Sir John Ernest Buttery Hotson, KCSI, OBE, VD (17 March 1877 – 13 May 1944) was an administrator 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 ...
during the
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 ...
. Born in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
to Hamilton and Margaret (Maggie) Hotson, he was educated at
Edinburgh Academy
The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...
(1889–1895) and
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
, graduating BA in 1899, and MA (1905). He immediately joined 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 ...
, being appointed Superintendent of Managed Estates in
Kathiawar
Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...
. His entire career was devoted to the administration of the province known as the
Bombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...
. Subsequent positions included Under-Secretary to the Government of
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
(Political and Judicial Departments), 1907; Collector, 1920; Secretary of the Political Department, 1922; Chief Secretary to the Government, 1924; Member of the Executive Council (MEC) of Bombay, 1926–31; and rising to become Home Member and Acting
Governor of Bombay
Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...
, 1931. He was appointed OBE on 3 June 1918, Companion of the Most Exalted
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:
# Knight Grand Commander (GCSI)
# Knight Commander ( KCSI)
# Companion ( CSI)
No appointments ...
Hotson served in the Indian Army Reserve of Officers, 1915 to 1920, in
Baluchistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
and
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, attaining the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Hotson was a dedicated naturalist who "collected plants in Persian Baluchistan and Makran coast, 1916-18, which were sent to Father Blatter in Bombay". His collections of mammal specimens from the same region during this period was described by the noted British zoologist
Oldfield Thomas
Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist.
Career
Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appoin ...
, FRS, who noted:
Among the fine series of Mammals from Baluchistan contributed by Col. J.E.B. Hotson to the Bombay Natural History Society there occur a number of interesting small mammals which have been put into my hands for examination. As a result the following new species seem to require description.
Thomas then lists seven new species, two of which,
Hotson's Jerboa
Hotson's jerboa or the Iranian jerboa (''Allactaga hotsoni''), is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan.
Taxonomy
Hotson's jerboa was first described in 1920 by the British zoologist Oldfiel ...
(''Allactaga hotsoni'') and
Hotson's Mouse-like Hamster
Hotson's mouse-like hamster (''Calomyscus hotsoni'') also known as Hotson's calomyscus or Hotson's brush-tailed mouse is a species of rodent in the family Calomyscidae.
It is endemic to southwestern Pakistan and southeastern Iran (Musser and Carl ...
(''Calomyscus hotsoni'') he names after their collector.
Hotson acted as Consul at Shiraz (Persia) between 1918 and 1920, during which time he continued his collecting of native mammals. The specimens he collected between February and August 1919 were described by Major R.E. Cheesman, MBOU, FRGS, and included a new species of
Persian Vole
The Persian vole (''Microtus irani'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It is only found in Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is b ...
(''Microtus irani'').
Post-World War I service
In 1924 Hotson married Mildred Alice, daughter of Arthur Bennett Steward (a fellow member of the ICS); this coincides with his elevation to the position of Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay. This was a period of rising instability in India, that would lead eventually to its independence from the British crown in 1947. Mahatma Gandhi's theory of non-violent resistance to British rule,
Satyagraha
Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone w ...
, was not always followed, especially within the Presidency (State) of
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
that surrounded Bombay. After the arrest of the national leaders
Khurshed Nariman
Khurshed Framji Nariman (1883 – 1948), also known as Veer Nariman, was one of the second generation of Parsi stalwarts in the Indian National Congress. He remained Mayor of Bombay from 1935 for a year.
Life
After studying B.A. and L.L.B., he st ...
and
Jamnalal Bajaj
Jamnalal Kaniram Bajaj (4 November 1889 – 11 February 1942) was an Indian industrialist. He founded the Bajaj Group of companies in the 1920s, and the group now has 24 companies, including six that are listed on the bourses. He was also a c ...
on 8 May 1930, mass demonstrations in the district of Sholapur led the Collector, Mr Knight, to seek advice from Hotson who was now in Bombay as the Home Member. The visit resulted in the imposition of martial law on 12 May.''Maharashtra State Gazetteer: Sholapur District'' 2nd (rev.) ed. (Bombay: Government of Maharashtra, 1977), p. 101 ('History'). Martial law was lifted on 30 June, however, a year later, on 22 July 1931, as Acting Governor of Bombay in the period after the departure of Sir
Frederick Sykes
Air Vice Marshal Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes, (23 July 1877 – 30 September 1954) was a British military officer and politician.
Sykes was a junior officer in the 15th Hussars before becoming interested in military aviation. He was the first Off ...
, Hotson was visiting the library of Fergusson College in Pune (Poona) when one of the students, Vasudeo Balwant Gogte (Gogate), attempted to assassinate him. The bullet was stopped by a metal stud on Hotson's clothes, and he escaped unharmed. When asked why he had shot at the Home Member, Gogte is reported to have said "As a protest against your tyrannical administration". Remarkably, Hotson did not merely agree to Gogate's early release from Jail, he sent him a cheque for Rs. 100 as a token of goodwill and the hope that it would enable the young man to establish himself in a profession.
As well as a naturalist, Hotson was also a keen
philatelist
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...