How far would you agree with the view that Lord Curzon made a "collosal failure" of his job as Viceroy?

The phrase "collosal failure" suggests a venture with a deeply negative impact on a huge scale. Viceroy Curzon's actions did indeed affect the masses of the Indian population and whilst much of his rule maintained a negative impact it seems that these overshadowed what was positive in his rule.

Curzon maintained the view that India was the "jewel in Britain's crown" and though being well educated, experienced in Indian culture and sharing a passion for the archaeology it seems he was a product of his time and such and thus saw India as a mere "possession". Such an ideology screams of British colonialism, a fact that the Indian population was weary of and therefore immediately Curzon created tensions between the Indian-British relations, a vast failure in itself. Curzon exacerbated such tension further with his unilateral decision to partition Bengal in 1905.

Bengal had proven to be a problematic area for the Raj, with its vast population and constant unrest making it difficult to rule. With Curzon obsessed with "efficiency" he decided against the better judgement of British officials and without even consulting and Indian authority to partition Bengal into East and West provinces. This action was undoubtedly a "collosal failure" as whilst furthering the deterioration of Anglo-Indian relations he also fabricated religious tensions within Indian people by creating majorities in different provinces, creating a platform for further unrest that is evident throughout the entirity of the Raj's rule. However, whilst the partition of Bengal was undoubtedly a failure of epic proportions and his ideology of British superiority merely worsening the situation, both these factors seem to greatly overshadow some of the productive policies issed within Curzon's role.

Whilst Viceroy he proposed reforms to office and procedural work to make administration within the Raj more efficient and indeed in a better position to actually rule the vast country that India is. In keeping with this motive of efficiency Curzon created a new provincefrom the PUnjab in 1901, the North West Frontier, to enable more wide spread ruling. Arguably such actions may not have been for the benefit of India and more so for the british but he did again put Britain in a more effective position to rule well as opposed to ruling badly and inefficiently, possibly carving out some respect for Britain and its methodical approach rather than contempt.

Indeed Curzon also developed the railway systems in India, enabling around 6,000 miles of track to be laid by 1905. Furthermore with his passion for archaeology he took a personal interest in restoring and maintaing India's culture, a prime example being the Taj Mahal. Such actions show a definite interest in India's progression and in some cases portray much succes rather than a "collosal failure".

The evidence suggests that although there was some success in Curzon's rule in the name of efficiency, these are completely undermined by the "collosal failure" that was the partition of Bengal. By creating sectarian conflict as well as Anglo-Indian conflict his rule may indeed by described as a failre of collosal proportions.