Kaisar-i-Hind Medal explained

Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service in India
Presenter:Emperor of India
Country:British India
Type:Civil decoration
Eligibility:Civilians of any nationality
Awarded For:Persons considered to have done some public service worthy of recognition by Government[1]
Campaign:Dormant since 1947
Established:10 April 1900
Higher:Order of British India
Lower:Order of St John

The Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service in India was a medal awarded by the Emperor/Empress of India between 1900 and 1947, to "any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex ... who shall have distinguished himself (or herself) by important and useful service in the advancement of the public interest in India."

The name "Kaisar-i-Hind" (Urdu: {{Nastaliq|قیصرِ ہند qaisar-e-hind, Hindi: क़ैसर-इ-हिन्द) literally means "Emperor of India" in the Hindustani language. The word kaisar, meaning "emperor" is a derivative of the Roman imperial title Caesar, via Persian (see Qaysar-i Rum) from Greek Καίσαρ Kaísar, and is cognate with the German title Kaiser, which was borrowed from Latin at an earlier date.[2] Based upon this, the title Kaisar-i-Hind was coined in 1876 by the orientalist G.W. Leitner as the official imperial title for the British monarch in India.[3] The last ruler to bear it was George VI.

Kaisar-i-Hind was also inscribed on the obverse side of the India General Service Medal (1909), as well as on the Indian Meritorious Service Medal.[4]

History

Empress of India or Kaisar-i-Hind, a term coined by the orientalist G.W. Leitner in a deliberate attempt to dissociate British imperial rule from that of preceding dynasties[3] was taken by Queen Victoria from 1 May 1876, and proclaimed at the Delhi Durbar of 1877.

The medal was instituted by Queen Victoria on 10 April 1900. The name translates as "Emperor of India" (a name also used for a rare Indian butterfly, Teinopalpus imperialis). The Royal Warrant for the Kaisar-i-Hind was amended in 1901, 1912, 1933 and 1939. While never officially rescinded, the Kaisar-i-Hind ceased to be awarded following the passage of the Indian Independence Act 1947.[5] The awards of the gold medal were often published in the London Gazette, while other classes were published in the Gazette of India.

Medal grades and design

The medal had three grades. The Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal for Public Service in India was awarded directly by the monarch on the recommendation of the Secretary of State for India. Silver and Bronze medals were awarded by the Viceroy. The medal consisted of an oval-shaped badge or decoration in gold, silver or bronze with the Royal Cipher and Monarchy on one side, and the words "Kaisar-i-Hind for Public Service in India" on the other. It was to be worn suspended from the left breast by a dark blue ribbon. The medal has no post-nominal initials.[5]

One of its most famous recipient is Mahatma Gandhi, who was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind in 1915 by The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst for his contribution to ambulance services in South Africa. Gandhi returned the medal following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre carried out by the British officials and wrote, "In European countries, condonation of such grievous wrongs as the khilafat and the Punjab would have resulted in bloody revolution by the people."[6] [7] [8] [9]

Notable recipients

Award of the medal and Bar to the medal

Award of the medal

Gold medal

Silver medal

Bronze medal

Unknown grade

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: The medal is awarded by the Viceroy of India to such persons as are considered to have done some public service worthy of recognition by Government. Only two medals were awarded in the past year for the whole Presidency of Madras, .... 74. Report of the Year ... of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.
  2. See Witzel, Michael, "Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts", p. 29, 12.1 PDF
  3. B.S. Cohn, "Representing Authority in Victorian India", in E. Hobsbawm and T. Ranger (eds.), The Invention of Tradition (1983), 165-209, esp. 201-2.
  4. [:File:India General Service Medal 1909 G5-v1.jpg]
  5. Web site: Imperial medals. Australian Government, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 27 June 2016. 5 December 2017.
  6. Book: Society for Contemporary Studies . The Contemporary . R.N. Guha Thakurta . v. 19 . 1975 . 10.
  7. Book: Indian History . Allied Publishers . 1988 . 978-81-8424-568-4 . 355.
  8. Web site: Kaiser-i-Hind medal. britishmilitarymedals.co.uk. 12 May 2010.
  9. Book: Brown, Judith M.. Gandhi's Rise to Power: Indian Politics 1915-1922. 26 September 1974. CUP Archive. Google Books. 9780521098731.
  10. News: 2 January 1931 . Missionaries in the Honours List . 12 . The Guardian . May 23, 2020.
  11. News: 1 January 1931 . Supplement to the London Gazette . London Gazette . 23 May 2020.
  12. "BURN, Sir Richard", in Who Was Who, A & C Black, online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014; retrieved 27 May 2014.
  13. Book: The India List and India Office List for 1905. 1905. Harrison and Sons. London. 18 November 2012. 172.
  14. Book: The Indian Biographical Dictionary . C. Hayavando Rao. Pillar & Co. . Madras . 1915. 11, 470–71.
  15. Book: The biographical dictionary of Scottish women : from the earliest times to 2004. 2007. Edinburgh University Press. Ewan, Elizabeth., Innes, Sue., Reynolds, Sian., Pipes, Rose.. 978-0-7486-3293-0. Edinburgh. 194. 185096266.
  16. Book: Great Britain. India Office. The India List and India Office List for .... 1819. Harrison and Sons. 172.
  17. Web site: 3952 SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE. 2 June 1923. Thegazette.co.uk. 11 January 2019.
  18. Photographic gallery of senior distinguished contributors. https://web.archive.org/web/20190303160800/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/afec/d7adda88563ab8907a2cf916e8b3c98ca265.pdf. 3 March 2019. International Journal of Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases . 1973. Peterson. L.. Skinsnes. O. K.. 41. 2. 179–186. 4592241. 22334921.
  19. Web site: SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON- GAZETTE. February 1937. Thegazette.co.uk. 11 January 2019.
  20. Web site: Official Website of Governor's Secretariat, Raj Bhavan Lucknow Uttar Pradesh, India. / SMT. Sarojini Naidu.
  21. Web site: Naidu, Sarojini (1879–1949) Encyclopedia.com.
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  23. 2522954. 20772670. 2. War Memorial Hospital at Andover. 1926. Br Med J. 3418. 74–75. 10.1136/bmj.2.3418.74.
  24. Web site: Reed, Mary (1854-1943) . History of Missiology, Boston University . www.bu.edu . 29 May 2022.
  25. Web site: Mary Reed . leprosyhistory.org . International Leprosy Association - History of Leprosy . 30 May 2022.
  26. Hurn, David Abner, Archbishop Roberts S.J., Darton, Longman & Todd, 1st edition, 1966, page 43
  27. News: Colonial Office list. 23 November 2012. Glasgow Herald. 1 January 1914.
  28. 1922. Annual Report of the Baptist Missionary Society. 67.
  29. Office of the Private Secretary to the Viceroy (NAI), 4-H/1948.
  30. News: 1 January 1948. Kaisar-I-Hind Gold Medal. The Manchester Guardian. 15 November 2021.
  31. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . 2004-09-23 . ref:odnb/51785 . Matthew . H. C. G. . Oxford . 10.1093/ref:odnb/51785 . 2022-11-05 . Harrison . B..
  32. Web site: Dhanvanthi Rama Rau. The Open University.
  33. Building with India, page 207. Full text archive
  34. Web site: The Church of England Zenana Missionary Society Jubilee Souvenir 1880 - 1930 page 16 . Internet Archive . London 1930 . 23 March 2022.
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  37. Web site: The Discovery Service. Discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
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  39. Glasgow Herald 1916
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