Richard Isaac Bruce (1840-1926) was an English colonial officer and administrator serving on India's
North West Frontier during the early period of 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 ...
. He is notable as the author of ''The Forward Policy and its Results'' (1900), part
mémoire
In French culture, the word ''mémoire'', as in un mémoire ("a memory" – indefinite article), reflects the writer's own experiences and memories. The word has no direct English translation.
Up to the 18th century
The word appeared in the course ...
and biography, part argument supporting a '
Forward Policy A Forward Policy is a set of foreign policy doctrines applicable to territorial ambitions and disputes in which emphasis is placed on securing control of targeted territories by invasion and annexation or by the political creation of compliant buff ...
' espoused and practised locally by Bruce's superior,
Robert Groves Sandeman
Sir Robert Groves Sandeman, KCSI (1835–1892) was a British Indian Army officer and colonial administrator. He was known for his activities in Balochistan, where he introduced a system of "tribal pacification" that endured until the partition ...
.
Biography
Richard Isaac Bruce, born in 1840, was the sixth son of Jonathan Bruce, a descendant of the
Bruce family of Clackmannan
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...
and a landowner with properties in the
Ballyhea
Ballyhea or Ballyhay () is a townland and civil parish in north County Cork, Ireland, on the main N20 Cork–Limerick road, 3.5 km south of Charleville. It lies approximately 110 m above sea level.
Area and etymology
Ballyhea covers a ...
area of
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
and in
County Limerick
"Remember Limerick"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Munster
, subdivision ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
Like many landlords of the time, the interests of the Bruce's had been badly damaged by the
Great Famine, denying the youngest son the opportunity of a profession and causing him to look instead to empire service. An older brother, the Rev. Robert Bruce, was a missionary for the
Church Missionary Society
The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
on the North West Frontier, and secured openings for Richard inducing him to travel to
Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakistan ...
.
He served on the staff of Robert Groves Sandeman; in the
Second Anglo-Afghan War
The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...
in 1878-9; on the North West Frontier of India at Daulatzai, 1884; and in the
Zhob Valley Expedition of 1890 which led to the opening of the
Gomal Pass
Gomal Pass ( ps, ګومل) is a mountain pass on the Durand Line border between Afghanistan and the southeastern portion of South Waziristan in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. It takes its name from the Gomal River and is midwa ...
in the same year.
He was appointed British Commissioner on the Afghan Waziristan Delimitation Commission, 1894; at Wano, 1894; and in
Waziristan
Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...
, 1894-5. He received thanks of Government on several occasions for distinguished services on the Frontier.
He took on the work of Sandeman on his death in 1892, seeking to extend British influence across the
Durand Line
The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...
by supporting and influencing key tribal leaders - a system which had worked successfully with the
Baluch tribes-people, who maintained a hierarchical authority system. This 'Sandeman system' worked less well with the
Pathans
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
of Waziristan, who organised themselves on a more consensual basis through the
Jirga
A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...
.
Bruce died in 1926; his papers are stored in
The National Archive
National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives.
Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
.
Family
Bruce married Lilla, daughter of the Rev. J. Beavor Webb, rector of
Dunderrow
Dunderrow () is a small village in County Cork, Ireland located on the R605 road between Innishannon and Kinsale. ''Dún Darú'', anglicised as Dunderrow, means the fort of the oak-plain, with the site of the fort (dún) for which it is named lo ...
, and their issue was:
#Jonathan Maxwell, captain in 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- ...
#Rev. Robert Evans
#
Charles Edward Bruce
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Edward Bruce (23 March 1876 – 26 January 1950) was a British Indian Army officer and British colonial administrator. He served as the Chief Commissioner of Baluchistan in the 1920s.
Biography
Bruce was born in Indi ...
, entered the Indian army and later followed in father's footsteps, eventually being appointed Chief Commissioner of
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. ...
in the 1920s.
#Richard
#Oliver
#George Eyre, entered the Indian army
#Kathleen
Publications
*''Gazetter of Dera Ghazi Khan''
*''A Manual of the Beluchi language''
*''A History of the Marri-Beluch Tribe''
*
The Forward Policy and its Results', 1900
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Richard Isaac
1840 births
1926 deaths
British people of the Second Anglo-Afghan War
British people in colonial India