A History of Assam c23.36

c23.36

Colonel Pollok, who went to Assam shortly before the formation of the Chief Commissionership, had a very poor opinion of the manner in which the province was governed at that time. According to him the Commissioner, constantly thwarted by the higher authorities, who resided nine hundred miles away and were quite ignorant of local conditions, “soon became disgusted, and contented himself with drawing his salary,” while “generally the officials in Assam knew very little of the country. The Commissioner confined himself to the river, went perhaps to Udalguri at the time of the fair, and visited Shillong, but knew nothing of the interior of the country. The Deputy Commissioners went year after year along certain routes, where everything was prepared for them; but even they knew nothing of the interior of the country.”*