Police
The Aitchison Commission, appointed in 1886 under Lord Dufferin, was set up to recommend reforms in:
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Answer: Option A — The public (civil) services
Detailed Solution
The Public Service Commission of 1886-87, headed by Sir Charles Aitchison and known as the Aitchison Commission, was appointed by Lord Dufferin to examine the employment of Indians in the public services and recommend reforms.
Background:
- Educated Indians demanded a larger share in the higher civil services, which were dominated by the British.
- The Indian Civil Service (ICS) examination was held only in London, and the maximum age had been reduced to 19 in 1876, which made it very difficult for Indians to compete.
- The Indian National Congress, from its first session in 1885, demanded simultaneous examinations in India and England and a higher age limit.
About the commission:
- It was headed by Sir Charles Umpherston Aitchison, a former Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab.
- It submitted its report in 1887.
Its recommendations:
- It did not support simultaneous examinations in India and England.
- It recommended that the maximum age for the ICS examination should be raised to 23.
- It recommended that the services should be divided into three classes: the Imperial (Indian) Civil Service, recruited in England; the Provincial Civil Service, recruited in India; and the Subordinate Civil Service.
- It recommended that some posts reserved for the ICS should be transferred to the Provincial Civil Service.
- It recommended the abolition of the Statutory Civil Service, introduced in 1879, under which some Indians were nominated to higher posts.
Results:
- The government accepted most of the recommendations.
- Indians remained a small minority in the ICS for many years.
Later developments:
- The Islington Commission (1912-1915) and the Lee Commission (1923-1924) also examined the public services.
- The Lee Commission recommended the setting up of a Public Service Commission, which was established in 1926.
The first Indian ICS officer:
Satyendranath Tagore became the first Indian to join the ICS (1863).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Education, the police and famine relief were the subjects of other commissions.
Quick tip
Remember: Aitchison Commission (1886, Lord Dufferin) = public services; divided services into Imperial, Provincial and Subordinate; age limit raised to 23.
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Committees & Commissions — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Committees & Commissions, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the important committees and commissions set up in India, both before and after independence, on subjects such as administration, elections, Centre-state relations, local government, education, banking and the economy, along with their chairpersons and key recommendations. Questions usually name a committee and ask what it dealt with, or name a subject and ask which committee examined it. Examples include the Dhar and JVP committees on the linguistic reorganisation of states, the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-state relations, and the Narasimham Committee on banking reforms. A table of committee, chairperson and subject is the best way to revise. Practise the committees and commissions questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.