Sir John Ware Edgar | |
---|---|
Born | Kensington, London | September 16, 1839
Died | June 4, 1902 62) | (aged
Occupation(s) | Deputy Commisioner of Cachar Chief Secretary of the Bengal Government |
Years active | 1862-1892 |
Organization | Bengal Staff Corps |
Parent(s) | John Peard Edgar (Father) Jane Edgar (b. Gibbings, Mother) |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Indian Empire Companion of the Order of the Star of India |
Military career | |
Battles / wars | Lushai Expedition (1869) Lushai Expedition |
Sir John Ware Edgar KCIE CSI (16 September 1839 - 4 June 1902 [1] ) was a British colonial administrator in British India.
Edgar was born in 1839, the son of John Peard Edgar, Kensington and Jane Gibbings, daughter of B. Gibbings. [1] John Edgar graduated at 20 in 1860 from a private school after taking an exam for the Indian Civil Service and amassing 1,617 points. [2]
He joined the Bengal Civil Service in 1862 and served as an assistant magistrate and collector in Bengal and as deputy-commissioner in Assam until 1871. [3]
Silchar was founded by David Scott as a military encampment at Jhalupura as an Assam Rifles camp. This military post lead to the development of a urban settlement as a result. Administrative work before Silchar would occur in Dudhpatil, on the north bank of the Barak River. [4] Edgar set up a ferrighat on the Barak river at Tarapur and shifted the administrative centre from Dudhpatil to Silchar. As a result the Chief Commissioner's bungalow and Chief Judicial magistrates court became established in Silchar among other institutions. The Silchar bazaar became known as John Edgar Ganj which was shorted to Jhaniganj. Edgar is credited with the development of Silchar as a frontier settlement against the Lushai Hills and headquarters of the Surma Valley Division of Assam. [5]
Edgar studied political economy and was interested in the development of the tea industry in Bengal and Assam. He patronized the tea magnates in their programme of expanding trade relations. Edgar's survey of the tea industry was considered so accurate it was still sourced as research in studies on the Indian tea economy. During his rule as Deputy-Commisioner of Cachar, the expansion of tea estates was considered steady which eventually reached the borders of the Lushai Hills. The Lushais considered the tea estates to be encroachments on their hunting grounds and sovereignty. The Lushais committed frequent raids upon the tea estates causing death and concern to the tea businessmen. Edgar's bid to resolve the issue would lead him to enter deepening relations with the Lushai frontier and its inhabitants. [5]
Edgar followed a policy of conciliation with the Lushais adapted by Lord Canning. The British believed the Lushai chiefs would be brought within control by offering gifts and deepening relations of mutual benefit. After the death of Chief Munjihow of Cachar, Edgar decided to enter relations with Sukpilal. Sukpilal was the uncontested influential chiefs of the Western Lushai Hills which was advantageous to Edgar. Edgar visited Sukpilal with Hari Charan Sharma to convince him of the need of a demarcated boundary that both sides can agree on. Sukpilal agreed to Edgar's negotiations and this established the famous Sukpilal sunnad of 1870. The Sunnad granted Cachar a proper border which has largely continued today with a few minor adjustments. This also opened relations with the Lushai chiefs who now were willing to approach the British to settle disputes as opposed to raiding the tea estates. Trade marts and bazaars were established at Changsil and Sonai to encourage trade of the Lushais with the merchants in the plains and valleys. Edgar's policy was initially successful as a result. [6] However Sukpilal would abuse this trust as he would commit raids. The reasoning for his raids were attributed to Lushai custom of providing bawis (slaves) to a woman when entering her new home upon marriage. In this case, Sukpilal's sister Banaitangi was being married to Murchuilal which necessated this action. [7]
After Sukpilal aided Kanai Singh in a raid, Edgar advocated for a punitive expedition against Sukpilal while Manipur would attempt to capture Kanai Singh. [8] [9] Edgar convinced the government who were hesitant to participate in the cold season and incur such expenses. [8] Edgar headed the eastern column of the three columns with William Frost Nuthall and Baker leading the others. Edgar would lead his column with great difficulty to Bazarghat on 12 March 1869. He met with the upas of Vonpilal whose mother was ready to make amends for the British after being mistaken to responsible for a raid done by Poiboi. As the season came to an end Edgar turned his column back to Cachar. [10] The column under Baker arrived at Sukpilal's encampment near the settlement of his sister of Banaitangi who defeated a few skirmishers. [11] However due to Nuthall's sickness and difficult terrain and weather issues, the column was not reinforced and turned back. [12] [13] The failure of the expedition of 1869 would lead to Edgar's tour in 1870-71.
After the Lushai Expedition of 1869, Edgar made a tour of the Lushai Hills with Hari Charan Sharma. Edgar would compile a detailed report on the geography and settlements of Lushai chiefs. He submitted a history of the tribes and chiefs and their genealogy and relations with the British. He traced the genealogy of Sailo chiefs to descend from Lallula. [14]
The beginning of the Lushai Expedition required officers with sufficient knowledge on the nature of the Lushai Hills. Edgar was assigned civil officer to the Cachar (Right) Column under Bourchier. His task was to compile and gather information of a political, economic, administrative or scientific nature. After the expedition Edgar submitted another detailed report on the geography, Lushai customs, flora, fauna and topography. The report became a leading source and reference for administrative and military officials in the eastern frontier. [15] Edgar was awarded a Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI) in the 1873 Birthday Honours. [16]
After the cycle of mautam struck the Lushai Hills once more it was estimated half the population died of starvation along with pestilence and disease turning fatal from malnutrition. The governments of Assam and Bengal decided to aid the Lushais wth emergency food and rice. The relief operations saw food transported to the Changsil and Kasalong bazaars via river. Edgar was the commissioner of Chittagong and the chief secretary of Bengal. Edgar opposed giving food aid to the Lushais. [17] Edgar described the Lushais as being in want of zu rather than in want of rice and to roll back the amount of food being given. Edgar even chastised Hari Charan Sharma who was in charge of famine relief operations in the Hills. [17]
Following further district work he became Commissioner of Chittagong in late 1885. Two years later he was appointed Financial and Chief Secretary to the Government of Bengal, serving as such until 1892. For some months before his retirement that year, he also occupied a seat as an additional member of the Viceroy's Executive Council. [3] . He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) in the 1889 Birthday Honours list. [18] [19]
In later years he devoted his time to historical studies. [20] He particularly studied in the history of Northern Buddhism and modern Latin Christiantiy. [3]
He died at his residence, the villa Guicciardini in Florence, on 4 June 1902. [3]
Cachardistrict is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. After independence, the pre-existing undivided Cachar district was split into four districts: Dima Hasao, Hailakandi, Karimganj, and the current Cachar district. Silchar is Cachar district's center of government.
Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam, India. It is second largest city of Assam after Guwahati in terms of area, population and GDP. It is also administrative capital of Barak Valley division. It is located 343 kilometres south east of Guwahati. It was founded by Captain Thomas Fisher in 1832 when he shifted the headquarters of Cachar to Janiganj in Silchar. It earned the moniker "Island of Peace" from Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. Silchar is the site of the world's first polo club and the first competitive polo match. In 1985, an Air India flight from Kolkata to Silchar became the world's first all-women crew flight. Silchar was a tea town and Cachar club was the meeting point for tea planters.
The history of Mizoram encompasses the history of Mizoram which lies in the southernmost part of northeast India. It is a conglomerate history of several ethnic groups of Chin people who migrated from Chin State of Burma. But information of their patterns of westward migration are based on oral history and archaeological inferences, hence nothing definite can be said. The recorded history started relatively recently around the mid-19th century when the adjoining regions were occupied by the British monarchy. Following religious, political and cultural revolutions in the mid-20th century majority of the people agglomerated into a super tribe, Mizo. Hence the officially recognised settlement of the Mizos became Mizoram.
Mautâm is a cyclic ecological phenomenon that occurs every 48–50 years in the northeastern Indian states of Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur, as well as in many places of Assam which are 30% covered by wild bamboo forests, and Chin State in Myanmar, particularly Hakha, Thantlang, Falam, Paletwa and Matupi Townships. It begins with a rat population boom, which in turn creates a widespread famine in those areas.
The British Indian Army Lushai Expedition of 1871 to 1872 was a punitive incursion under the command of Generals Brownlow and Bourchier. The objectives of the expedition were to rescue British subjects who had been captured by the Lushais in raids into Assam—including a six-year-old girl called Mary Winchester—and to convince the hill tribes of the region that they had nothing to gain and everything to lose by placing themselves in a hostile position towards the British Government.
The Chin-Lushai Expedition of 1889–90 was a British punitive expedition in Burma and India against the tribes of the Chin Hills and Lushai Hills.
Mizo chieftainship refers to the system of chieftainship used by the Mizo people, which historically operated as a gerontocracy. The chieftain system persisted among the various clans and tribes from the precolonial era through to the British colonial period and Indian independence briefly. The Mizo Union advocated for abolishing chieftainship in Mizoram. The chieftainships of Mizoram were eventually disbanded with the Assam-Lushai District Act in 1954.
Suakpuilala, known by the British as Sukpilal, was a Lushai chieftain from the Sailo clan who held considerable influence over the western Lushai Hills. Sukpilal conducted a series of raids in British tea plantations and entered a diplomatic relationship with the British soon after. He was also a patron of bazaars and riverines established in the Lushai Hills as the first official trade channels. A defender of his sovereignty, Sukpilal's influence in the Lushai Hills was used by the British for mutual benefits.
Lalchhuaklala, known by the British as Lalchukla was a Lushai chieftain of the Paite clan. He is known for being one of the earliest chiefs to interact with the British through raiding. Lalchukla was a close associate of Hill Tipperah in following the diplomacy of his father Laroo. Lalchukla's raid of Kachu Bari saw British retaliation which led to him being caught. His trial was under English common law, and he was sentenced to life in captivity with deportation. Lalchukla would surrender under the assumed condition that he wouldn't be held captive or executed. Upon deportation from his settlement, many Lushai chiefs viewed this as a breach of faith and a source of resistance to cooperating with the British.
Khalkam was a Lushai chief of the 19th century. He is known for being the son of Sukpilal and for being an enemy of the British, which led to the Lushai Rising. Khalkam was deported to Hazaribagh jail after British capture, where he committed suicide with his brother Lengpunga.
Banaitangi was a Lushai chieftainess known as the sister of Sukpilal and wife of Murchuilal. She is most known for her beauty and poetry at the time and her separation from her husband. She was the first Lushai chieftainess to venture into the plains of Bengal.
Vanhnuailiana was the chief of the Eastern Lushai Hills. Vonolel expanded his influence over the Sukte and Poi tribes in the east and attempted incursions into Naga territories in Manipur. He was considered the most powerful chief in the Eastern Lushai Hills until his death in 1871. He presided over several conflicts during his period of chieftainship.
Lalburha was a Lushai chief in the Eastern Lushai Hills and ruled the settlement of Champhai. Lalbura is recognised for being the third son of Vonolel and the target of the Lushai Expedition in 1871. His anti-British diplomacy led to his participation in the Lushai Rising following British annexation of the Lushai Hills.
The Lushai Rising was the conflict between the British and the Lushai chiefs following the annexation of the Lushai Hills after the Chin-Lushai Expedition. It concerned the Western chiefs, the Eastern chief and Southern chiefs separately at different intervals. By 1895, the Lushai resistance and rising was considered over.
The Lushai Expedition of 1869 was an abortive punitive expedition against Sukpilal and Kanai Singh. It was arranged by the deputy commissioner of Cachar, John Edgar and led by Colonel Nuthall. Factors such as weather, unpreparedness and diplomatic overtures led to the retreat and failure of the expedition.
The Lister Expedition was a punitive expedition in 1850 against Lushai chiefs such as Mora who raided Cachar. It is referred to as the Lister Expedition, which was headed by Colonel Frederick George Lister.
Charles Stewart Murray was a superintendent of police in the British Raj. Murray participated in the Chin-Lushai Expedition. Murray assisted John Shakespear, the field officer of the southern column in the expedition. After the annexation of the Lushai Hills, Murray was assigned as the first superintendent of the South Lushai Hills. However, his mishandling of authority with the Lushai tribes, such as Zakapa, would see him transferred to an assistant commissioner of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Frederick George Lister was a military officer and political agent of the Khasi Hills during the British Raj. Captain Lister is considered the Father of the Sylhet Light Infantry Regiment with his 20-year command.
Captain Herbert Richard Browne was a British military officer and the first political officer of the North Lushai Hills. Browne was tasked with pacifying the Lushai Hills until he was betrayed by Khalkam and killed on transit to Changsil.
The following is the order of battle for the Lushai Expedition (1871-1872).