{"product_id":"his-excellency-colonel-right-hon-ble-sir-francis-stanley-kiea7zso","title":"To His Excellency Colonel the Right Hon'ble Sir Francis Stanley Jackson, P. C., G. C. L. E. Governor of Bengal. May it please Your Excellency...","description":"\u003cp\u003eA lavish appeal to the British Raj, from one of India’s poorest districts. Printed on satin and ornately embellished, we have traced no other copies of this petition, which was clearly presented to the Governor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe recipient, Sir Francis Stanley Jackson (1870-1947) was the Governor of Bengal, having until two years previously held a seat as a Conservative MP in Yorkshire. This came after serving as a lieutenant in the 1st Royal Lancashire Militia during both the Boer and First World Wars, and a storied career as one of England’s best known cricketers. Jackson played twenty Test matches between 1893-1905, captained the England team, played alongside W.G. Grace, and mentored a young K.S. Ranjitsinhji. In his student days at Harrow, the younger Winston Churchill was assigned to “fag” for him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJackson’s tenure as a colonial administrator in Bengal lasted between 1927-1932, “at a time when the province had become the nerve centre of Indian nationalists and protest politics. The outburst against the all-white Simon commission, which was appointed to review the workings of the 1919 constitutional arrangements in British India, Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement, revolutionary terrorism, and the rising tempo of peasant and labour militancy combined to pose a threat to the stability of the raj” (ODNB). Jackson took a hard line on these social movements by invoking emergency powers to crack down on individuals with revolutionary leanings. This manifested in an increase in policing, as well as economic sanctions imposed on regions who did not comply. Following accusations of heavy handedness and “martial law in disguise”, there was an attempt in 1932 on Jackson’s life whilst addressing an audience at Calcutta University, by a female graduate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is in the context of this fraught relationship that the present petition was issued. Though the Raj’s official line on Indian sovereignty at the time was one of self-governance, in practical terms the country was still near entirely dependent on an empire which had been extracting resources from the economy since the days of the East India Company. This is alluded to in the document itself: “The District Board of Dinajpur was constituted in 1887 and the members were all nominated by Government till 1920 when the elective system was first introduced in this district and the people were given the opportunity of managing their local affairs themselves. Our responsibilities are great but the funds at our disposal are too inadequate to allow us to discharge them to their full extent.” Dinajpur is a district of the Rangpur Division in what is today northern Bangladesh. There were 18 members of the Dinajpur District Board in 1928, all of whom have signed in ink.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe petition goes on to request an extension of the Dijanpur-Ruhia Railway to Siliguri, requiring the construction of a bridge; it outlines the impact of a recent drought on citizens, which has caused famine and an acute lack of drinking water, this emergency has diverted district funds away from other projects; this leads to the question of irrigation, well-sinking, and public health. The fight against malaria and kala-azar (leishmaneisis) is of paramount concern, and the Board express a desire to open a total of 84 dispensaries, and 30 health centres, for which they will need further funding. There is finally a call for more schools, and better road maintenance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn light of these fairly desperate requests, it speaks volumes that the petition is so elaborately presented. The ceremonial connotations and gilt trim harken back to a Victorian sensibility, and perhaps were designed to appeal to the tastes of a highly conservative colonial administrator.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo copies located through OCLC or internet searches.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Maggs Bros.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47759872983197,"sku":"261611","price":3500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0669\/0045\/9677\/files\/261611_01.jpg?v=1774446990","url":"https:\/\/store.maggs.com\/products\/his-excellency-colonel-right-hon-ble-sir-francis-stanley-kiea7zso","provider":"Maggs Bros.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}