Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow

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Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow , KG KT GCSI GCIE OBE TD (born September 24, 1887 in South Queensferry , † January 5, 1952 ) was a British politician and from 1936 to 1943 Governor General and Viceroy of India .

Origin and education

Victor Hope came from the Scottish nobility . He was in the estate Hopetoun House his family in the county Linlithgowshire ( West Lothian ) in the Scottish Lowlands born. His parents were John Hope , the first Marquess of Linlithgow and Hersey Everleigh-de-Moleyns since 1902 . His father had already held high government offices in the British overseas holdings and was the first Governor General of the newly formed Dominion Australia from 1901 to 1903 . The son attended Eton College and inherited the title of 2nd Marquess Linlithgow after the death of his father in 1908.

On April 19, 1911, Victor Hope married Doreen Maud Milner (1886-1965), the daughter of Sir Frederick Milner, a Conservative Party politician . The marriage resulted in two sons and three daughters.

During World War I Hope served as the commander of a battalion of the Royal Scots on the Western Front and was awarded the Order of the British Empire . In 1912 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . After the war, he held various subordinate offices in conservative-led governments in the 1920s and early 1930s. From 1922 to 1924 he was Civil Lord of the Admiralty in the Conservative governments under Andrew Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin . He began to study nutritional issues more intensively and was chairman of the Agriculture Commission in India from 1926 to 1928.

He turned down various offers for government offices in the British colonies, including the 1926 offer for the governor of the Madras presidency and the offer for the governor of Australia in 1935. From 1933 to 1935 he was also chairman of the Joint Select Committee on Indian Constitutional Reform in British India .

Viceroy of India

In 1935 Lord Linlithgow was appointed by the Conservative Prime Minister Baldwin to succeed Lord Willingdon as the new Viceroy of India. On the occasion of his appointment, the Spectator wrote a short commendation of the new viceroy:

“To be Viceroy of India in these troubled times calls for a rare combination of qualities. Of Lord Linlithgow's grasp of the constitutional reforms which he will have to introduce, there is, of course, no question; but of his personality little is known. Mr. Baldwin's choice has fallen on a man who has never sought the limelight. [...] In appearance and manner he is a fine type of British aristocrat. Tall, robust and erect in figure, he has a way of inclining his head like Jove on Olympus. [...] Clearly a dominating personality with a force of character and subtlety of intellect above the average. [...] The Viceroy designate is still young, and has yet to prove that he possesses the highest gifts of statesmanship and administration. But his friends feel every confidence that there is no man living of his generation better qualified by character, intellect, and experience, to assume the burden of guiding India's destiny in these critical times. ”

“To be the Viceroy of India in these turbulent times requires a rare combination of qualities. Lord Linlithgow's understanding of the constitutional reforms he will have to introduce is of course beyond question, but little is known of his personality. Baldwin's choice fell on a man who never sought the public spotlight. […] In his outward appearance and his manners he is the perfect type of a British aristocrat. Tall, strong, and erect, he has something of a Jupiter who bows his head over Olympus . [...] He is clearly a dominant personality with strength of character and an above-average delicacy of intellect. [...] The Viceroy-designate is still young and must first prove that he has the highest statesmanlike and administrative skills. But his friends are completely certain that no man of his generation is better suited to his character, intellect and experience to take responsibility for directing India's fate in these critical times. "

- The Spectator : August 15, 1935 issue

Lord Linlithgow led the befitting life of a viceroy, often staging tiger hunts with Indian maharajas. During these hunts not only tigers but also many other large animals were killed. In a 10-week hunt alone, 38 rhinos, 27 leopards, 15 bears and 120 tigers were killed.

Implementation of the constitutional reforms

After his arrival in India and his official assumption of office on April 18, 1936, the new viceroy had the main task of implementing the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1935. This law had fundamentally transformed the administration and constitution of British India. The British possessions were now administratively divided into 11 provinces (the provinces Orissa were newly created by separating from Bihar, Sindh by separating from Bombay and the North Western Frontier Province , NWFP). The right to vote for the elected provincial assemblies has been expanded from 6 million voters to 40 million (around 18% instead of 2.6% of the population). The provincial governments were given more powers and the majority of ministers, but not the governors of the provincial governments, were now elected by the provincial assemblies. The Government of India Act 1935 had also provided that an all-India parliament should be formed from representatives of the British provinces and the Indian princely states . The representatives of the princely states could have occupied a third of the seats. However, this initially failed due to the resistance of most of the Indian princes, who feared a loss of sovereignty and often viewed the Indian national movement with mistrust.

For most Indian activists, however, these reforms did not go far enough. They had demanded Dominion status for India . In the first elections in 1937, the Indian National Congress won a majority in 6 of 11 provinces (including the majority Muslim NWFP) and provided the governments there.

Second World War

After the United Kingdom and France declared war on National Socialist Germany on September 3, 1939, the Viceroy declared a state of war between the German Empire and the German Empire on the same day. The Viceroy had not previously consulted any of the elected Indian officials or political leaders. He was not constitutionally obliged to do so, but the representatives of the Indian National Congress in particular felt offended by this unilateral act. The attitude of Congress to the war was ambivalent. On the one hand, the Congress had condemned National Socialist ideology and Italian fascism in several resolutions and committed itself to the basic principles of a pluralistic democratic form of society. On the other hand, Gandhi in particular had repeatedly pointed out the principle of non-violence and refused active participation in the war. On September 16, 1939, less than two weeks after the declaration of war, the Working Committee of the Congress Party passed a resolution against Gandhi's vote in which Congress agreed to support Britain's war effort, but only provided that the British government was clear would set out their future ideas of democratic self-government by the nations of the British Empire . Otherwise, the committee declared that it could not support the war. The answer from the British colonial government came a month later on October 17, 1939. In an India and the War declaration , the Viceroy, on behalf of the British government, promised India Dominion status after the end of the war, but without specifying a specific timetable. This answer was rejected by Gandhi and the other Congress Party leaders as disappointing and too imprecise. All of the ministers appointed by the Congress Party in the provincial governments resigned in protest in December 1939. In contrast, the declared Muslim League of Muhammad Ali Jinnah , who had cut off rather disappointing in the provincial elections in 1937 and had nowhere to get the majority in the Muslim-majority provinces, its full support of the British war effort. As a result, Jinnah, who acted as the representative of all Indian Muslims, won some of the support of the British colonial government. In March 1940, the Muslim League first proclaimed the goal of establishing a Muslim state on the territory of British India.

The Congress Party was facing an internal ordeal. One wing advocated British participation in the war, while another, more radical wing, led by the charismatic former party president Subhash Chandra Bose, saw the war as an opportunity to gain independence for India in an uprising against the British colonizers. Bose was placed under house arrest, but was able to escape and after an adventurous escape he reached Germany, where he began to build an Indian volunteer army by recruiting Indian prisoners of war. From 1943 Bose worked from Japan, also with an Indian volunteer army. Bose's organization, the All India Forward Bloc , was banned by the British colonial government.

The Marquess of Linlithgow hands a new flag to the Madras Regiment, 1942

At the height of the World War, when Japanese armies occupied Burma in 1942 and stood on the borders of British India, a delegation led by Labor politician and cabinet member Stafford Cripps was sent to British India at the instigation of Prime Minister Winston Churchill ( Cripps Mission ) . The mission was to encourage Indian leaders to continue to support the British war effort. Ultimately, however, it was not clear which competencies Cripps really had for concrete assurances and Cripps was actually only able to make a few concrete offers for short-term improvements, but rather postponed all promises until after the war. The viceroy was suspicious to negative of Cripps' activities. In retrospect, the negotiations were also devalued by Churchill's remark in December 1942 that he had not been elected to liquidate the British Empire. After the failure of the Cripps mission, Gandhi launched the "Quit India" movement on August 8, 1942, calling on the British to an orderly withdrawal from British India. Free India would then of its own free will support the Allied war effort. On August 9, 1942, Gandhi and other leaders of Congress were arrested at the instigation of the British colonial government. More than 60,000 people have been arrested nationwide and Congress has been banned. There were multiple acts of resistance and sabotage across India. The viceroy wrote in late August 1943 Churchill that the resistance movement "by far the most serious rebellion since the 1857 " ( "by far the most serious rebellion since did of 1857") was, the "gravity and scale it up to now for reasons of military Security was kept secret from the world public ” (“ the gravity and extent of which we have so far conceiled from the world for reasons of military security ”) . Many members of the Congress Party in the provincial assemblies resigned in protest against the government measures, which changed the majorities in the provincial assemblies and the Muslim League, which rejected the Quit India campaign, in alliance with other parties, the majorities in the provinces of Sindh, Bengal and the North West Frontier Province won.

In the final phase of Lord Linlithgow's reign as viceroy, the famine in Bengal in 1943 was one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes on the Indian subcontinent in the 20th century, which cost several million lives. The British government and British colonial administration proved unable to deal effectively with the famine.

On October 20, 1943, Lord Linlithgow's eventful tenure as Viceroy came to an end. At 7 ½ years it was the longest term of office of a viceroy in British India. He then returned to the United Kingdom, where he lived on the Hopetoun House family estate until his death in 1952 . From 1946 to 1952 he was Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh .

His work in India was judged differently. While British biographers praised him as one of the most capable British colonial officials in a high office, Indian commentators summed up that little positive had been achieved during his tenure. In the judgment of VP Menon : “His reign of 7 ½ years - longer than that of any other viceroy - was marked by a noticeable lack of positive results. […] On the political side, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru expressed the general impression as follows: Today, after seven years in government of Lord Linlithgow, I say that the country is much more divided than it was when he took office. "

Honors

In addition to his title of nobility and the office of viceroy, Victor Hope received several prestigious awards:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed December 21, 2019 .
  2. ^ A b John Glendevon: The Viceroy at Bay . Collins Lomndon 1971 ISBN 0002114763 . P. 12
  3. ^ Royal Commission of Agriculture in India. Volume I Part II, digitized
  4. Chris Cunneen: Hopetoun, seventh Earl of (1860-1908). Australian Dictionary of Biography, accessed November 28, 2015 (article about the father with brief mention of the son).
  5. OCCASIONAL BIOGRAPHIES: VIII. LORD LINLITHGOW. The Spectator (archive), August 15, 1935, accessed November 28, 2015 .
  6. The British Empire in Color - 1v3 - Glanz und Gloria, Youtube
  7. a b c d Ranbir Vohra: The Making of India - A political history. ME Sharpe, Armonk, New York, London, 3rd edition 2013. pp. 166ff ISBN 978-0-7656-2367-6 .
  8. ^ Claude Markovits: A History of Modern India, 1480-1950. Anthem Press (2004), p. 382 . ISBN 1-84331-152-6
  9. ^ India and the war: British offer too vague, Mr Gandhi's Dissatisfaction. The West Australian, November 23, 1939, accessed November 28, 2015 (English, digitized newspaper edition).
  10. ^ The Chancellor> Previous Chancellors of the University. University of Edinburgh, accessed November 28, 2015 .
  11. In the original text: His 7 ½ year regime - longer than that of any other Viceroy - was conspicuous by its lack of positive achievement. […] On the political side, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru expressed the general feeling thus: 'Today, I say, after seven years of Lord Linlithgow's administration the country is much more divided than it was when he came here.' , in: Menon, VP: The Transfer Of Power In India. Orient Longmans Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras (1957), Chapter: The Stalemate Continues .
  12. ^ Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, KG KT GCSI GCIQ OBE PC. Cracroft's Peerage: The Complete Guide to the British Peerage & Baronetage, accessed November 28, 2015 .
predecessor Office successor
Freeman Freeman-Thomas Viceroy of India
1936–1943
Archibald Wavell
John Hope Marquess of Linlithgow
1908-1952
Charles Hope