There is a large volume of public opinion in Coorg in favour of its amalgamation with the Madras Presidency.

This small province is under the administration of the Government of India through the Mysore Resident who is also the Chief Commissioner of Coorg. In him are combined all the functions of a Local Government and a High Court. The Secretariat is at Bangalore where the Assistant Resident is styled Secretary to the Chief Commissioner of Coorg.

During the regime of Lord William Bentinck Coorg was transferred to the Government of the East India Company in accordance with the general wish of the inhabitants. “No people of India,” says Mr. W.W. Hunter, “have given more decisive proof of their loyalty to the British Crown.”

The “Garden of Eden” as His Excellency Lord Willingdon called it is a much-coveted place for the European planters who have made monumental profits in coffee plantations.

The native subjects appear to resent the undue domination of the European settlers over them and demand amalgamation with the Southern Presidency as the result of which they hope to enjoy the “blessings of Reform” and escape the evils of one-man-rule.

A rare opportunity has presented itself to the Government of India to apply the principle of self-determination to the inhabitants of Coorg and grant the prayer by sanctioning the amalgamation as prayer for.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> A Hundred Years Ago – Archives (April 20th, 1920) / April 30th, 2020