Sir Stuart Milford Fraser, (2 June 1864 – 1 December 1963) was a distinguished officer of the Foreign and Political Department of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. Five years after joining 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 ...

, he was appointed tutor to the Maharajas of

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...

and

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a States of India, state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Gohil Koli, Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, whi ...

, and later (1896–1902) was tutor and guardian to the

Maharaja of Mysore The maharaja of Mysore was the king and principal ruler of the southern Indian Kingdom of Mysore and briefly of Mysore State in the Indian Dominion roughly between the mid- to late-1300s and 1950. In title, the role has been known by differe ...

. The Fraser Town locality in Bangalore was named after him.

Early life

Stuart Milford Fraser was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the t ...

and

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. He passed the examination for the

in 1882 and was allocated to 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 ...

Tutoring of princes

Within 5 years Fraser was selected as guardian and tutor to the Raja of Kolhapur, later to becom
Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj
after being educated at

Rajkumar College, Rajkot The Rajkumar College (or RKC) in Rajkot, Gujarat is one of the oldest K-12 institutions in India. RKC has a 26-acre (105,000 m²) campus in Rajkot. History The foundation stone of Rajkumar College was laid in 1868. The institution was designe ...

. He later had responsibility for the leadership preparations of the Maharajah of Bhavanagar, Shri Bhavsinhji II (1875–1919) after schooling at

like his father,

Takhtsinhji Maharaja Raol Sir Takhtsinhji Jaswantsinhji KIH (6 January 185829 January 1896), was Maharaja of Bhavnagar, a Rajput chief of the Gohil clan, and ruler of Bhavnagar state in Kathiawar. He succeeded to the throne of Bhavnagar upon the death o ...

and son,

Krishna Kumarasingh Bhavasingh Colonel Maharaja Raol Sir Shri Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji KCSI (19 May 1912 – 2 April 1965) was an Indian king and politician, the last ruling Maharaja of the Gohil dynasty, who ruled Bhavnagar State from 1919 to 1948 and also serv ...

the last Maharaja of

. In 1896 Fraser was appointed as governor and tutor to the young

Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar; 4 June 1884 – 3 August 1940) was the twenty-fourth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore, from 1902 until his death in 1940. He is popularly called ''Rajarshi'' ( sa, rājarṣi, lit ...

, who was later to become known as a beneficent ruler who enhanced the reputation of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

as a model state.

Anglo-Tibetan Convention 1904

In 1903 Fraser went to the Foreign Department at Calcutta and Simla as deputy secretary and in 1904 was sent by

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

as H.M Commissioner to negotiate with the Chinese about the Anglo-Tibetan Convention (requiring Tibet to open its border with British India).

Later career

Fraser returned to India in 1905 as

Resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...

in Mysore and

Chief Commissioner of Coorg Below is a list of chief commissioners of Coorg Province Coorg Province was a province of British India from 1834 to 1947 and the Dominion of India from 1947 to 1950. Mercara was the capital of the province. It was administered by a Commissi ...

. In 1911 Fraser was appointed Resident in Kashmir and for several months in 1914 was acting Resident in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. At the commencement of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, with

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

taking the side of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, it was Fraser’s resolute and confident approach that persuaded

Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 — 24 February 1967), was the last Nizam (ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of ...

, the Nizam of Hyderabad, to resist defeatist view and ensure continued support for 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 ...

Fraser Town, Bangalore, India

Fraser Town is a suburb of

Bangalore Cantonment The Bangalore Cantonment (1806–1881) was a military cantonment of the British Raj based in the Indian city of Bangalore. The cantonment covered an area of , extending from the Residency on the west to Binnamangala on the east and from the Tann ...

, in Bangalore North-East, spread over 4 km2. It was established in 1906 and is named after Stuart Mitford Fraser (1864-1963). Fraser Town was established to de-congest the growing Bangalore Civil and Military Station (otherwise known as the

). The foundation of Fraser Town was laid in August 1910 by Mrs. F J Richards, with a commemorative plaque on the corner of Coles Road and

Mosque Road Mosque Road is a street in Fraser Town, Bengaluru, India, that links MM Road with Coles Road. The road is a commercial centre and one of the busiest shopping areas of Bangalore. Iftar celebration in this road is particularly well-known. There ar ...

br>
Fraser Town is a residential and commercial suburb, the prominent roads being Promenade Road, Netaji Road, Madhavraya Mudaliar Road (M M Road), Haines Road, Spencer Road, Wheeler Road, Mosque Road, etc. The suburb is known for its communal harmony with Hindus, Muslims and Christians living side by side in peace.

References

Sources

*Obituary – Sir Stuart Fraser, The Times, 4 December 1963 (p. 18; Issue 55875; col A). *Obituary – Sir Stuart Fraser, Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society, LI (1964), p. 197.
''Royal India: a descriptive and historical study of India's fifteen principal states and their rulers''
Maud Diver, Ayer Publishing, 1971, , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Stuart 1864 births 1963 deaths People educated at Blundell's School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire