James Broadwood Lyall

Sir James Broadwood Lyall (4 March 1838 – 4 December 1916) was a British administrator in the Imperial Civil Service who served as Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab between 1887 and 1892.

Background James Lyall was born on 4 March 1838. His elder brother was Alfred Comyn Lyall, and his paternal uncles included a Dean of Canterbury, William Rowe Lyall, and a chairman of the British East India Company, George Lyall. He was educated first at Eton College and then at Haileybury College.

Between 1883 and 1887, Lyall served in southern India as the Resident in Mysore and Chief Commissioner of Coorg. From 1887 to1892, Lyall was Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab.

On 5 March 1892 he laid the foundation stone of the Khalsa College.

Canal Colonies From 1882 Lyall was instrumental in formulating what would become known as the Triple Project, a bold plan to transform of desert and barren land into agricultural land through the development of canal colonies. As Lieutenant Governor he helped establish Lyallpur, one of the first planned cities in British India, as the headquarters of the Chenab Colony and which was named in his honour. Later a new district was created in the Colony, also named in his honour - Lyallpur district.

Later life Lyall was appointed as Knight Grand Commander of the Indian Empire in May 1892, after ending his tenure in the Punjab. In 1893, he was appointed to the Royal Commission on Opium, which he thought was an official attempt to procrastinate in order to silence opposition to opium use and its trade. Lyall believed there was nothing untoward about moderate use of opium.