Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: IE
Context: The Lansdowne Cantonment Board has decided to rename the hill station of Lansdowne in Uttarakhand, India, as Jaswantgarh in honour of Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat, Maha Vir Chakra recipient and hero of the 1962 war with China.
About Lord Lansdowne (served as the Viceroy of India from 1888 to 1894):
| Title | Lord Lansdowne |
| Background | Lord Lansdowne arrived on the subcontinent when revenue was dwindling for the British, a constrained scheme for political reform, and unsettled relations with the amir of Afghanistan and the peoples of the northwestern frontier. |
| Indian National Congress | Lord Lansdowne legitimized the work of the Indian National Congress, recognizing the rise of Indian nationalism as an inevitable byproduct of the British administration. |
| Indian Factory Act, 1891 | The Indian Factory Act, 1891 was passed when Lord Lansdowne was the Viceroy of India.
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| Categorizing of Civil Services
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On Aitchison Commission recommendations (1889), Statutory Civil Service was abolished. The government’s civilian officers were divided into three classes: Imperial Indian Civil Service, Provincial Civil Service, and Subordinate Civil Service. |
| Age of Consent Act, 1891
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The Age of Consent Act, 1891, was enacted in British India in 1891, raising the age of consent for sexual intercourse for all girls, married or unmarried, from ten to twelve years in all jurisdictions, with violations punishable as rape. |
| Indian Councils Act | Lord Lansdowne introduced the Indian Councils Act of 1892, which established additional members in the central and provincial legislative councils and introduced an indirect election system for council members. It was a step toward a representative government in India. |
| Setting up Durand Commission (1893) | Durand Line agreement was signed to secure the north-west and Afghanistan |
| Opium Commission | In 1893, a royal commission was issued to inquire into the results of using opium in India, and the possibility of prohibiting it. The commission’s findings favoured the continued use of opium and led to the shelving of the idea of imposing a ban. |
