Indian Imperial Police

Last updated

The Indian Imperial Police, referred to variously as the Indian Police or, by 1905, [1] the Imperial Police, was part of the Indian Police Services, the uniform system of police administration in British India, as established by Government of India Act 1858 and Police Act of 1861. It was motivated by the danger experienced by the British during the 1857 rebellion. [2]

Contents

In 1920 the Imperial Indian police had 310,000 police in their contingent. Its members policed more than 300 million people in the British Raj (now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Burma).

In 1948, a year after India's independence, the Imperial Police Service was replaced by the Indian Police Service, which had been constituted as part of the All-India Services by the Constitution. [1]

History

It comprised two branches, the Superior Police Services, from which the Indian (Imperial) Police would later be formed, and the Subordinate Police Service. Until 1893, appointments to the senior grades (i.e., Assistant District Superintendent and above) were mainly from European officers of the Indian Army. [3]

The highest rank in the service was the Inspector General [4] for each province. The rank of Inspector General [5] was equated and ranked with Brigadier [5] and similar ranks in the Indian Armed Forces, as per Central Warrant of Precedence in 1937. [lower-alpha 1] [5] Subordinate to the Inspector General, the ranks were composed of District Superintendents and Assistant District Superintendents, most of whom were appointed, from 1893, by examination for the Indian Civil Service tests in the UK. The Subordinate Police Service consisted of Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors, Head Constables (or Sergeant in the City forces and cantonments) and Constables, consisting mainly of Indians except for the higher ranks. [3]

By the 1930s, the Indian Police exercised "unprecedented degree of authority within the colonial administration". [6] The Indian Imperial Police was also the primary law enforcement in Burma, governed as a province of India, [7] until 1937.

Before WWII, the Indian Police routinely served as a source of cadre for MI5. [8]

Ranks of the Imperial (India) Police

Orwell

George Orwell, with his real name Eric Blair, served in the Indian Imperial Police, in Burma, from 27 November 1922 to 12 July 1927, [9] formally resigning while on leave in England (effective 1 January 1928) having attained the rank of Assistant District Superintendent at District Headquarters, first in Insein, and later at Moulmein. He wrote of how having been in contact with, in his own words, "the dirty work of Empire at close quarters" had affected his personal, political and social opinions. Some of his works referring to his experiences include "A Hanging" (1931), set in the notorious Insein Prison, and his novel Burmese Days (1934). Likewise, although he wrote that, "I loved Burma and the Burman and have no regrets that I spent the best years of my life in the Burma police.", [10] in "Shooting an Elephant" (1936), [11] his character stated that "In Moulmein in Lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people–- the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me." [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Indian Police Service is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil Nadu Police</span> Law enforcement agency

Tamil Nadu Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is over 150 years old and is the fifth largest state police force in India. Tamil Nadu has a police-population ratio of 1:632. The Director General of the Tamil Nadu police is Shankar Jiwal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajasthan Police</span> Law enforcement agency

The Rajasthan Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Rajasthan in India. The Rajasthan Police has its headquarters in the Jaipur, the state capital. The motto of the force is "committed to serve".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Bengal Police</span> Indian state police force

The West Bengal Police is one of the two police forces of the Indian state of West Bengal. The other being the Kolkata Police, which has a separate jurisdiction across Kolkata.

The Superintendent of Police (SP) is a rank in Indian police forces held by an officer who serves as the head of a rural police district. Other officers of the same rank may lead specialised wings or units. In cities under commissionerate system, an SP and SSP may serve as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) under the Commissioner of Police. The SP reports directly to the district magistrate (collector), the administrative head of a revenue district, who has general control and direction over police administration. Additionally, an SP sends monthly reports to the Director General of Police (DGP) through the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karnataka Police</span> Indian law enforcement agency

The Karnataka State Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Karnataka. It was established in 1965 and is headquartered in Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka. The KSP is a state police force that works under the purview of the Department of Home Affairs, Government of Karnataka. The department is headed by the Director General and Inspector General of Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Police ranks and insignia of India</span> List of police ranks in India

Gazetted officers include all the Indian Police Service officers which are Group A officers of the cadre and all State Police Services officers of and above the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. All are arranged in a hierarchical order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andhra Pradesh Police</span> Police agency in india

The Andhra Pradesh Police is the law enforcement agency of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Public order and police being a state subject in India, the police force is headed by the Director general of police, Ch. D. Tirumala Rao, IPS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jammu and Kashmir Police</span> Police department of Jammu and Kashmir, India

The Jammu and Kashmir Police or JKP is the law enforcement agency of the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir of disputed Kashmir region. JKP was established in 1873 and has primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goa Police</span> Law enforcement agency

The Goa Police is the law enforcement agency for the coastal state of Goa in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jharkhand Police</span> Law enforcement agency

Jharkhand Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Jharkhand, India. Jharkhand Police was formed in 2000. Jharkhand Police is headed by Director General of Police and headquartered in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Jharkhand police have 4 levels of Joining. The Top positions are filled by Indian Police Service Officers recruited by the Union Public Service Commission. The Next Level of Recruitment is at Class II Level via D.S.P Rank recruited by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission. Non-Gazetted officers are recruited at the sub inspector level by the Jharkhand Subordinate Service Commission. Other posts are filled by conducting recruitment rallies or direct recruitment examinations. The Jharkhand Police has nearly a Strength of about 149 IPS Officers. Against this sanctioned strength the State has only 100 IPS Officers allotted to it as on 2015 by the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA). Jharkhand is among the top Indian states for total recruitment. The current DGP of Jharkhand Police is Anurag Gupta.

The New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 31 December 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assistant commandant</span> Military and paramilitary rank

Assistant Commandant is a title often given to the second-in-command of a military, uniformed service, training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations, and in some countries it may be a military or police rank.

The New Year Honours 1913 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were announced on 3 January 1913.

The New Year Honours 1914 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were announced on 2 January 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telangana Police</span> Indian state police force

The Telangana Police, officially known as the, Telangana State Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the state of Telangana in India. It has jurisdiction concurrent with the 33 revenue districts of the state. The police force was created from the remnants of the Andhra Pradesh Police after Telangana state was formed. It is headed by the Director general of police, Dr. Jitender, and headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana.

The 1932 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 29 December 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerala Police</span> Law enforcement agency for Kerala, India

The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, Firm in Action" in Sanskrit. It operates under the Department of Home Affairs, Government of Kerala. The force is headed by the State Police Chief, and the incumbent chief is Shaikh Darvesh Sahib, IPS.

Bihar Police Academy is the civil service institute for training of Bihar Police Service Officers and Bihar Police in the state of Bihar. The academy's new campus is located in Rajgir.

References

  1. 1 2 Maheshwari, S. R. (2001) Indian Administration (Sixth Edition), p. 306. Orient Blackswan. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Police Reforms in India - History of Police Administration in India by Prakash Singh Ex DGP - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  3. 1 2 "Indian Police Services" British Library. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Shahidullah, Shahid M. (2012). Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2012. ISBN   9781449604257.
  5. 1 2 3 "A worrisome slide in Army's status". Hindustan Times. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  6. ↑ Arnold, David (1992) "Police Power and the Demise of British Rule in India, 1930 – 47" in David Anderson, David Killingray, Policing and Decolonisation: Politics, Nationalism, and the Police, 1917-65, pp. 42–61. Manchester University Press, 1992 Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  7. 1 2 Crick, Bernard (2004) "Blair, Eric Arthur [George Orwell] (1903–1950)" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  8. ↑ Silvestri, Michael (2019). Policing ‘Bengali Terrorism’ in India and the World: Imperial Intelligence and Revolutionary Nationalism, 1905-1939. Springer. p. 283. ISBN   978-3-030-18042-3.
  9. ↑ Orwell, George (1998) Complete Works of George Orwell - Volume 10, p. 87, edited by Peter Davison. Secker & Warburg, London.
  10. ↑ Stansky, Peter (1994) The Unknown Orwell: Orwell, the Transformation, pp. 192–201. Stanford University Press. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  11. ↑ Villiers, Peter (2011) Leading from Example: A Short Guide to the Lessons of Literature, p. 98. Triarchy Press Limited Retrieved 13 August 2013.

Notes

  1. ↑ The rank of IGP is ranked and equated with the rank of Brigadier / equivalent rank of the Indian Armed Forced as per Warrant of Precedence – 1937, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs' directions contained in Letter No 12/11/99-Pub II dated 26 Dec 1966. This Warrant of Precedence is compiled from a joint consideration of the existing Central Warrant of Precedence (which is till the rank of Major General) and Warrant of Precedence – 1937, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs' directions contained in Letter No 12/11/99-Pub II dated 26 Dec 1966, the validity of which has been confirmed by Letter No 12/1/2007-Public dated 14 Aug 2007. The MHA has confirmed in 2007 that the Old Warrant of Precedence shall be taken as a guide to determine ranks below the ones mentioned in the current WoP.

Further reading

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.