James Alexander Scott

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James Alexander Scott

CIE OBE IP
Born2 December 1895
Lancaster, England, United Kingdom
Died24 June 1952(1952-06-24) (aged 56)
Osborne, England, United Kingdom
Service / branchEnsign of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps.svg  British Indian Army
Indian Imperial Police
Unit 93rd Burma Infantry
Awards Indian Police Medal
King's Police Medal
Spouse(s)Dorothy Scott

James Alexander Scott CIE OBE (2 December 1895 – 24 June 1952), was a British member of the Indian Police Force from 1915 to 1947.

Contents

In November 1915, Scott joined the Indian Police Force. He then became attached to the 93rd Burma Infantry and completed three years of service with the Indian Army. Subsequently he was posted to the provinces of Punjab and Delhi. In October 1928, he was superintendent of police in Lahore, when the Simon Commission visited. There, he ordered the dispersal of protesters by the charging with batons, resulting in severe injuries to the Indian revolutionary Lala Lajpat Rai. Rai's death a fortnight later led to Scott becoming the target of an assassination by members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, and the subsequent Lahore Conspiracy Case.

Documents related to Scott, including his thoughts penciled in the margins of a copy of Alfred Draper's book titled Amritsar: The Massacre that Ended the Raj, are kept in the British Library.

Early life and career

James Scott was born on 2 December 1895, [1] at Lancaster, England. [2] He attended George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. [2] In 1915 he joined the Indian Police Force. [2] He became attached to the 93rd Burma Infantry and completed three years of service with the Indian Army, and in 1918 was mentioned in Despatches. [2] [3] Subsequently he was posted to the provinces of Punjab and Delhi. [2]

Simon Commission and Lahore Conspiracy Case

On 30 October 1928, when the Simon Commission arrived at Lahore railway station, Scott was the superintendent of police in Lahore, where he ordered the dispersal of a peaceful protest by the charging with batons. One result was severe injuries to the Indian revolutionary Lala Lajpat Rai. [4] [5] As a result of Rai's death just over two weeks later, Scott became the target of an assassination, attempted on 17 December 1928. [6] That day, Scott's assistant J. P. Saunders (b. 24 July 1907), was mistaken for Scott, and fatally shot by Shivaram Rajguru and Bhagat Singh of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army. [6] Prior to the shooting, pink posters had already been prepared quoting "Scott is dead". [7] The subsequent Lahore Conspiracy Case led to the conversion of Hans Raj Vohra and others as approvers, and the hanging of Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar. [8]

Awards and honours

Scott's awards and honours include the CIE, OBE, the Indian Police Medal, and the King's Police Medal. [2] [9]

Personal and family

Scott was married to Dorothy Scott, and they had two married daughters. He died on the morning of 24 June 1952, just a few months after the first Indian general elections, at the age of 56 years.

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References

  1. ↑ Registers of Employees of the East India Company and the India Office, 1746-1939. 1932. p. 879.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Scottish District News: Malayan Police Appointment". The Scotsman. Midlothian, Scotland. 12 October 1950. p. 5. Retrieved 25 November 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ↑ Walker, Samuel (1921). George Heriot's School: Roll of Honour, 1914-1919. Edinburgh. p. 31.
  4. ↑ S., I. (1994). "Selected Works of Motilal Nehru". World Affairs: The Journal of International Issues. 3 (1): 83–85. ISSN   0971-8052. JSTOR   45064358.
  5. ↑ Nair, Neeti (May 2009). "Bhagat Singh as 'Satyagrahi': The Limits to Non-violence in Late Colonial India". Modern Asian Studies. 43 (3): 649–681. doi:10.1017/S0026749X08003491. ISSN   1469-8099.
  6. 1 2 Deol, Gurdev Singh (1978). "4. Death of Lalalajpat Rai and the vindication of national honour". Shaheed-e-azam Sardar Bhagat Singh. Nabha: Deep Prakashan. pp. 35–36.
  7. ↑ "Lahore Conspiracy Case sentences". The Civil & Military Gazette. October 1930. p. 10. Retrieved 29 November 2024– via British Newspaper Archives.
  8. ↑ Ghosh, Durba (2017). "3.After Chauri Chaura: the revival and repression of revolutionary terrorism". Gentlemanly Terrorists: Political Violence and the Colonial State in India, 1919–1947. Cambridge University Press. p. 94. ISBN   978-1-107-18666-8.
  9. ↑ "Honours" (PDF). Supplement to the London Gazette. 14 June 1945. p. 2939.
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