Charles Tegart
Encyclopedia
Sir Charles Augustus Tegart KCIE
KPM
(1881 – 6 April 1946), the second son of Rev. Joseph Poulter Tegart, was a colonial
police officer in India
and Mandatory Palestine, variously earning praise for his industry and efficiency, and notoriety for his brutality and use of torture.
clergyman, Rev. J.P. Tegart of Dunboyne
, County Meath. He was educated at Portora Royal School
, Enniskillen
and Trinity College, Dublin
.
in 1901, becoming head of its Detective Department. He served almost continuously in Calcutta for a period of thirty years until he was appointed a member of the Secretary of State's Indian Council in December 1931.
He was the first officer of the Indian Police (IP) in the organisation and on his report the Special Branch
was created.
He reorganised the city police force and made it efficient. He was a highly decorated officer, awarded the King's Police Medal in 1911. He became Superintendent of Police in 1908, Deputy Commissioner in 1913, Deputy-Inspector General (Intelligence) in 1918, and Commissioner of Calcutta Police from 1923 to 1931.
He was admired for keeping the city free from crime. However, he earned notoriety amongst the Bengal opponents of British rule, especially from freedom fighters. In their eyes, he was an obdurate opponent of Indian nationalism to the point of illegality, and was known for the ruthless torture of prisoners.
Sir Charles Tegart was involved in a skirmish with Indian revolutionaries led by Jatindranath Mukherjee at Balasore
in Orissa
on 9 September 1915.
Several attempts were made to assassinate Tegart:
Tegart's efficiency in curbing the freedom-fighting activities of the Indians came in for praise from Lord Edward Robert Lytton, then Governor of Bengal. He was awarded the KCIE
in 1937.
In due course he advised the construction of a large number of reinforced concrete police stations and posts which could be defended against attack, and of a frontier fence
along the northern border of Palestine to control the movement of insurgents, goods and weapons. His recommendations were accepted and some 50 new "Tegart fort
s", as they came to be known, were built throughout Palestine. Many of them are still in use, some by Israel
i forces and others by Palestinian
ones, while others were destroyed in various rounds of fighting.
Tegart also imported Doberman
dogs from South Africa and established an interrogation centre in Jerusalem to train interrogators in torture. It is recorded that suspects underwent brutal questioning, involving humiliation and the Turkish
practice of falaka (beating prisoners on the soles of their feet).
KCIE
KCIE may refer to:* Knight Commander, one of the ranks of the Order of the Indian Empire* KCIE , a radio station licensed to Dulce, New Mexico, United States...
KPM
KPM
KPM is an acronym or abbreviation for:* The King's Police Medal for Gallantry* The Knuth–Pratt–Morris algorithm* Kingston Process Metallurgy Inc...
(1881 – 6 April 1946), the second son of Rev. Joseph Poulter Tegart, was a colonial
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
police officer in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Mandatory Palestine, variously earning praise for his industry and efficiency, and notoriety for his brutality and use of torture.
Early Life
Tegart was the son of a Church of IrelandChurch of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
clergyman, Rev. J.P. Tegart of Dunboyne
Dunboyne
Dunboyne is a town in County Meath in Ireland. For the most part, it is a dormitory town for the city of Dublin.-Location:Dunboyne is centred on the crossroads formed by the R156 regional road and the old Maynooth Road ....
, County Meath. He was educated at Portora Royal School
Portora Royal School
Portora Royal School for boys, and some 6th form girls, located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is one of a number of 'free schools' founded by Royal Charter in 1608, by James I...
, Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
and Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
.
Career in India
He joined the Calcutta PoliceKolkata Police
The Kolkata Police Force is one of the two police forces of the Indian state of West Bengal....
in 1901, becoming head of its Detective Department. He served almost continuously in Calcutta for a period of thirty years until he was appointed a member of the Secretary of State's Indian Council in December 1931.
He was the first officer of the Indian Police (IP) in the organisation and on his report the Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
was created.
He reorganised the city police force and made it efficient. He was a highly decorated officer, awarded the King's Police Medal in 1911. He became Superintendent of Police in 1908, Deputy Commissioner in 1913, Deputy-Inspector General (Intelligence) in 1918, and Commissioner of Calcutta Police from 1923 to 1931.
He was admired for keeping the city free from crime. However, he earned notoriety amongst the Bengal opponents of British rule, especially from freedom fighters. In their eyes, he was an obdurate opponent of Indian nationalism to the point of illegality, and was known for the ruthless torture of prisoners.
Sir Charles Tegart was involved in a skirmish with Indian revolutionaries led by Jatindranath Mukherjee at Balasore
Balasore
Balasore is a strategically located city in the state of Orissa, about north of the state capital Bhubaneswar, in eastern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Balasore district. It is best known for Chandipur beach. It is also the site of the Indian Ballistic Missile Defense...
in Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
on 9 September 1915.
Several attempts were made to assassinate Tegart:
- On 12 January 1924 at Chowringhee Road in Calcutta, by Gopinath SahaGopinath SahaGopinath Saha was a Bengali Indian freedom fighter who attempted to assassinate Charles Tegart, the then head of the Detective Department of Calcutta Police. On 12 January 1924 Saha attempted to kill Tegart, but erroneously killed Ernest Day, a White civilian who had come there on official...
, an Indian extremist, who erroneously shot down a white man, Mr. Ernest Day, whom he mistook for Tegart. - On 25 August 1930 at Dalhousie Square in Calcutta, by throwing a bomb into the car in which Tegart was travelling, but Tegart shot down the revolutionary and escaped unhurt.
Tegart's efficiency in curbing the freedom-fighting activities of the Indians came in for praise from Lord Edward Robert Lytton, then Governor of Bengal. He was awarded the KCIE
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
in 1937.
Career in Palestine
In view of his expertise, the British authorities sent him to the British Mandate of Palestine, then in the throes of the Arab Revolt, to advise the Inspector General on matters of security. He arrived there on 21 October 1938.In due course he advised the construction of a large number of reinforced concrete police stations and posts which could be defended against attack, and of a frontier fence
Tegart's wall
Tegart's Wall was a barbed wire fence erected in 1938 by British Mandatory authorities on the northern border of Palestine in order to keep militants from infiltrating from Syria and Lebanon to join the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine.-History:...
along the northern border of Palestine to control the movement of insurgents, goods and weapons. His recommendations were accepted and some 50 new "Tegart fort
Tegart fort
A Tegart fort is a style of militarized police "fortress" constructed throughout Palestine during the British Mandatory period.The forts are named after British police officer and engineer Sir Charles Tegart, who designed them in 1938 based on his experiences in the Indian insurgency.Tens of the...
s", as they came to be known, were built throughout Palestine. Many of them are still in use, some by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i forces and others by Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
ones, while others were destroyed in various rounds of fighting.
Tegart also imported Doberman
Doberman
Doberman or Dobermann most commonly refers to Doberman Pinscher, a breed of dog, or to its creator, Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann.It may also refer to:*Doberman , a 2003 album by Tomoyasu Hotei*Doberman , a Japanese ska/punk band...
dogs from South Africa and established an interrogation centre in Jerusalem to train interrogators in torture. It is recorded that suspects underwent brutal questioning, involving humiliation and the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
practice of falaka (beating prisoners on the soles of their feet).
See also
- Arab Investigation CentresArab Investigation CentresArab Investigation Centres were torture centres established by the British administration during the 1936-1939 Great Arab Revolt in Mandate Palestine....
, built under the direction of Charles Tegart - Cellular JailCellular JailThe Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī , was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago...
- Bagha Jatin, comments by Tegart on his death
- Herbert DowbigginHerbert DowbigginSir Herbert Layard Dowbiggin, C.M.G. was the British colonial Inspector General of Police of British Ceylon from 1913 to 1937, the longest tenure of office of an Inspector General of Police . He was called the 'Father of Colonial Police'.-Antecedents:Dowbiggin was the sixth child of Rev....
, British colonial policeman
Further reading
- Tutun Mukherjee, "Colonialism, Surveillance and Memoirs of travel: Tegart's Diaries and the Andaman Cellular Jail", in Sachidananda Mohanty (ed.) Travel writing and the Empire, Katha, 2004. ISBN 8187649364. See also a review of this book in The Hindu.
Archive sources
- Sir Charles Tegart Collection , held at St Antony's College, Oxford University.