RAS question
Lord Curzon established the police commission under:
Correct answer: (A) Sir Andrew Fraser (1902-03).
Lord Curzon appointed the Police Commission of 1902-03 under Sir Andrew Fraser to examine the Indian police system.
Explanation
Lord Curzon appointed the Police Commission in 1902-03 under Sir Andrew Fraser to examine and reform the Indian police system. It was the second Police Commission, was known as the Fraser Commission, and carried out a comprehensive examination of the police system in 1902. In RAS Modern Indian History, it is studied alongside Curzon’s other administrative interventions, including the Partition of Bengal, the University Act, and the reorganisation of the Archaeological Survey of India. The relevant pairing is police administration and Fraser; constitutional reforms, education, and the Jallianwala Bagh inquiry were linked to other officials or commissions.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Sir John Simon is associated with constitutional reforms, whereas Sir Andrew Fraser chaired Curzon’s 1902-03 Police Commission.
- (C) Lord Macaulay is associated with education; he did not chair the Fraser Commission that examined the Indian police system in 1902.
- (D) Lord Hunter is associated with the Jallianwala Bagh inquiry, whereas Sir Andrew Fraser chaired Curzon’s 1902-03 Police Commission.
Concept
This tests who chaired a Curzon-era commission and which area it examined. In RAS Modern Indian History, such questions often require matching a colonial reform with its year and the official, commission, or committee associated with it.