Lloyd George calls the Indian Civil Service the 'steel frame' of British rule

G-CS-01 · gap-civil-service

This card

"They only number 1,200. They are the steel frame of the whole structure." (HC Deb vol 157 c1513) — Lloyd George calls the Indian Civil Service the 'steel frame' of British rule · 2 August 1922UK Parliament, Hansard (House of Commons), debate 'Civil Service, India' · 2 August 1922Source named — not yet verified

Source

UK Parliament, Hansard (House of Commons), debate 'Civil Service, India' — https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1922/aug/02/civil-service-india. Matched to the source page by an automated research pass on 6 Oct 2026; not yet checked by a person..

What it proves

Britain saw a small elite cadre as the load-bearing core of imperial rule, the origin of the 'colonial steel frame' charge against Pakistan's bureaucracy.

steel frameindian civil servicecolonial legacylloyd georgebritish rajbureaucracy

Debates this card can serve

Is colonial mentality still holding back Pakistan's state and society?#266 · asked in 2 years Are bureaucracy and democracy antithetical in Pakistan?#127 · asked in 4 years Is Pakistan's bureaucracy a colonial steel frame or an agent of development?#12 · asked in 8 years