The High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom is the head of the High Commission of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The High Commission is located at

India House India House was a student residence that existed between 1905 and 1910 at Cromwell Avenue in Highgate, North London. With the patronage of lawyer Shyamji Krishna Varma, it was opened to promote nationalist views among Indian students in Britai ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

History

In 1919, a committee chaired by the

Marquess of Crewe Marquess of Crewe was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1911 for the Liberal statesman Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Earl of Crewe. He had already been created Earl of Crewe, of Crewe, Cheshire, in 1895, and was made Ear ...

determined there existed the need to separate the agency work of the

India Office The India Office was a British government department established in London in 1858 to oversee the administration, through a Viceroy and other officials, of the Provinces of India. These territories comprised most of the modern-day nations of I ...

from its other political and administrative roles, and recommended the transfer of all such work to "a High Commissioner for India or some similar Indian Governmental Representative in London." It was also felt popular opinion in India would view this as a step towards full Dominion status for India. The Government of India Act that same year upheld the recommendations of the committee, making provision for "the appointment of a High Commissioner by His Majesty by Order in Council, which might delegate to the official any of the contractual powers of the Secretary of State

or India Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of List of M*A*S*H episodes (Season 3), M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * Or (album), ''Or ...

in Council, and prescribe the conditions under which he should act on behalf of the Government of India or any Provincial Government." On 13 August 1920, King-Emperor

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother ...

issued the required Order in Council. Until India became independent in 1947, the post was styled High Commission for India. The first High Commissioner for India was

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

officer Sir

William Stevenson Meyer Sir William Stevenson Meyer (13 February 1860 – 19 October 1922) was an Indian Civil Service officer. From 1920 until his death two years later, he served as the first High Commissioner for India. Biography Meyer was born to a Presbyterian mi ...

; the first of Indian origin was Sir

Dadiba Merwanji Dalal Sir Dadiba Merwanji Dalal CIE (12 December 1870 – 4 March 1941) was an Indian Parsi diplomat who was the second High Commissioner for India and the first of Indian origin. A justice of the peace, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of th ...

. The High Commissioner enjoyed the same status as his counterparts from the British Dominions. Upon Indian independence, the post was given the present designation.

High Commissioners for British India (1920–1947)

List of High Commissioner for

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

Also represented

British Burma British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

until 1937, when it became a Crown Colony separate from India

High Commissioners of India to the United Kingdom (1947–present)

List of former High Commissioners

Dominion of India (1947-1950)

List of former High Commissioners

Republic of India (1950-present)

References

{{Ambassadors of India India and the Commonwealth of Nations United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations