The Indian Imperial Police, referred to variously as the Imperial Police or simply the Indian Police or, by 1905, Imperial Police, was part of the Indian Police Services, the uniform system of police administration in

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, as established by

Government of India Act 1858 The Government of India Act 1858 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (21 & 22 Vict. c. 106) passed on 2 August 1858. Its provisions called for the liquidation of the British East India Company (who had up to this point been ruling ...

, Police Act of 1861. It was motivated by the danger experienced by the British during the 1857 rebellion. During 1920 the Imperial Indian police had 310,000 police in their contingent. Its members policed more than 300 million people in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

(then comprising the British Raj). In 1948, a year after India's

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, the Imperial Police Service was replaced by the

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...

, which had been constituted as part of the All-India Services by the Constitution.Maheshwari, S. R. (2001
''Indian Administration'' (Sixth Edition), p. 306. Orient Blackswan.
At Google Books. Retrieved 13 August 2013.

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 The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

."Indian Police Services"

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. Retrieved 13 August 2013. The highest rank in the service was the Inspector General for each province. The rank of Inspector General was equated and ranked with

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

and similar ranks in the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...

, as per Central Warrant of Precedence in 1937. 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

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 ...

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. By the 1930s, the Indian Police exercised "unprecedented degree of authority within the colonial administration". The Indian Imperial Police was also the primary law enforcement in

, governed as a province of India, Crick, Bernard (2004
"Blair,_Eric_Arthur_[George_Orwell
/nowiki>_(1903–1950)"_in_''Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography'',_Oxford_University_Press..html" ;"title="eorge Orwell">"Blair, Eric Arthur [George Orwell
/nowiki> (1903–1950)" in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press.">eorge Orwell">"Blair, Eric Arthur [George Orwell
/nowiki> (1903–1950)" in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press.''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Retrieved 13 August 2013. 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 A Deputy Inspector General of Police (abbreviated as DIG) is a high-ranking official position in Police in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. India Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is a rank ...

(Head of Range Police) or Commissioner of Four cities (Madras, Bombay, Calcutta and Rangoon) **

Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

(Head of District Police) **

Assistant Superintendent of Police Assistant superintendent, or assistant superintendent of police (ASP), is a rank that was used by police forces in the British Empire and is still used in many police forces in the Commonwealth. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held ...

(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 Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

(One for each police station and should be European or Anglo-Indian) ** Head constable ** Naik **

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Orwell

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

, with his real name Eric Blair, served in the Indian Imperial Police, in Burma, from 27 November 1922 to 12 July 1927, 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, and later at

Moulmein Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; th, เมาะลำเลิง ; mnw, မတ်မလီု, ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' south east of Yangon and south of Thaton, at th ...

. 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 A Hanging (1931) is a short essay written by George Orwell, first published in August 1931 in the British literary magazine '' The Adelphi''. Set in Burma, where Orwell (under his real name of Eric Arthur Blair) had served in the British Imperial P ...

" (1931), set in the notorious

Insein Prison Insein Prison ( my, အင်းစိန်ထောင်) is located in Yangon Division, near Yangon (Rangoon), the old capital of Myanmar (formerly Burma). From 1988 to 2011 it was run by the military junta of Myanmar, named the State Law and ...

, and his novel ''

Burmese Days ''Burmese Days'' is the first novel by English writer George Orwell, published in 1934. Set in British Burma during the waning days of empire, when Burma was ruled from Delhi as part of British India, the novel serves as "a portrait of the dark ...

'' (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.", in "

Shooting an Elephant "Shooting an Elephant" is an essay by British writer George Orwell, first published in the literary magazine '' New Writing'' in late 1936 and broadcast by the BBC Home Service on 12 October 1948. The essay describes the experience of the Englis ...

" (1936),Villiers, Peter (2011
''Leading from Example: A Short Guide to the Lessons of Literature'', p. 98. Triarchy Press Limited
At Google Books. Retrieved 13 August 2013. 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."

References

''Notes'' {{notelist

Bibliography

*Chandavarkar, Rajnarayan (1998
''Imperial Power and Popular Politics: Class, Resistance and the State in India, 1850-1950''. Cambridge University Press.
At Google Books. History of law enforcement in India Government of British India

History

Ranks of the Imperial (India) Police

Orwell

See also

References

Bibliography