John Ware Edgar
Sir John Ware Edgar was a British colonial administrator in British India. He was Cachar's deputy-commissioner and held significant relations with the sovereign Lushai chiefdoms. He led the failed Lushai Expedition and participated in the Lushai Expedition.
Early life and education
Edgar was born in 1839, the son of John Peard Edgar, Kensington and Jane Gibbings, daughter of B. Gibbings. John Edgar graduated at 20 in 1860 from a private school after taking an exam for the Indian Civil Service and amassing 1,617 points.Early career
He joined the Bengal Civil Service in 1862 and served as an assistant magistrate and collector in Bengal and as deputy-commissioner in Assam until 1871. Edgar originally served under the Commissioner of Dacca, the 15th division of Bengal. Edgar's interest in studying the issues of the Bengal frontier prompted Alexander Mackenzie to appoint Edgar as deputy commissioner of Cachar. As deputy commissioner of Cachar, Edgar held the positions of district magistrate and collector, civil judge of the district and the highest local police officer. The responsibility also placed Edgar in proximity with the Lushai chiefdoms. On 14 November 1867, Edgar reached Dudpatil, the official residence of the deputy commissioner of Cachar, with an escort of advanced guards. Edgar met with Major R. Stewart and formally took over the role he was assigned from Stewart.Development of Silchar
Silchar was founded by David Scott as a military encampment at Jhalupura as an Assam Rifles camp. This military post lead to the development of an urban settlement as a result. Administrative work before Silchar would occur in Dudhpatil, on the north bank of the Barak River. When Edgar became Deputy Commissioner of Cachar, Silchar was the only tow. It was smaller than Gauhati, Tezpur, and many others. Silchar had no municipal development or institutions with the exception of a police force. The lack of water infrastructure rapidly spread cholera.The Silchar government school was established in 1863 under Reverend William Pryse of the Welsh Presbyterian Mission Church. In 1866 the schoolwas placed under the control and supervision of the Inspector of schools. This led to a positive relationship with the headmaster A.C. Bhattacharjee, Under Edgar, A public works department was established in Cachar in 1868. Road construction committee was formed with Edgar headed as president. In a comparative survey in 1865, Edgar saw the population of Dacca to be 152,000 compared to 5000 in Silchar. Edgar is further credited with the establishment of the Fatak Bazaar of Silchar which was once the biggest shopping centre in South Assam. Edgar became a patron to several traders and businesses including granting liberal settlement grants. This policy attracted many Bengalis from Sylhet and Dacca and even some Marwari merchants. The Silchar bazaar became known as John Edgar Ganj which was shorted to Jhaniganj. This was due to the traders and merchants appreciating Edgar's generous welfare policies.
Edgar frequently visited traders, merchants, the government school and met with Lushai delegates. The first building in Silchar town built by Edgar was the Chief Judicial magistrate's court which was built with modern construction instead of improvised housing. Edgar requested the magistrate of Sylhet to send more masons to continue the building of new establishments in Silchar. Muslim masons worked in Siclhar and laid bricks on the outskirt of the town in Khasi land which became Itkhola. To meet the demand of drinking water among a growing population, three public tanks and a well was dug by the administration. A hospital for tea-planters was also upgraded by Edgar. When Sukpilal was sick and dying, Edgar sent a doctor to the Lushai Hills, but the difficult unmapped terrain prevented an effective timely response ultimately leading to his death in 1881.
Edgar set up a ferry on the Barak river at Tarapur in 1868. This was due to the issues of individuals crossing between Dudpatil and Silchar. The ferry would be owned under the public works department. The grateful settlers named the ferry ghat as Edgar Ghat before it was later renamed to Annapurna. As a result, the Chief Commissioner's bungalow and Chief Judicial magistrates court became established in Silchar, as did other institutions. Edgar is credited with the development of Silchar as a frontier settlement against the Lushai Hills and headquarters of the Surma Valley Division of Assam.
Silchar grew in reputation as a tea estate town under Edgar. In the Indian 1971 census, Silchar became the largest tea exporter statistically as a result of Edgar's developments a hundred years later. However, the unchecked immigration led to an influx of Bengalis from Dacca and Sylhet. Edgar favoured commercial enterprise entrepeuners. The preference for foreign talent and entrepeuners is argued to have led the indigenous Cachar people to become educationally and culturally backwards and mistrusting of the merchants. As a result many Cachar people did not migrate to Silchar even after Edgar's leave. Chatterjee argues that Edgar contributed to the erasure and obfuscation of the ethnic and native identity of the Cachar people. In pursuit of economic growth and development, the policies of Edgar sacrificed the social fabric of Cachar before unchecked immigration. Edgar had also reversed Stewart's policy of helping and aiding displaced and distressed Burmese. He considered them indolent and lacked compassion for their predicaments. Edgar also pushed out tribals such as Kukis and Nagas to the borders of Cachar and occupied territory of forest and wastelands.
The rise of wealthy landowning gentry in Edgar's administration differed from the zamindar in other areas such as Sylhet. The landowners were conservative and loyal to Edgar but were uneducated. A majority of this genty belonged to the Muslim community in Silchar. The Sonai and Dhulai valleys which were kuki owned and barren became the rice bowl of Cachar unde the new immigrant labourers. Using the Revenue Settlement rules 1859, Edgar controlled the brigands, drunken brawls and criminals into a stable secured feudal society. The growth rate of farm produce increased significantly under his rule. Cachar became subsistent in feeding its population while being able to export excess harvest to other tea estates and the army commissariat. This removed the dependence on imported rice for both institutions.
Tea Estates
Edgar studied political economy and was interested in the development of the tea industry in Bengal and Assam. He patronized the tea magnates in their programme of expanding trade relations. Edgar's survey of the tea industry was considered so accurate it was still sourced as research in studies on the Indian tea economy. During his rule as Deputy-Commissioner of Cachar, the expansion of tea estates was considered steady which eventually reached the borders of the Lushai Hills. The Lushais considered the tea estates to be encroachments on their hunting grounds and sovereignty. The Lushais committed frequent raids upon the tea estates causing death and concern to the tea businessmen. Edgar's bid to resolve the issue would lead him to enter deepening relations with the Lushai frontier and its inhabitants.The wasteland rules 1838, provided tea planters with adequate land. This also delegated the deputy commissioner to import labour form outside their jurisdiction. Local labour was scarce due to the nature of low wages. Labour protection laws were however still enforced on imported tea estate workers. They were allowed the right of appeal to the superintendent for justice. The Bengal Government passed the Native Labour Act 1863 to saeize labour recruits through agents before it was amended in 1870. During the period of this policy Edgar used it opportunistically. Edgar opened the tea estates to the tea barons in Calcutta and the natives who could afford capital to participate in the industry. With his influence, Edgar managed to secure a few Bengali Zamindars of Sylhet to invest their wealth into purchasing tea estates. However a majority of these owners would be Europeans and they typically obstructed Edgar's policies. Despite this, European tea estate owners invested in Indian capital, with some coming from England.
Vast territories of Cachar's wastelands such as the southern portion of the district were leased to different extensive tea estates on a nominal rent rate. As the areas were covered with forests, tea estate owners transformed these excess areas into timber resources or settled agricultural cultivators. However, the tea estates were on the borders of the Lushai Hills which were inhabited by various Lushai tribes that used these as hunting grounds. The border issues led to Edgar ordering strict vigilance and often inflicting punishment on wrongdoers. Edgar attempted to change his policy by reconciliation with influential chiefs such as Sukpilal but to no avail.
Edgar provided the necessary infrastructure to the tea industry in Cachar to facilitate its rapid growth and expansion. The roads previously built by Edgar assisted him in the movement of goods, capital and produce. Planters were permitted to construct and maintain their own roads as private property without government interference to further encourage infrastructure. Edgar's lassiez faire policies of the tea industry inevitably led to exploitation. Medical facilities for tea estate workers were scarce, and wages became extremely low. However, Edgar made no effort to reverse the negative impact of his policies. The Labour Act of 1873 amended various provisions which only allowed the government as the sole authority to deal with runaway workers of the tea gardens. However, Edgar rarely moved to help labourers in distress but utilised several redressal options in the law instead.