James Spring Branson

Last updated
James Henry Spring Branson
Advocate-General of Madras Presidency
In office
1887–1897
Succeeded by V. Bhashyam Aiyangar (acting)
Member of the Madras Legislative Council
In office
1886–1897
Personal details
Born 11 June 1842
Died April 8, 1897(1897-04-08) (aged 54)
Madras Presidency, India
Occupation lawyer
Profession Advocate-General, legislator

James Henry Spring Branson (11 June 1842 – 8 April 1897) was an officer of the Indian volunteer force and a lawyer, who served as the Acting Advocate General of the Madras Presidency.

Madras Presidency Administrative subdivision of British India

The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the whole of the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Odisha, Kerala, Karnataka and the union territory of Lakshadweep. The city of Madras was the winter capital of the Presidency and Ootacamund or Ooty, the summer capital. The island of Ceylon was a part of Madras Presidency from 1793 to 1798 when it was created a Crown colony. Madras Presidency was neighboured by the Kingdom of Mysore on the northwest, Kingdom of Kochi on the southwest, and the Kingdom of Hyderabad on the north. Some parts of the presidency were also flanked by Bombay Presidency.

Career

Spring Branson was commissioned into the Indian volunteer force and served with the Madras Artillery Volunteers. As Commandant, his decision to allow 'native gentlemen' to serve with the regiment almost caused a revolt amongst the white soldiers. [1] The Madras Government hastily rescinded Spring Branson's order and continued to enforce the ban on 'native' volunteers. He resigned from the army as a lieutenant-colonel a few years later in order to practice as a lawyer.

White people is a racial classification specifier, used mostly and often exclusively for people of European descent; depending on context, nationality, and point of view. The term has at times been expanded to encompass persons of Middle Eastern and North African descent, persons who are often considered non-white in other contexts. The usage of "white people" or a "white race" as nomenclature for European populations - indicated by their light skin, among other physical characteristics, and contrasting with "black people", Amerindians, and other "colored" people or "persons of color" - originated in the 17th century. It was only during the 19th century that the category of white people was transformed in a quasi-scientific system of race and skin color relations. The term "Caucasian" is sometimes used as a synonym for "white" in its racial sense and sometimes to refer to a larger racial category that includes white people among other groups.

He was appointed first, Crown Prosecutor and then, Public-Prosecutor, Madras, 4 July 1885. In March 1887, he was appointed Acting Advocate-General of Madras Presidency. Spring Branson served as a legislator in the Madras Legislative Council between 1886 and his death. He served as President of the Madras Bar Association.

The Advocate-General of Madras was charged with advising the Government of the British administered Madras Presidency on legal matters. The Presidency existed from 1652 to 1950. Prior to 1858, when it was administered by the East India Company, the Advocate-General was the senior law officer of that company and also the Attorney-General of the Sovereign of Great Britain and an ex-officio member of the Madras Legislative Council.

He died in 1897 and is buried in the Anglican St. Mary's Church, Chennai. Branson Gardens in Chennai are named after him.

Church of England Anglican state church of England

The Church of England is the established church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior cleric, although the monarch is the supreme governor. The Church of England is also the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain by the third century, and to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury.

St. Marys Church, Chennai building in India

St. Mary's Church located at Fort St George, is the oldest Anglican church East of Suez and also the oldest British building in India. The church is popularly known as the 'Westminster Abbey of the East'.

Chennai Megacity in Tamil Nadu, India

Chennai is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is the biggest cultural, economic and educational centre of south India. According to the 2011 Indian census, it is the sixth most populous city and fourth-most populous urban agglomeration in India. The city together with the adjoining regions constitute the Chennai Metropolitan Area, which is the 36th-largest urban area by population in the world. Chennai is among the most visited Indian cities by foreign tourists. It was ranked the 43rd most visited city in the world for the year 2015. The Quality of Living Survey rated Chennai as the safest city in India. Chennai attracts 45 percent of health tourists visiting India, and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. As such, it is termed "India's health capital". As a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Chennai confronts substantial pollution and other logistical and socio-economic problems.

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References

  1. ↑ Mrinalini Sinha, Colonial Masculinity: The 'manly Englishman' and The' Effeminate Bengali' in the Late Nineteenth Century (Manchester University Press, 1995), 83.
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