In districts which are canal irrigated the amount
is in some cases very large.
~Settlement Officers, etc.~--With the periodical revisions of the land
revenue assessment the Deputy Commissioner has no direct concern. That
very responsible duty is done by a special staff of Settlement Officers,
selected chiefly from among the Assistant Commissioners and working
under the Commissioners and Financial Commissioners. The Director of
Land Records, the Registrar of Co-operative Credit Societies, and in
some branches of his work the Director of Agriculture and Industries,
are controlled by the Financial Commissioners.
~The Chief Court.~--It must be admitted that Panjábís are very litigious
and that in some tracts they are extremely vindictive and reckless of
human life. The volume of litigation is swollen by the fact that the
country is one of small-holders subject as regards inheritance and other
matters to an uncodified customary law, which may vary from tribe to
tribe and tract to tract. A suit is to the Panjábí a rubber, the last
game of which he will play in Lahore, if the law permits. It is not
therefore extraordinary that the Chief Court constituted in 1865 with
two judges has now five, and that even this number has in the past
proved insufficient. In the same way the cadre of divisional and
sessions judges had in 1909 to be raised from 12 to 16.
~Administration of N. W. F. Province.~--In the N. W. F. Province no
Commissioner is interposed between the district officers and the Chief
Commissioner, under whom the Revenue Commissioner and the Judicial
Commissioner occupy pretty much the position of the Financial
Commissioners and the Chief Court in the Panjáb.
~Departments.~--The principal departments are the Railway, Post Office,
Telegraphs, and Accounts, under the Government of India, and Irrigation,
Roads and Buildings, Forests, Police, Medical, and Education, under the
Lieutenant Governor. In matters affecting the rural population, as a
great part of the business of the Forest Department must do, the
Conservator of Forests is subject to the control of the Financial
Commissioners, whose relations with the Irrigation Department are also
very intimate.
~Legislative Council.~--From 1897 to 1909 the Panjáb had a local
Legislative Council of nine nominated members, which passed a number of
useful Acts. Under 9 Edward VII, cap. 4, an enlarged council with
increased powers has been constituted. It consists of 24 members of whom
eight are elected, one by the University, one by the Chamber of
Commerce, three by groups of Municipal and cantonment committees, and
three by groups of district boards. The other sixteen members are
nominated by the Lieutenant Governor, and at least six of them must be
persons not in Government service. The right of interpellation has been
given, and also some share in shaping the financial arrangements
embodied in the annual budget.