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'Baroda Enquiry Commission Report, 1874' [46v] (97/502)
The record is made up of 1 volume (249 folios). It was created in 1 Nov 1873-14 Feb 1874. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
9
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in the Resident's final letter of 6tli J anuary 1874. As the latter have not appeared
before the Commission, it cannot express any decided opinion as regards their
case
The official whose proceedings form the subject of the deponents complaint,
is the same man who stands charged by No. 10 in Schedule L, with ^ a ^ in o had
him flogged for the purpose of extorting confession of a crime which he never
committed.
The
Durbar
A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family).
A.gent states that this man s gross abuse of authority in these
instances, having been brought to notice, he and his assistant have been arrested
and brought to trial, and that the charges having been proved against them, they
will be suitably punished on the attendance of the complainants at the Dm bar.
The Commission has since learnt that the Foujdar has been sentenced to
2 years' imprisonment, and removed from the public service, to which he will
not be restored on the expiry of his sentence.
III. Case No. 10.—This appears to be a further complaint of the same
character as in the preceding case against the same Foujdar Fattehram, but the
complainants have not attended the Commission, and it has not therefore been
inquired into.
IV. Case No. 41.—The torture of a Brahman woman, named Baini, by
the Vahivatdar of Visnagar, Balvantrao Trimbak. The complainant states that
last October, being suspected by the Vahivatdar of having received certain stolen
property from her brother, her house was searched but none was found, and
she was required to furnish bail for Bs. 500. Subsequently, she was summoned
to the Vahivatdar's Kacheri, where she saw her brother and a companion of his
beaten, and was told that the former had implicated her, and she must confess.
She denied knowing anything of the matter, on which she was imprisoned, and
her house attached. On the following day she was again brought before the
Vahivatdar, who threatened that she should be beaten and the skin taken off her,
and, as she persisted in her denial, one of his
sepoys
Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank.
by his order commenced ill-treat
ing her, by beating her with his fists and pushing her about, and not allowing her
to sit down. The following day she was again taken before the Vahivatdar, who
said that without a severe beating she would not come to her senses, and ordered
chillies to be brought to torture her, using at the same time most indecent lan
guage towards her. Red chillies were brought and bruised and put in small
bags, and complainant was then taken by two
sepoys
Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank.
behind a purdah, which had
been put up for the purpose, at the end of the Kacheri, in which the Vahivatdar
and his Karkuhs remained. She was then again pulled violently about by the
same
sepoy
Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank.
as before, who said the bags of chillies should be applied to her
private parts if she did not confess. She cried out loudly, but to no purpose. The
A' ahivatdar then ordered her with indecent language to be taken to the stable and
the chillies applied. She was taken there by the two men, and her hands fasten
ed to a post over her head, and after partially stripping her, one of them applied
one of the bags of chillies as threatened, while the other made indecent gestures
at her with a peg. She was again called on to confess, but would not, and cried
out from pain and terror. She was then released, and sent back to jail, where
she wept all night from pain and shame.
The following day she was again summoned by the Vahivatdar, and told
hei skm would be stripped off if she did not confess. She still refused^ on which
8 j 6 unr ^ eaten a ro P e - T* 16 Vahivatdar then ordered a " tobra" of powder
ed chillies to be applied to her face when a cloth containing some was bound
round her mouth and nose for 10 minutes. She suffered great aaony. She want
ed water but they would give her none, and the Vahivatdar sent her back to
jail with the remark that "it she still held out it would cost her her life."
Her nose and mouth gave her great pain, but nothing was done to alleviate it.
About this item
- Content
Report of the Baroda Enquiry Commission on the administration of the government of Malharrao, Gaekwar of Baroda. The Commission comprised Richard John Meade (President), Edward William Ravenscroft, Mumtazul Dowlah Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Faiz Ali Khan, Colonel Alfred Thomas Etheridge and Thomas Duncan Mackenzie (Secretary).
The report comprises a letter from the members of the Baroda Enquiry Commission to the Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department presenting their report on the results of the proceedings and submitting copies of correspondence, reports and statements relative to the enquiry (ff 5-19):
Appendix A, Part I
- Schedules I-III: Complaints and grievances against the Gaekwar's Government from individuals and groups (ff 21-78).
- Appendix B, Schedules I-III: Cases of complaint and grievance which the commission did not look into during the enquiry (ff 79-81).
- Appendix C: Letter from Colonel Richard John Meade, President, Special Commission of Enquiry on Baroda Affairs, to Colonel Robert Phayre, Resident at Baroda, 1 November 1873 (ff 82-83).
- Appendix D: Translation of an amended notice issued by the Resident to complainants desirous of appearing before the Baroda Enquiry Commission (ff 84-85).
- Appendix E: Schedules presented to the Commission along with Colonel Phayre's introductory statement regarding them. (ff 86-131).
- Appendix F: Letter No. 1128 of 1873 from Colonel Phayre to the President, Baroda Commission regarding the cases already submitted to the Commission, the List of undisposed petitions to be attended to by the Resident which could be used as additional cases if required and the statements that he had yet to make on cases under enquiry by the Commission (ff 132-133).
- Appendix G, Schedule I: Statements from witnesses with cross examination statements from the Durbar A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family). on behalf of the Gaekwar and statements from the Resident as to the accuracy of the information provided (ff 134-229).
Appendix Part II (ff 231-245)
- Letter from James Braithwaite Peile, Acting Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kattywar [Kathiawar] to T D Mackenzie, Secretary, Baroda Commission, 13 December 1873 regarding papers requested by the Commission and informing them that the outstanding paper will be forwarded as soon as they are received. Enclosed with the letter are a memorandum from Peile for reconstitution of His Highness the Gaekwar's Contingent in Kattywar, 13 December 1873 and Rule for the guidance of the Officers and Kamdars appointed to the Contingent of Horse of His Highness the Gaekwar, serving in the various Tributary Mahals according to treaty.
- Letter from Peile to Mackenzie, 6 January 1874, forwarding a report and returns received from Colonel Walker, Superintendent to the Gaekwar's Contingent in Kattywar and stating that he does not concur with the Colonel's opinion. Enclosed with this letter is a letter from Colonel Chamberlen William Walker, 30 December 1873, providing the information on the Contingent requested by the Commission and enclosing an extract of the Contingents annual report for 1871 and a statement of the men within the Contingent on duty under officials paid by Talukdars etc, 06 March 1872.
- Letters from John Whaley Watson, Acting Political Superintendent Pahlanpur [Palanpur], Captain Henry Nicholas Reeves, Acting Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Rewa Kanta [Rewa Kantha] and Major Philip Harrison Le Geyt, Acting Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Mahi Kanta [Mahi Kantha] to the secretary of the Baroda Commission 19 December 1873 to 9 January 1874 reporting on the Gaekwar's contingents serving within their districts and commenting on numbers of men, pay and conditions. The letters all refer to enclosed returns, but only the return for Mahi Kanta is included in the report.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (249 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main sequence of foliation consists of a small pencil number in the top front right hand corner of each folio enclosed in a circle.
There is also an original sequence of foliation which consists of larger pencil numbers also in the top front right hand corner of folios, however the sequence is not consistent and some of the numbers may be filing references rather than foliation numbers.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F126/78
- Title
- 'Baroda Enquiry Commission Report, 1874'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:248v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence