Features- Brief Histories Of The Army And Police Set-Ups In India

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Brief Histories Of The Army And Police Set-Ups In India
By Damodar Waikhom
The beginning of the British Indian Army was made in 1748 when Major Stringer Lawrence, called the father of the Indian Army, organized a small band of Indian soldiers at Madras. The wars of conquests and gradual extension of the British Empire led to the enlargement of the Army. The army consisted of three types of soldiers, viz, the Indian recruits, the European recruits and the Royal Regiments. In the beginning, the Presidencies of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta had their separate armies under separate Commanders-in-chief, but afterwards, the Bengal army became the army of the Central Government of the British India and its Commander became the Commander-in-chief of the Indian forces. Local Regiments were also raised afterwards as was the case in Punjab and Avadh. The number of the Indian soldiers went on increasing in the Army and it grew so disproportionate that Lord Dalhousie took recourse to check their number. Besides, he increased the number of the English officers and soldiers. No Indian was assigned an officer’s post in the army earlier. All officers of the army were British. The highest rank which an Indian could reach was that of a ‘Subedar’. Yet, the Indian soldiers served their masters well. India was mostly conquered for the English by the Indians. Primarily, two factors were responsible for it. First, the Indians lacked the spirit of nationalism. The Indians, at that time, had no concept of belonging to one country. Secondly, the Indian soldiers had a long tradition of loyalty of serving those who regularly paid their salaries. The Indians, therefore, proved very good and loyal mercenary (hired) soldiers for the British masters. After the revolt of 1857, the proportion of the Europeans to the Indians in the army was raised and fixed at one to two in the Bengal army and two to five in the Bombay and Madras armies. The best weapons like artillery and, later on in the 20th century, the tanks and armored corps were kept reserved for the Europeans. The Indians remained excluded from higher ranks as before. But the novelty of the new organization of the army after the Revolt was that of introducing in it the policy of "balance and counterpoise". Discrimination on the basis of caste, region, and language was practiced in the recruitment of the army and different regiments were made a mixture of various castes and groups so that castes and religious differences could be utilized against each other if occasion demanded it. Communal, caste and regional loyalties were encouraged among the soldiers so that they might remain divided against each other. Besides, a fiction was created that Indians consisted of "martial" and "non-martial" classes. Soldiers from Bihar, Avadh, South India etc. who had participated in the revolt of 1857 were declared to be "non-martial" and their number was reduced in the army while Sikhs, Gurkhas and Pathans who had helped the British in suppressing the revolt were declared to be martial and were recruited in the army in large numbers. Every effort was made to keep the army separated from the life and thoughts of the rest of the population. Thus, the Indian army which was the ultimate guarantee of the British hold over India was kept as a mercenary force by the British which was utilized by them for fighting against their enemies in foreign lands and also utilized against the people of its own country. Indians were not allowed in the artillery as already mentioned above and also in other scientific departments of the army till the Second World War. The Indian army became in a time very costly military machine. In 1904, it absorbed nearly 52 per cent of the Indian revenues. This was because it served more than one purpose. India, being the most prized colonial possession of the time, had to be constantly defended from the competing imperialisms, of Russia, France, and Germany. This led to a big increase in the size of the Indian army. Secondly, the Indian troops were not maintained for India’s defense alone. They were also often employed to extend or consolidate British power and possessions in Asia and Africa. Lastly, the British section of the Army served as an Army of occupation. It was the ultimate guarantee of the British hold over the country. Its costs had, however, to be met by the Indian revenues: it was in fact a very heavy burden. In 1918 Indians began to be admitted to commissioned ranks in the Indian Army. 1932 saw the establishment of the Military Academy at Dehra Dun and beginning of the Royal Air Force. In 1934 the Royal Indian Navy began. The Second World War in 1939 finally broke down the concept of racial superiority in the military with the Indians performing most creditably. As regards the beginning of a better police system in India it began when Cornawallis, in 1791, created a post of Superintendent of Police for Calcutta. In the District which was divided into a number of Thanas, Cornawallis relieved the landlords of their police duties. Instead a "daroga" with a number of armed men was placed in charge of each thana. In 1808 Lord Minto appointed a Superintendent of Police for a Division who had to work with the help of spies and goyendas. But the guineas actually committed depredations on the peaceable inhabitants, of the same nature as those practiced by the dacoits for whom they (goyendas) were employed to suppress. According to the orders of the Court of Directors in 1814, the establishment of darogas and their subordinates was abolished in all other possessions of the Company except in Bengal. During the administration of Lord William Bentinck, the Divisional Commissioners or Commissioners of Revenue and Circuit were first appointed and the office of the Superintendent of Police was abolished. The Collector-Magistrate became the head of the Police in his jurisdiction and the Commissioner for each Division performed the function of the Superintendent of Police. The principal defects of the system so introduced and existed for a while were that the police force was badly organized, the Collector-Magistrate, who was the head of the police, could not discharge his duties satisfactorily as he was overburdened with duties. It was in the presidency towns that the duties of the Magistrate and the Police Superintendents were first separated. Bentinck’s successor, Lord Auckland, improved the pay and standing of the darogas. In 1860, the Government of India appointed a Commission to enquire into the police administration. It recommended the establishment of a well-organized civil constabulary, supervised by European officers. The village police was to be retained on its existing footing and be brought into direct relationship with the general constabulary. At the head of the police organization in the province there would be an Inspector-General. The Deputy Inspector-General would be placed in each range (the province was divided into ranges) and at the head of each district there would be Superintendent of Police. These recommendations formed the basis of the Police Act of 1861. The police gradually succeeded in reducing major crimes such as dacoity. One of its major achievements was the suppression of ‘thugs’ who robbed and killed travelers on the highways, particularly in central India. The Police also prevented organization of a large scale conspiracy against foreign control, and when the national movement arose, the police was used to suppress it. In its dealings with the people, the Indian police adopted an unsympathetic attitude. The British did not create an all India police. The Police Act of 1861 presented the guidelines for police set-ups in the provinces. The ranks (Inspector-General to constable) were fairly uniformly introduced all-over the country. The first Police Commission appointed in 1902 recommended the creation of the Criminal Investigation Departments in the provinces and Central Intelligence Bureau at the Center. As for the history of the Manipur Police it is as old as the history of the State itself, an independent Kingdom existed from the time of Pakhangba in 33.A.D. in proper chronological order and it was he who established institutions known as Cheirap (Court, which was both judicial and executive), "Loisang Lois", "Patcha Phaida" (women’s organization) etc. and began the policing system in the land. The organization so began rudimentarily got further developed during the time of Kiyamba, Khagemba etc. in 15th and 16th centuries respectively, and it was during the time of Chandrakirti Singh in 19th century that there was considerable improvement in the organization and training of the State Police force, a large column of which under the command of Senapati Bir Tikendrajit Singh and General Thangal accompanied by the then Political Agent of Manipur, Colonel Sir James Johnstone rescued a column of British Force and personnel besieged in their garrison at Kohima (Thibomoi) by Naga revolters. For the timely help extended, Maharaj Chandrakirti Singh was awarded the British title, K.C.S.I. (Knight Commander Star of India) by way of recognition his most valuable service rendered to them as their allies. However, it was from the time of the British rule which commenced from 1891 when they conquered the State and began their administration under the charge of the Political Agent, Major Maxwell during the period of minority of the newly installed King Churachand Singh from 1891 to 1907 that the State Police set-up began to exist on the pattern introduced in India. It began with a sanctioned strength of 1 Sub-Inspector, 2 Head constables and 30 constables on the Civil side, 1 Commandant (European, F.L.Crowford followed by L.T.Good Enough, Hudson, E.Mitchell, Huges-Huges, I.P., T.A.Sharpe, L.T.Wilson, IP, G.A.Webster, IP), 14 JCOs, 49 NCOs and 400 sepoys (all locals) on the Armed side - the set-up was then known as SMP (State Military Police, the fore-runner of all the Manipur Rifles Battalions whose strength have gone up from a solitary strength of a Battalion to some 13 Battalions by now including those of the three IRB (India Reserve Battalion) units raised recently which may be deployed anywhere outside the State as and when required by the Central Government as the expenditure of the force is partly financed by them. One A. Ramlal Singh alias Meino Singh of Sagolband, Imphal, after the name of whom the lane there became to be known as - Sagolband Meino Leirak, was the first local officer who became the head of the State Police (and later on from 1959 to 1965, Laisram Gopal Singh, the first local IPS officer of 1952 seniority, in the rank of Superintendent of Police, as the State was till than only of a single district with a pay of Rs. 50/- per month (pay of the 1st grade Head constable was Rs.20/-, Rs. 17.50/- for the 2nd grade, Rs.15/- for the 3rd grade and Rs. 8/- for a constable with grant of Re 1/- each for 3 constables as good conduct allowance. As for the pay of the Armed Wing, i.e. the SMP, Rs.10/- for a Subedar per month with 4 paris of land (some 10 acres), Rs. 8/- with 3 paris for a Jemadar, Rs. 6/- with 2 paris for an Havildar and Rs.4/- with 1 and 3/4th paris for a Naik. As regards the sepoys they were not given regular salary in terms of money but were compensated by grant of land in lieu of pay and their appointment were hereditary i.e. the son would succeed his father as sepoy. Also each sepoy was given a seer of rice as daily ration in addition to 12 pots of paddy (more than 15 maunds) given to him annually. The total cost of maintenance of the Armed Wing during the year 1892-93 was Rs.39,056/- and that of the Civil Wing was less than Rs.4000/- Thus, it has been really a gigantic 'leap' in the growth of the Manipur Police Department both the Civil and Armed Wing in all respect from what it was very minimally in the beginning before a century ago-in man-power strength, in weaponry and other accoutrement (the SMP started with smooth-bore muzzle loading guns followed by Tower Muskets, Martin-Henry single loading rifles, and now the MR Bns are equipped with automatic rifles, LMGs, MMGs (vickers), GF Rifles, hand grenades, 2 and 3 inch Mortars etc. which are weapons even better than that of the units of the CRPF and Assam Rifles), in transport and communications (wireless etc-the Manipur Police Wireless unit being one of the best organizations in the North-east region) and also particularly in respect of the monthly salaries and other pecuniary entitlements of all the ranks with quantums very handsomely enhanced - some Rs.5000/- per month for the lower ranks, Rs.8000/- for the middle ranks, Rs20,000/- for SPs etc., Rs. 25,000- for DIGs, Rs 30,000/- for IGPs, Rs 35, 000/- for the additional DGPs, and above Rs 35,000/- for the DGP with other risk-compensating allowances and monetary benefits including that of the pensions after retirement from the service. At present the strength of the Manipur Police Department has reached more than 20,000 headed by a number of senior officers -1 DGP, 2 Addl DGPs, 5 IGPs, 5 DIGPs and several numbers of SPs and commandants of the Battalions. Truly, it has been a great 'lift' for the Manipur Police in all respect, and, therefore, it is in this context that people expect them to give their "commensurately worth performance" in the discharge of their duties of maintenance of peace and order in the State, particularly in safeguarding the properties and precious lives of the people. Otherwise, one cannot but wonder as to the 'real justification" of having such a well expanded Police set-up in the State draining so heavily on its exchequer.
Courtesy: The Sangai Express

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