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'Baroda Enquiry Commission Report, 1874' [‎233r] (470/502)

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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. .

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1
MEMORANDUM for reconstitution of Gaekwars
gent in Matty war.
The two leading facts about the Gaekwar's Contingent in Katty war present
this contrast, that whereas His Highness pays, (and pays regularly), nearly a
sufficient sum for efficiency, the Contingent is totally useless as a Military Police.
There is therefore no need for any large increase of recurring expenditure,
though a large sum will be needed to make up defects at starting.
There are two great causes of inefficiency in the Contingent:—(1), its want
of subordination to the Officers it serves with; (2), its bad organization and equip
ment.
First, as to Subordination.—The Contingent is commanded by a Gaekwari
Subah, and superintended by an Officer, who is also Assistant to the Resident
of Baroda, and has jurisdictional duties in His Highness the Gaekwar's Amreli
Mahals. The Head Quarters of the Contingent are at Manekwara, (not far from
Junaghad), in Eattywar, but the Superintendent as a fact lives at Amreli.
The Subah, (so Government has ruled), must continue to command. But it
Command and Snperintendence. j S . ^ g 0 « d to i ^ . an 0fficer ' ^ho takes
his orders from Baroda, and is not one of the Kat-
tywar Staff, to superintend or watch the Contingent, on behalf of those who
have to rely on it, viz., the 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. and his Officers. And the Head
Quarters of the mounted Police should be at the Head Quarters of the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at
Rajkot.
Government assumes that the New Special Officer of Police will command
the renovated Contingent in Katty war. He will certainly use them, but as he
will probably not be posted at Rajkot, and as he will be much on the move, I
suggest this alteration as preferable :—The Superintendent of the Gaekwar's Con
tingent in Katty war should be the personal Assistant of the 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. , who
should be a Military Officer, and should also hold the office of Station Magistrate,
Rajkot. I would also stipulate, if the Subah is to be Commanding Officer,
that he should be invested with full powers under the observation of the Political
Agent and Superintendent, and not checked and trammelled by spying karkuns
and independent Silledars in the manner exposed in the papers appended.
The Superintendent should conduct the business of the force at Depot Head
Quarters, and the Prant Political Officers should
Distribution. communicate with him as the officer in charge of
this duty.
I would then have—
Depdt Head-Quarters Rajkot
Prant Head-Quarters—
Jhalawar W adwan
Gohelwar Songhad
Sorath Manekwara
Hallar Rajkot.
The Contingent should be divided into five troops, each complete with its
Formation officers. One to be at the Depot, and one in each
Prant.

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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)

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
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'Baroda Enquiry Commission Report, 1874' [‎233r] (470/502), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F126/78, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023442808.0x000047> [accessed 8 July 2026]

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