| Pre-Nominals: | Sardar Bahadur, Inspector-General of Police | ||||||||||||
| Shamsher Singh | |||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 1864 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Mianpur, Rupnagar, Punjab Province, British India | ||||||||||||
| Death Date: | 1923 | ||||||||||||
| Death Place: | Mianpur, Rupnagar, Punjab Province, British India | ||||||||||||
| Honours: | Sardar Bahadur Honorary Magistrate | ||||||||||||
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Sardar Bahadur, Inspector-General of Police (Jodhpur State), Shamsher Singh of Mianpur (1864–1923) was a policeman and landlord in the early 1900s.[1] For his service he was known as the 'Founder of Rajasthan Police'.[2]
Shamsher Singh was born in a royal family of Mianpur, Rupnagar to his father Sardar Bahadur Partab Singh of Mianpur, who was an Honorary Magistrate and landlord.[3] He was educated at the Wards' Institution in Ambala, Punjab Province and later the Hoshiarpur School.[4]
He first entered the Police Department, Punjab, as Sub-Inspector in 1890 and was made the Inspector in 1906 along with Deputy-Superintendent of Police soon afterwards. He became head of the Punjab Police Institute in Phagwara and then Superintendent of Police, Ludhiana in 1901.
For his commendable service in Punjab, his services were lent to the Jodhpur State. He worked as Inspector-General of Police for five years (at that time it was the highest rank in police, equal to the current D.G.P.) though the loan was only for one year, the Maharaja desired his service for longer. During this time the Jodhpur State was filled with private militia many of which became criminals and destroyed the law and order situation, the Jodhpur State had experienced its worst law and order situation during British Rule with many Gurjar and other Hindustani criminals coming from across India to deal opiates and weapons.[5]
With the help of the Mahakama Khas and Capt. S.H. Jacob he was able to abolish the 'Assami' system and incorporate the feudal militia into the Jodhpur State Police towards the close of 1907–08. The Assami system was related to the Jagirdari system but differed in the use and ownership of the force. The militia were ranked according to a new policing system at the time created by him and Captain Jacob.[6] These included 4 classes, a Killa Fauj (Garrison), Sardar Fauj (City troops), Pargana Fauj (City troops) and Jagir Militia.[7]
All criminals and smugglers were dealt with a heavy hand and sent to newly built jails, and he was feared by criminal elements across India who turned a crime-haven into a peaceful state within a few years.[8] For his services he was conferred with the title of Sardar Bahadur by the British Government.[9]
He owned 600 acres of land in the Punjab in which he generally went riding and hunting after leaving police service and he often visited his house in Salogra and Kaithal.[10] He became an honorary magistrate and worked in criminal and judicial cases in Ambala and Mianpur. He had no male successor to the house of Mianpur, his wife is unknown but he had two daughters, named Amrit Kaur of Mianpur and Anand Kaur of Mianpur. Both were married to Sardar Bahadur Sunder Singh Gyani (who worked in the railway and traffic departments). Amrit Kaur passed due to influenza and then Sunder Singh Gyani married Anand Kaur.
Shamsher Singh passed away in February, 1923.
Across Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana, "Shamsheri" was a term used for policemen, it is named after him. The term still persists in rural areas.
For his service he was known as the 'Founder of Rajasthan Police' by Rajasthan's first Director-General of Police, R. Banerjee.