James Alexander Scott CIE OBE (2 December 1895 – 20 January 1983), was a Scottish member of the Indian Police Force from 1915 to 1947.
James Alexander Scott | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 December 1895 Currie, Midlothian, Scotland |
| Died | 20 January 1983 |
| Service |  British Indian ArmyIndian Imperial Police |
| Unit | 93rd Burma Infantry |
| Awards | Indian Police Medal King's Police Medal |
In 1915 Scott joined the Indian Police Force. He then became attached to the 93rd Burma Infantry and completed three years of service with the Indian Army. Subsequently he was posted to the provinces of Punjab and Delhi. In October 1928, he was superintendent of police in Lahore, when the Simon Commission visited. There, he ordered the dispersal of protesters by the charging with batons, resulting in severe injuries to the Indian revolutionary Lala Lajpat Rai. Rai's death a fortnight later led to Scott becoming the target of an assassination by members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, and the subsequent Lahore Conspiracy Case.
Documents related to Scott, including his thoughts penciled in the margins of a copy of Alfred Draper's book titled Amritsar: The Massacre that Ended the Raj, are kept in the British Library.
Early life and career
editJames Scott was born on 2 December 1895,[1] at Currie, Midlothian, Scotland.[2][3] He attended George Heriot's School in Edinburgh.[3] In 1915 he joined the Indian Police Force.[3] He became attached to the 93rd Burma Infantry and completed three years of service with the Indian Army, and in 1918 was mentioned in Despatches.[3][4] Subsequently he was posted to the provinces of Punjab and Delhi.[3]
Simon Commission and Lahore Conspiracy Case
editOn 30 October 1928, when the Simon Commission arrived at Lahore, Scott was the superintendent of police in Lahore, where he ordered the dispersal of a peaceful protest by the charging with batons. One result was severe injuries to the Indian revolutionary Lala Lajpat Rai.[5][6] As a result of Rai's death just over two weeks later, Scott became the target of an assassination, attempted on 17 December 1928.[7] That day, Scott's assistant J. P. Saunders, was mistaken for Scott, and fatally shot by Shivaram Rajguru and Bhagat Singh of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army.[7] Prior to the shooting, pink posters had already been prepared quoting "Scott is dead".[8] The subsequent Lahore Conspiracy Case led to the conversion of Hans Raj Vohra and others as approvers, and the hanging of Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar.[9]
Awards and honours
editScott's awards and honours include the CIE, OBE, the Indian Police Medal, and the King's Police Medal.[3][10]
Personal and family
editScott was married to Elizabeth Smith, and they had two sons.[11] He died on 20 January 1983, at the age of 88 years, and was buried at Colinton Kirk Churchyard.[11] Two years before his death, Scott's son Alastair gifted Scott Alfred Draper's book titled Amritsar: The Massacre that Ended the Raj.[2] Part of the collection of documents on Scott held at the British Library, it reveals Scott's handwritten thoughts in the margins and parts he highlighted and underlined, including his agreement with those that believed that Reginald Dyer's action at Jallianwalla Bagh resulted in peace in the Punjab.[2]
References
edit- ^ Registers of Employees of the East India Company and the India Office, 1746-1939. 1932. p. 879.
- ^ a b c Vaidik, Aparna (6 July 2024). "What led to the Lahore conspiracy case". Pakistan Today. No. 6. Lahore. p. 5.
- ^ a b c d e f "Scottish District News: Malayan Police Appointment". The Scotsman. Midlothian, Scotland. 12 October 1950. p. 5. Retrieved 25 November 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Walker, Samuel (1921). George Heriot's School: Roll of Honour, 1914-1919. Edinburgh. p. 31.
- ^ S., I. (1994). "Selected Works of Motilal Nehru". World Affairs: The Journal of International Issues. 3 (1): 83–85. ISSN 0971-8052.
- ^ Nair, Neeti (May 2009). "Bhagat Singh as 'Satyagrahi': The Limits to Non-violence in Late Colonial India". Modern Asian Studies. 43 (3): 649–681. doi:10.1017/S0026749X08003491. ISSN 1469-8099.
- ^ a b Deol, Gurdev Singh (1978). "4. Death of Lalalajpat Rai and the vindication of national honour". Shaheed-e-azam Sardar Bhagat Singh. Nabha: Deep Prakashan. pp. 35–36.
- ^ "Lahore Conspiracy Case sentences". The Civil & Military Gazette. October 1930. p. 10. Retrieved 29 November 2024 – via British Newspaper Archives.
- ^ Ghosh, Durba (2017). "3.After Chauri Chaura: the revival and repression of revolutionary terrorism". Gentlemanly Terrorists: Political Violence and the Colonial State in India, 1919–1947. Cambridge University Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-107-18666-8.
- ^ "Honours" (PDF). Supplement to the London Gazette. 14 June 1945. p. 2939.
- ^ a b "Death notice: Scott". The Scotsman. 22 January 1983. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.