Table Of ContentAdministering Colonialism and War
‘Th is book brings to light some of the psychological traumas that incurred
as a result of colonialism. An in-depth examination of the life of the main
character provides a detailed account of how his colonial experiences
impact on him and, through diary extracts, the reader witnesses the eff ect
of those experiences on his mental well-being. Th e book explores how he
attempts to make sense of, and manage, his own psychological distress,
off ering fascinating insights into this experience. What becomes apparent
is that colonialism is a dehumanizing experience for all those involved,
and by examining the role of a colonizer from a trauma perspective the
book off ers a fresh way of thinking about this topic.’
Rachael Hillyer, Trauma Psychologist, Sheffi eld, United Kingdom
‘Th e stature of Sir Andrew Clow, a quiet and unassuming man, should be
measured not by his height but by the brilliance of his intellect as illus-
trated in this well-written and telling biography of his life in India during
the 1930s and 1940s. All praise to Colin R. Alexander for this in-depth
critical study.’
Mary M. Clow, niece-in-law of Sir Andrew Clow,
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Administering Colonialism
and War
Th e Political Life of Sir Andrew Clow of the
Indian Civil Service
Colin R. Alexander
1
1
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‘Th is book brings to light some of the psychological traumas that incurred
as a result of colonialism. An in-depth examination of the life of the main
character provides a detailed account of how his colonial experiences
impact on him and, through diary extracts, the reader witnesses the eff ect
of those experiences on his mental well-being. Th e book explores how he
attempts to make sense of, and manage, his own psychological distress,
off ering fascinating insights into this experience. What becomes apparent
is that colonialism is a dehumanizing experience for all those involved,
and by examining the role of a colonizer from a trauma perspective the
book off ers a fresh way of thinking about this topic.’
Rachael Hillyer, Trauma Psychologist, Sheffi eld, United Kingdom
‘Th e stature of Sir Andrew Clow, a quiet and unassuming man, should be
measured not by his height but by the brilliance of his intellect as illus-
trated in this well-written and telling biography of his life in India during
the 1930s and 1940s. All praise to Colin R. Alexander for this in-depth
critical study.’
Mary M. Clow, niece-in-law of Sir Andrew Clow,
Glasgow, United Kingdom
To Mollie and Bill
Preface
T
his book is an exposition of the Indian Civil Service (ICS)
offi cers who presided over the late colonial period in India. It
makes the argument that colonialism is a dehumanizing experi-
ence for all those who experience its authoritarian power structures.
Th e book charts the early development and debates surrounding
radio broadcasting as a tool of colonial power. It argues that the develop-
ment of Indian language services after 1936 can be linked to the British
re-armament policy that discreetly began in 1935 as the likelihood of
a second major international confl ict became more likely. In addition,
the book reveals how the India Offi ce in London took drastic action
to overcome the hurdle that was the ultra-conservative ICS who were
adverse to advances in communications technology on the basis that
anti-British movements had benefi ted from them in the past. Th e book
also examines the actions of British civilians in the India–Burma theatre
of war between 1942 and 1945 both in terms of their direct contribution
to the war eff ort and the knock-on eff ect of the Bengal Famine of 1943.
x Preface
By examining the Famine, the book explains the extent to which it could
have been avoided and how the ICS wilfully ignored it by prioritizing
the needs of the war. Th us, it can be concluded that the Bengalis who
suff ered malnutrition and eventual death did so because of the colo-
nial power structures that rendered them economically and politically
unworthy of saving.
Th e book provides transcripts from a number of ICS servicemen
such as Anthony McCall and Christopher Gimson, both of whom
were stationed in the war-torn province of Assam during World War
II. However, it is Sir Andrew Clow (surname pronounced as one would
‘glow’) to which the book spends most time. Clow was the minister for
communications between 1938 and 1942 and presided over the inaugu-
ration of Indian languages radio broadcasting by the British state as part
of its propaganda campaign to create a favourable political landscape
on the subcontinent ahead of, and during, World War II. Furthermore,
in 1942, Clow would become the governor of Assam on account of his
expertise as a key member of the Labour Bureau. British strategic assets
in Assam, including its tea gardens and natural resources, had to be
protected from the advancing Japanese forces. Clow’s expertise around
labour rights and its pressure points, and his contacts within these highly
labour-intensive industries, convinced Viceroy Lord Linlithgow that he
was the strongest candidate to take over in this province. However, the
British’ prioritization of Assam over neighbouring Bengal was one of the
primary reasons behind the extenuation of the Bengal Famine of 1943
which likely killed around four million people. To this end, the three
main chapters of this book cover radio broadcasting in colonial India,
the war in Assam, and the Bengal Famine with Clow’s communications
having presence in all of them.
Th e province of Assam plays a pivotal role in a lot of the discus-
sions of the coming pages and this sets the book apart from many of
the other texts on colonial India and the ICS, which tend to focus on
events and servicemen at the heart of the action in the cities of Delhi,
Bombay, or Calcutta, or in the key territories of Punjab, Bengal, or
the United Provinces. However, the war transformed Assam from a
backwater of empire into the Indian province in many respects and
so analysis of the confl ict provides a good opportunity to extend the
scope of knowledge to lesser-known areas of the Raj. Indeed, many
Preface xi
servicemen who were stationed in Assam were either there as a form of
punishment for whatever reason or were young men eager to progress
their careers. However, Clow is an ICS anomaly in Assam in so much
as he was there on account of his expertise, and, as the text will dis-
cuss, he was frequently frustrated at the inability of the ICS to recruit
servicemen to the province, a situation that was no doubt exacerbated
by its proximity to the confl ict zone with Japan during his tenure as
governor.
Coverage of Clow’s persona and life in India is one of the book’s main
contributions to knowledge. However, it should be clear that the book is
not a biography, a celebration of his life, or a justifi cation of colonialism
and its administrators. Indeed, the text is roundly critical of the ICS and
the power structures of colonialism, and readers may fi nd themselves
angry or despairing at the remarks made by many of the ICS service-
men, particularly in the chapter on the Bengal Famine. Nevertheless, the
recovery of the work of these men from historical obscurity is important
as it allows for a better understanding of how British power was ulti-
mately maintained under the Raj, how it subsequently diminished, and
it adds further weight to the notion of colonialism as exploitation by the
British rather than any ‘golden age’ of British history to be celebrated.
An analysis of the ICS during the late Raj can be set against the
backdrop of changes to British society during the interwar years. ICS
servicemen were some of the most powerful administrators in the
British Empire, but the social origins of those recruited into the service
and the organization’s accompanying values systems began to place it
increasingly at odds with the British government in Westminster, the
India Offi ce in Whitehall, and with a changing British society as a whole.
Th e extent of this divergence is at its clearest in Chapter three on early
radio broadcasting where the ICS becomes embroiled with the India
Offi ce over broadcasting policy and over their selection of Lionel Fielden
from the BBC as the fi rst controller of the new A ll India Radio services.
Fielden, despite being an old Etonian, was a gay left-leaning liberal and
gained a habit for opium smoking during his time in India. To this end,
Fielden and Clow would be at loggerheads for much of the latter’s tenure
as minister for communications, the disagreements being as much about
broadcasting content and policy as they were confl icting concepts of
masculinity.
