MargeneGoodfello at 08:40, 17 November 2025

2025-11-17T08:40:19Z

New page

{{pp-sock|small=yes}}
The '''Imperial Secretariat Service''' (commonly abbreviated as the '''ISS''') was a [[civil service]] of the [[British Empire]] in [[British India]] during British rule in the period between 1919 and 1945. The members served in the 5 central departments (1924 to 1934) and then later expanded to 10 central departments at that time, Secretariat of the [[Viceroy's Executive Council]] and later [[Cabinet Secretariat (India)|Cabinet Secretariat]] and [[Secretariat Building, New Delhi|Central Secretariat]].

The service was one of the "Imperial Services" with the [[Imperial Civil Service]], [[Indian Imperial Police]], and Imperial Forest Service of the Indian Government under the [[British Raj|British colonial rule in India]].

This service still continues in the contemporary [[Civil Services of India]], [[Central Superior Services]] of [[Pakistan]] and [[Bangladesh Civil Service]], though these are now organised differently post-independence. It is an earliest organised civil service.

==History==
The role of the service was ensuring of the continuity of administration in the Central Secretariat called as the “Administration of the Secretariat and House Keeping”.

In the year 1919, the Imperial Secretariat Service came into being as one of the offshoots of the Lewllyn-Smith Committee which had been set up on the eve of the introduction of the [[Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms]].<ref name="Service History">{{cite web|title=History: Central Secretariat Service|url=http://persmin.gov.in/DOPT/CSWing/CSDivision/CSS/History.htm|publisher=[[Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (India)|Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension]]|access-date=17 May 2012}}</ref> As per Report of Government of India Secretariat Procedure Committee 1919, the general status of this service was recognised as equivalent to that of Provincial Civil Service (PCS) and that all members treated as gazetted officers.<ref name="Reports GOI 1919">{{cite web|url=http://cslrepository.nvli.in/bitstream/123456789/2118/2/2228.pdf|title=Report of Government of India Secretariat Procedure Committee 1919|access-date=28 December 2019|publisher=[[Government of India]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115165112/http://cslrepository.nvli.in/bitstream/123456789/2118/2/2228.pdf|archive-date=2019-11-15}}</ref>

The posts of Assistant Superintendent, Superintendent, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary were filled by officers drawn from the Imperial Secretariat Service during the [[British Raj]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Hoshiar|title=Indian Administration|year=2011|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=9788131761199}}</ref>

In 1946, after India gained [[Partition of India|independence]] from [[British Raj|Britain]], the Imperial Secretariat Service was replaced by [[Central Secretariat Service]] in India. However, in Pakistan, a Central Secretariat Service was formed in [[Central Superior Services of Pakistan]],<ref name="CSP OMG Pakistan">{{cite web|url=http://csspk.com/Office_Management_Group.htm|title=Office Management Group: CSS Pakistan|access-date=19 July 2015|publisher=[[Central Superior Services of Pakistan]]}}</ref> which was later replaced and renamed to [[Office Management Group]] (OMG) and Secretariat Group (SG).<ref name="CSP OMG Pakistan"/>

==Recruitment==
The recruitment of the members was made by Central Staff Selection Board, which was precursor of the [[Union Public Service Commission]] set up in 1926.<ref>{{cite book|last=Maheshwari|first=Shriram|title=A Dictionary of Public Administration|year=2002|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=9788125022527}}</ref> As per Report of Government of India Secretariat Procedure Committee 1919, it was suggested that Staff Selection Board should recruit from the main sections of the community namely [[Hindus]], [[Muslims]], [[Europeans]] and [[Anglo-Indian]].<ref name="Reports GOI 1919"/>

All candidates chosen by examination were given probation for a year before their appointment in the Secretariat by a definite certificate of confirmation by the Secretary in the Department.<ref name="Reports GOI 1919"/>

===Women===
Women were recruited to Imperial Secretariat Service Class II but were disqualified for higher posts in the various departments under the control of the [[Governor-General of India]] like Imperial Secretariat Service Class I.<ref name="Women Civil Services">{{cite book |title=Women in the Civil Services - Gender and Workplace Identities in India|last=Gonsalves |first=Trijita|year=2022 |publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781000601275}}</ref>

==Responsibilities and work profile==
The officers were policy and coordination specialists.<ref name="Reports GOI 1919"/> The officers were engaged in:<ref name="Reports GOI 1919"/>
* Reading and digesting provincial and departmental reports, then producing a concise summary highlighting facts, issues, and recommendations.
* Specialists in drafting policy notes, statutory rules, legislative drafts, and official correspondence for the Viceroy’s Executive Council.
* Drafting official notes and replies for Ministers or Members of Council, ensuring they aligned with precedent, law, and Government policy.
* Preparing background material for legislative debates in the Legislative Assembly or Council of State, including collecting statistics and relevant precedents.
* Routing files for inter-departmental consultation, e.g., sending a Finance-related railway project to both the Railway Board and the Finance Department for input.
* Maintaining secrecy in matters of defence, foreign affairs, and finance, with special procedures for confidential telegrams and documents.
* Ensuring timely circulation so that decision-makers had adequate time to study documents before meetings.

They were the official communication channel between - provincial Governments and the Central Government, the Central Government and the Secretary of State’s Office in London and different departments within the Central Government itself.<ref name="Reports GOI 1919"/>

==Postings==
The members of the Imperial Secretariat Service served in [[New Delhi]] after the capital shifted from Calcutta in 1912, and worked in [[Shimla]] during the summer months as the Government of India moved there seasonally.<ref name="SecProc1919">{{cite book |title=Report of the Government of India Secretariat Procedure Committee, 1919 |publisher=Government of India Press |year=1919 |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.20680 }}</ref> They had previously been based in [[Calcutta]] before the transfer of the capital.<ref name="SecProc1919"/>

Some officers were deputed to work in provincial secretariats in places such as Bombay, Madras, Lahore, and Rangoon to coordinate central–state administrative matters.<ref name="Potter1986">{{cite book |last=Potter |first=David C. |title=India’s Political Administrators, 1919–1983 |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1986 |page=31 }}</ref> A small number were attached to the [[India Office|India Office in Whitehall]] as “Secretariat officers on special duty,” liaising between the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy’s Government.<ref name="IndiaOfficeList">{{cite book |title=India Office List, annual edition |publisher=HMSO |year=1930 }}</ref>

A few ISS officers served temporarily in places like [[Karachi]] (for commerce/shipping project work), [[Peshawar]] (frontier coordination), or [[Rangoon]] (Burma affairs) when specific tasks required.<ref name="NAI-HomDep">{{cite web |publisher=National Archives of India |title=Political Department – Provincial Correspondence |url=http://nationalarchives.nic.in/ }}</ref>

==Salary and posts==
Imperial Secretariat Service was classified into Class I and Class II.

* Central Government
** [[Undersecretary#India|Under Secretary to Government of India]]
** [[Assistant Secretary|Assistant Secretary to Government of India]]
** Superintendent
** Assistant Superintendent

==Notable members==
Many members were receipients of [[Order of chivalry|orders of chivalry]]{{efn|See [[V. P. Menon]] .}} namely - [[Order of the Indian Empire]], [[Order of the British Empire]], [[Order of the Star of India]] and [[Knight Bachelor]]. They were also awarded the title of honor [[Rai Bahadur]].

* [[V. P. Menon]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Basu|first=Narayani|title=[[V. P. Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India]]|year=2020|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=|isbn=978-9386797681}}</ref>
* [[P. V. Gopalan]]
* [[Hari Sharma]]
* [[Prem Nath Kirpal]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''Partition Voices - Updated for the 75th Anniversary of Partition'' (Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing; {{ISBN|9781408899069}})
* [https://www.indianculture.gov.in/archives/report-secretariat-reorganization-committee-bajpai-committee-report Report of the Secretariat Reorganisation Committee (Bajpai Committee Report)] Government of India

[[Category:Indian Civil Service]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1919]]
[[Category:1919 establishments in British India]]
[[Category:Government agencies disestablished in 1945]]

Imperial Secretariat Service - Revision history

MargeneGoodfello at 08:40, 17 November 2025