Colonial Reminiscence and Post Colonial Experience: An illustration of Indian Land Administration
N.K.Kumaresan Raja
Department of Political Science
Annamalai University, Annamalainagar
(India)
Colonial Indian State and the then existed Governance is a classic case study for a researcher who wish to conduct a historical analysis of Colonialistic polity and its impact on the later post colonial State. In this paper I wish to highlight the undercurrents of Indian Colonial Governance with its draconian legislations and the overwhelming administrative monopoly it had and its impact on contemporary Indian Administration in my area of research interest viz., “Land Administration”. The Constitutional evolution in Colonial times was so orderly and systematic that the evolution gave no scope for any people centered focus. After end of colonialism that existed for about three centuries, and the birth of new democratic state, with its distinctive U- turn from its Colonial path, towards a people-centered democracy, the governance in the modern Democratic welfare state is under stake with the citizens craving for revamping the existing stringent bureaucracy centered rules and regulations which dates back to centuries.
The recent “Right to Information Act” passed by the Indian Parliament is a response to one such pressure from the civil society. The interesting part in this is that, despite five decades after attaining freedom, and after witnessing a number of commissions on administrative reforms, the Indian Administration is yet to recover from its Colonial Climate. While there is a note of rhetoric in condemning Colonialism in India, it remains an unsolved mystery why even the hard critics of colonialism praise “Colonialistic” Land Administration alone. What is more interesting is that it is “Land Revenue Administration” that served as pivot for Colonial Governance. Notwithstanding the demerits of colonialism, an appreciable reminiscence of British Colonial legacy in India is the well knit Land Administration which is really a model for governing any agrarian Economy with a less-literate population.
Modern Pragmatic Politics warrants gaining political mileage by political executives at the cost of Natural Resources more specifically “Land”. In the name of populism when the entire administrative fabric is ravaged by vested political interests in the name of electoral gains during contemporary period, one must thank the Colonialistic legacy for playing a major role in preserving Government resources as far as land administration is concerned. It remains as a dictum today that any vested Political intervention in Land Administration entails punitive impacts, however influential a political executive may be, thanks to colonialism and its stringent rules and regulations with reference to Land Matters. I wish to illustrate in my paper, the three century-old Land Administrative System of India which is an off shoot of Colonialism and its relevance even today which plays an important role in protecting the interest of people. I also consider this a good case for being nostalgic with Colonialism, while there are other banes as well. As a sequel any intellectual exercise to restructure this colonial administrative system ends in a flop show as there is very thin line of separation exists between protective laws and draconian laws that govern the state administration. These legislation dates back to two centuries!
About N.K.Kumaresan Raja
Dr.N.K.Kumaresan Raja born in 1976, currently a Full-Time Lecturer in the Department of Political Science of Annamalai University located in Southern Part of India. He has done his Masters in Public Administration and Doctorate (PhD) in Public Administration & Political Science from the well renowned University of Madras, India. He teaches Research Methodology and Theories on Administration & Politics for Graduate Students. His areas of Research Interest include “Land Administration”, “Bureaucracy in Post Colonial States”. He has to his credit Two Text Books on Political Science for the Students of Higher Secondary Schools in Tamil Nadu, India and a Book Chapter on “Habermas and Critical Theory” for the Graduate Students in Political Science of the Institute of Distance Education, University of Madras. He has been recently announced of Visiting Professorship in Kyoto University of Japan.