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| Lord Napier,Viceroy of India-1872 (Scottish Nat.Portrait Gallery).en.wikipedia.org |
Among the British rulers under the Raj, there were many big hearted men who ruled the subcontinent with a fair amount of justice and never had they failed to look into the grievances of the natives and tried to get them redressed. Lord Francis Napier was a fine administrator and he knew how to administer the vast land without hurting the sentiments of the natives and, at the same time, not inviting trouble from the British Crown in England.
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| Lord Napier (Buffalo hunter?),et al. wyomingtalesandtrails.com |
Above image: Left to Right: Lord Trevelyan, Lord Fell, Frank Earnest, Boney Earnest, Charles cummings, Lord Napier.............
Francis Napier (Lord Napier and 1st Baron Ettrick, KT, PC :15 September 1819 – 19 December 1898), was born on 15 September 1819 to William John Napier. He is a Scottish polyglot, diplomat and colonial administrator of repute. Napier served as the British Minister to the United States from from 1857 to 1859 and his tenure in the United State of America was a productive one and there his political sagacity and fine sense of judgment got a name for him. He was a good negotiator as well as trouble shooter.
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| Napier Museum(1855) Thiruvananthapuram, keralatoursco.com |
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| The Napier Bridge,Chennai,TN |
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| The Napier Bridge,Chennai, pond5.com |
Above image:In 1868, Francis Napier, then Governor of Madras, planned to build a bridge across the mouth of the Cooum River. The cast iron lattice bridge was built in 1869, and connected the Fort St. George in northern Madras with the other side of the city. Subsequently, the bridge was rebuilt a few times for various reasons.
01. The famous Napier Bridge across the Cooum river in the coastal area of Chennai City was built during his period. Most probably you would have seen the bridge in many old Tamil movies.
02. Between 1866-72, Napier had partially restored the beautiful massive Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, Madurai, which was earlier demolished considerably by the grandson of King Thirumalai Nayak of Madurai Nayak dynasty, who built it. On his advice the British administrative office had begun functioning there after major restoration work.
03. A medical ward was originally built with the help of donations by the Governor Napier. It is now in the famous Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai and the surgical ward there was named "Napier Ward" in his honor.
As Viceroy, despite being at cross roads with different viceroys over financial issues throughout his tenure, Napier had good rapport with other administrators and resolved difficult issues peacefully. Being a man of amiable nature, he had friendly relations with Sir John Lawrence and others. During his long sojourn in India Napier never said or did anything against the natives and in turn Indians did not have any qualms about Lord Napier. He served his office well without antagonizing the native people unlike many British higher ups.
The Napier Park in Chennai city and the Napier Museum (established in 1855) in Thiruvanantha Puram, Capital of Kerala state were set up in his memory for his dedicated and sincere services in the then Madras Presidency.
''A man must be willing to die for justice. Death is an inescapable reality and men die daily, but good deeds live forever.''
..........Jesse Jackson (Black American Civil Rights leader)
In spite of the fact that he had no proper college education, unlike his predecessors, Napier held positions of power and eminence and got a good name purely on merit and personal ability. He joined the Trinity College, Cambridge in 1835, but for unknown reason he quit the undergraduate studies in the middle and never completed his graduation. However, he had his early education through private tutors. In his early childhood he developed a flair for foreign languages and mastered them under the tutorship of one Rev. Walter Patterson. His mastery over foreign tongues came handy for him and got him a job in foreign missions.
His sincere devotion to duty gradually improved his stature as a diplomat and he was appointed the Governor of Madras Presidency, under the Raj and served from 1866 to 1872. In the wake of unfortunate assassination of the Earl Mayo, the then Viceroy of India, who was on a visit to the Andaman Islands in February 1872, he became the viceroy of India as his successor.
During the onslaught of severe famine in Ganjam District, as the Governor of Madras, he tackled it successfully with the help of Florence Nightingale whom he had known in Constantinople.
During the onslaught of severe famine in Ganjam District, as the Governor of Madras, he tackled it successfully with the help of Florence Nightingale whom he had known in Constantinople.
Being a visionary, he saw to it the Pennar Dam project was completed during his tenure. Further, additional major irrigation schemes such as the Rushikulya Dam in Ganjam and the Mullaperiyar Dam were conceived during his tenure. The latter project - Mullaperiyar Dam, which is now a subject of water-sharing dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu states, is a boon to a million plus people living in parts of Madurai and adjacent districts of Tamil Nadu. If the dam were not built across the ''diverted river'' Periyar, the region would have been a vast arid region, causing innumerable miseries to the people there. It was later successfully completed by Col. John Pennycuick, a dedicated irrigation engineer who is still being adored by the people of South Tamil Nadu.
The following works were done during Lord Napier's tenure in the Madras Presidency:
The following works were done during Lord Napier's tenure in the Madras Presidency:
01. The famous Napier Bridge across the Cooum river in the coastal area of Chennai City was built during his period. Most probably you would have seen the bridge in many old Tamil movies.
02. Between 1866-72, Napier had partially restored the beautiful massive Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, Madurai, which was earlier demolished considerably by the grandson of King Thirumalai Nayak of Madurai Nayak dynasty, who built it. On his advice the British administrative office had begun functioning there after major restoration work.
03. A medical ward was originally built with the help of donations by the Governor Napier. It is now in the famous Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai and the surgical ward there was named "Napier Ward" in his honor.
Above image:Constructed and designed by Robert Chisholm between 1874 and 1879, the Senate building is considered to be one of the best and oldest examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture in India.
04. Lord Napier was instrumental in building the Madras University Senate building on the Marina Beach road, Chennai. He Carefully chose a young Architect Robert Chisholm to design the Senate Building. It is one of the prominent colonial buildings in the city.
As Viceroy, despite being at cross roads with different viceroys over financial issues throughout his tenure, Napier had good rapport with other administrators and resolved difficult issues peacefully. Being a man of amiable nature, he had friendly relations with Sir John Lawrence and others. During his long sojourn in India Napier never said or did anything against the natives and in turn Indians did not have any qualms about Lord Napier. He served his office well without antagonizing the native people unlike many British higher ups.
The Napier Park in Chennai city and the Napier Museum (established in 1855) in Thiruvanantha Puram, Capital of Kerala state were set up in his memory for his dedicated and sincere services in the then Madras Presidency.
''A man must be willing to die for justice. Death is an inescapable reality and men die daily, but good deeds live forever.''
..........Jesse Jackson (Black American Civil Rights leader)
Ref:
K. N. Jayaraman (Author: navrangindia.blogspot.com)
_at_Balligavi.jfif)
