| Summary: |
Audio recording of oral history interview with Sir Penderel Moon, covering the period 1929-1944. Subjects: Punjab, Jollundur, Pind, Multan, Amritsar, Gujrat.
Cassette side OA1/48/1: Joining Indian Civil Service, Punjab Province. Probationary year. Impressions on arrival 1929. Jollundur posting: haphazard duties; training; court work. Posting to Pind Dadan Khan as subdivisional officer; increased court responsibilities. Isolation from British society. Effects of climate. Posting as Multan deputy commissioner 1934: burden of work; daily routine and duties. Unreliable evidence in criminal cases. Problems with community rioting.
Cassette side OA1/48/2: Recollections of bearer. Petitioners to deputy commissioner: typical petitions; importance of open access for even humblest petitioner. Evocations of India. Efforts to prevent corruption. Village record keepers. Tasks whilst touring villages in Multan area; opinion that towns were neglected; efforts to inspect Multan and Amritsar. Opinions on Amritsar incident 1919. Typical causes of riots in Multan; belief in show of force to quell riots.
Cassette side OA1/48/3: Magistrate's corruption in granting acquittals after Gujrat communal riots 1937. Officers dismissed unjustly for corruption. Corruption of lower Indian ranks; relative integrity of British. Critical opinion of British Raj. Increasing confidence of Indian women. Racial prejudice. Good relations with Punjabi. Opinion on independence, Raj and Moon's own role in India. Family's dislike of its earlier Indian connections. Power of district officer. Posting as secretary to Punjab governor 1939; importance of partition issue.
Cassette side OA1/48/4: Importance of partition issue whilst governor's secretary. Inadequate training in dealing with complex points of etiquette. Protocol on meeting important Indians. Multan police inspector's warning of dangers of prohibiting meetings. Story of Indian friend's decline after end of his marriage. Horrors of India.
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| Main author: |
Moon; Sir; Penderel (1905-1987); Knight; colonial administrator |
| Other authors: |
Allen; Charles (b 1940); historian and interviewer |
| Extent: |
1 hr. 40 min.
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| Admin history: |
British Secretary to Governor of Bombay in India Civil Service, 1929-1944. |
| Access status: |
Closed
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| Access conditions: |
Access to sound recording of this interview is currently unavailable at SOAS Library. The transcript can be consulted. Researchers can access a copy of this sound recording at the British Library Listening & Viewing Service. Reference: C1510/48/01-04. For more details see www.bl.uk/listening or contact listening@bl.uk / 020 7412 7418.
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| Copyright: |
Copyright held by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) |
| User restrictions: |
Private study only. For publication or broadcast please refer to Archivist |
| Language: |
English
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| Copies: |
Copy available at British Library Listening & Viewing Service. Reference: C1510/48/01-04
Copy available at Imperial War Museum. Reference: 004947/04 |
| Related material: |
Transcript available at SOAS Library. Reference: OA1/48/T |
| Format: |
Archive
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