Lord Cornwallis

 

Once upon a time, in the great British Empire, there was a man named Lord Cornwallis, who had the rare talent of being both a war general and a paperwork nerd. He had just wrapped up his American adventure — and by wrapped up, we mean he surrendered to George Washington in 1781, effectively ending British hopes in the American Revolution.

So what did the British do?

They said, “Hey Cornwallis, you just lost us 13 colonies. How’d you like a promotion?”
Naturally, they sent him to India, because apparently the East India Company believed in second chances.

Arrival in India: "Okay, Let’s Fix This Mess"

In 1786, Cornwallis landed in India as the Governor-General and decided it was time to clean up the corrupt, chaotic, and cash-leaking system Hastings left behind.

His motto? “Let’s make India British, but with Excel sheets.”

Reform Mode: ON

1. Judicial Reforms:
Cornwallis introduced what we now lovingly call the Cornwallis Code (1793), which was basically a mega-policy document that said:

  • Let’s separate judiciary from executive (British babus can no longer be judge + cop + tax collector + part-time tea critic).

  • Establish civil and criminal courts.

  • Only Britishers could be judges in higher courts, because obviously they didn’t trust Indians with wigs and gavels.

2. The Police System:
He created a structured police force — not very different from what we have today, except ours come with WhatsApp forwards.

3. The Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793):
This one was big. He told Indian landlords (zamindars):
"You pay us fixed tax every year, and in return, you keep whatever you collect."

Sounds simple, right? Except:

  • If the harvest failed, peasants starved, but zamindars still had to pay.

  • If zamindars didn’t pay, their lands were taken.

  • And if you were a peasant? You mostly cried into your crops.

So yes, it stabilized revenue for the British, but created a feudal mess for generations.

Fun Fact Intermission:

Cornwallis was so obsessed with honesty that he once fired a British officer for accepting a mango as a bribe. A mango. Welcome to colonial HR.

War & Peace (Mostly War)

During his time, Cornwallis also had to fight Tipu Sultan of Mysore in the Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792). After some intense sword-clashing and treaty-drafting, Tipu had to give up territory and two of his sons as hostages — which was less Game of Thrones and more “British foreign policy with hostage exchange."

His Legacy:

After reforming India, Cornwallis went back to Britain like a proud man who had finally gotten his post-America redemption arc. But wait — plot twist — he was sent BACK to India in 1805. Sadly, he died soon after, proving that even in colonial administration, sometimes the sequel just doesn't work.

Why CLAT Students Should Care:

  • Introduced Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793).

  • Drafted the Cornwallis Code – separation of powers and clean governance.

  • Reformed judicial and police systems.

  • Fought Tipu Sultan in the Third Anglo-Mysore War.

  • Set the tone for British bureaucracy in India.

So remember, Lord Cornwallis was the man who lost America but gained India's legal system, all while rejecting mangoes and drafting policies that still echo in modern Indian law.

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