HISTORY OF POLICE IN MEDIEVAL GUJARAT
Keywords:
Police, Medieval India, Mughals, MarathasAbstract
The field of enquiry of this paper is the growth and evolution of police administration in the Indian polity of the medieval times. With the emergence of principalities and kingdoms in the ancient times it became imperative for the political structure to have an organization that can help in the maintenance of law and order. This organization that was created to fulfil the functional prerequisites of the system was the police force. In spite of its political origins, the organization has also taken over a social role in its evolutionary growth. The paper also looks into the administrative structures and organization of police, and elements of change and continuity within the said structure.
References
I. M. S. Commissariat, A History of Gujarat, Volume II, Orient Longmans Pvt. Ltd. 1957, p 1.
II. Ibid., p. 3.
III. Quoted in Richards J. F. The Mughal Empire, Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 58.
IV. Ibid., Akbar instituted a novel system in 1570 to regulate and keep under check the imperial officers called the Mansabdari system. Mansabdar meant rank holder or office holder. For more information on the Mansabdari system initiated by Akbar, refer to J. L. Mehta’s Advanced study in history of medieval India Vol II or J. F. Richard’s The Mughal Empire.
V. Amirs were Mansabdars of a rank above 5000.
VI. Serais were a combination of check posts and rest houses built on highways and were usually found at the town or city entry points.
VII. Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Volume I, op. cit., p. 417.
VIII. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 7, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1908, p. 25.
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