Police Administration of Bengal (1793-1833)

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Professor Subas Sinchan Roy served in the Department of History, Surendranath College, Kolkata, for couple of decades and retired in 1985 as head of that particular Department.

He enthralled an entire generation of students through his teaching, an important part of which was interpretation of known facts through different angles set on a wide canvas.

Apart from his primary duty, he undertook research work regarding the British administration of the late eighteenth century. After their conquest of most of India, the British Raj was trying to set up a stable administration for ruling it. They understood that socio-political stability and "Law and Order" aspects were intimately connected.

Professor Roy collected his materials for the book from the huge mass of data recorded by the British administration, kept in Archives in Writers' Buildings and from the shifted Archive in Bhawani Datta Lane, Kolkata and also National Archive in New Delhi.

Studies on Economic, Social and other aspects of British rule in India during the early years of its conquest of the Indian sub-continent have been taken up by several illustrious scholars. It may be admitted that till now, through analyses of different aspects of British administration are yet very few. This arduous task was taken up at least partly by the present author, Professor Subas Sinchan Roy, former head of the department of History, Surendranath College, Kolkata.

His study covered the area of different aspects of "Law and Order" in India in the early British domination, specially- - "Police Administration of Bengal: 1793-1883", just after the completion of the pact of "Permanent Settlement", of payment of revenue to the British Government by the Zamindars of Bengal and other areas where British Administration could be settled more or less on permanent basis.

The period covered in this study have aptly been marked as the teething time of the efforts of the newly entered British rulers to establish a system of "Law and Order", in the areas covered by the British. The task at hand was really difficult for various reasons. The topography and the age-old system of rule by Zamindars were not so congenial to be easily changed.

The then eastern Bengal was full of rivers which branched out in innumerable small water courses. The water system covered the land areas in jungles, which in some places were very thick. Dacoity was rampant both in rivers and on land areas, which were aided and abetted by Zamindars who actually were the receivers of stolen goods. The dacoits were sheltered from any apprehension by the protectors of "law and Order" by these Zamindars. Only means of transport and communications were boats in rivers and palanquins in land areas.