>Pinakpani at 07:41, 9 July 2021

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The '''Indian Imperial Police''', referred to variously as the '''Imperial Police''' or simply the '''Indian Police''' or, by 1905,<ref name=admin/> '''Imperial Police''', was part of the '''Indian Police Services''', the uniform system of police administration in [[British Raj]], as established by [[Government of India Act 1858]], Police Act of 1861. It was motivated by the danger experienced by the British during the 1857 rebellion.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Police Reforms in India - History of Police Administration in India by Prakash Singh Ex DGP - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0kg1dQ8LVQ|access-date=2020-12-02|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref>

During 1920 the Imperial Indian police had 310,000 police in their contingent. Its members policed more than 300 million people in [[India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]] and [[Burma]] (then comprising [[British Raj]]).

In 1948, a year after India's [[Partition of India|independence]] from the [[British Raj]], 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.<ref name=admin>Maheshwari, S. R. (2001) [https://books.google.com/books?id=E_Qu6ePC40kC&pg=PA302 ''Indian Administration'' (Sixth Edition), p. 306. Orient Blackswan.] At Google Books. Retrieved 13 August 2013.</ref>

==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 made locally in India, mainly from European officers of the [[Indian Army]].<ref name=britlib>[http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecordsfamilyhistory/occupations/indianpoliceservices/police.html "Indian Police Services"] [[British Library]]. Retrieved 13 August 2013.</ref>

The highest rank in the service was the [[Inspector-general of police|Inspector General]]<ref name="Comparative Criminal Justice Systems">{{cite book| title=Comparative Criminal Justice Systems|last=Shahidullah |first=Shahid M. | publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2012| isbn = 9781449604257}}</ref> for each province. The rank of [[Inspector-general of police|Inspector General]]<ref name="Army Police WoP">{{cite web|title=A worrisome slide in Army’s status|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/a-worrisome-slide-in-army-s-status/story-iiODBwoOubZOigw6il4XDP.html|publisher=[[Hindustan Times]]|access-date=22 April 2017}}</ref> was equated and ranked with [[Brigadier]]<ref name="Army Police WoP"/> and similar ranks in the [[Indian Armed Forces]], as per Central Warrant of Precedence in 1937.{{efn|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.}}<ref name="Army Police WoP"/> 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 [[Imperial Civil Service|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.<ref name=britlib/>

By the 1930s, the Indian Police exercised "unprecedented degree of authority within the colonial administration".<ref>Arnold, David (1992) [https://books.google.com/books?id=rni7AAAAIAAJ&dq=imperial+police+service&q=burma#v=snippet&q=burma&f=false "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] At Google Books. Retrieved 13 August 2013.</ref> The Indian Imperial Police was also the primary law enforcement in [[Burma]], governed as a province of India,<ref name=crick>[[Crick, Bernard]] (2004) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31915 "Blair, Eric Arthur <nowiki>[George Orwell]</nowiki> (1903–1950)" in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press.] ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]''. Retrieved 13 August 2013.</ref> [[British rule in Burma#Burma separated from India|until 1937]].

==Ranks of the Imperial (India) Police==
* Superior Services:
** [[Inspector General of Police]] (Head of the state police)
** [[Deputy Inspector General of Police]] (Head of Range Police) or Commissioner of Four cities (Madras, Bombay, Calcutta and Rangoon)
** [[Superintendent of Police]] (Head of District Police)
** [[Assistant Superintendent of Police]] (Head of sub divisional Police, specially main sub division of a district)
* Sub-ordinate services:
** [[Deputy Superintendent of Police]] (Head of sub divisional Police).
** [[Inspector of Police]] (Head of circle Police)
** Sub Inspector of Police (Head of Police station)
** [[Sergeant]] (One for each police station and should be European or Eurasian)
** [[Head constable]]
** Naik
** [[Constable]]

==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,<ref>[[Orwell, George]] (1998) ''Complete Works of George Orwell - Volume 10'', p. 87, edited by [[Peter Davison (professor)|Peter Davison]]. Secker & Warburg, London.</ref> 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 Township|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.",<ref>Stansky, Peter (1994) [https://books.google.com/books?id=dh_aqAZk-UQC&pg=PA178 ''The Unknown Orwell: Orwell, the Transformation'', pp. 192–201. Stanford University Press]. At Google Books. Retrieved 13 August 2013.</ref> in "[[Shooting an Elephant]]" (1936),<ref>Villiers, Peter (2011) [https://books.google.com/books?id=NF82Fkqvss4C&pg=PA97 ''Leading from Example: A Short Guide to the Lessons of Literature'', p. 98. Triarchy Press Limited] At Google Books. Retrieved 13 August 2013.</ref> he 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."<ref name=crick/>

==See also==
* [[T. Ramachandra Rao]]
* [[Panchanan Ghoshal]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
''Notes''
{{notelist}}

==Bibliography==
*Chandavarkar, Rajnarayan (1998) [https://books.google.com/books?id=bTOBfqjoyyoC ''Imperial Power and Popular Politics: Class, Resistance and the State in India, 1850-1950''. Cambridge University Press.] At Google Books.

[[Category:History of law enforcement in India]]
[[Category:Colonial India]]

Indian Imperial Police - Revision history

>Pinakpani at 07:41, 9 July 2021