HARKING BACK: Master bureaucrat who codified what the poor earned.

Byline: Majid Sheikh

As one goes through the list of the very first British officials that led the administration of the Punjab, we see the name of Sir C.L. Tupper, who was the first chief secretary from Jan 1, 1859 to Sept 1, 1895.

In the financial life of the law of the Punjab, Tupper played a very important role, yet one can confidently say that very few know about him. It goes without saying that the fields of home affairs, revenue collection and agriculture were the most important in the initial years of British rule; they brought peace, law and order, money and food to the State and propelled it to become one of the most important in British India. Sir C.L. Tupper was the mind behind this success.

If you visit the office of the Punjab chief secretary at the Civil Secretariat in Lahore, you will see the names of all those who served in that office. After the fall of Sikh rule, the East India Company set up a Board of Administration on the March 3, 1849. It was headed by Col Sir Henry Lawrence with the other two members being C.G. Mansel and Sir Henry's brother Lord John Lawrence. Working with the brothers, Mansel was caught in the severe disagreements between the brothers and he resigned. In his place on Nov 15, 1851 came Sir Robert Montgomery.

By Feb 11, 1853 the Company decided that it was better to have a single-person rule and the Board was dissolved and John Lawrence was made the chief commissioner of the Punjab. He was to play a leading role in securing the Punjab in the 1857 Uprising, was honoured, and returned to become a Lord, only many years later to be made the viceroy of India. The Company lost control and the British government stepped in on Aug 2, 1858 after passing the Government of India Act 1858.

In December 1858, the State of Punjab was headed by a secretary to the government of the Punjab. It was an unstable period and 18 new secretaries were appointed to this post in 31 years, or each averaging one year and seven months. Finally, a new configuration was designed, one that still persists, and the very first chief secretary was appointed on March 31, 1890. That gent was C.L. Tupper, who had twice stepped in as a secretary when things got a bit out of hand. For the next five years, Tupper was to rule and organise the working of each and every department.

But this column is going to concentrate on his lasting contribution -- the compiling of the Punjab Customary Law Manual, which laid down Punjab's tribal and local...