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Herbert Richard Browne

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Captain
Herbert Richard Browne
B.S.C
Political officer of the North Lushai Hills
In office
1 May 1890 – 9 September 1890
MonarchQueen Victoria
Governor GeneralLord Lansdowne
Prime MinisterRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Preceded byPosition Created
Succeeded byRobert Blair McCabe
Personal details
Born(1858-10-11)October 11, 1858
Chinsurah, Hooghly, West Bengal, India
DiedSeptember 9, 1890(1890-09-09) (aged 31)
Changsil, Cachar, British Raj
Cause of deathKilled in action (Lushai Rising)
Resting placeRoyal Memorial Chapel
Parent(s)Henry Browne, 5th Marquess of Sligo (Father)
Catherine Henrietta Browne (b. Dicken, Mother)
Alma materRoyal Military College, Sandhurst
ProfessionBengal Staff Corps
Known forFirst political officer of the North Lushai Hills
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceArmy
RankCaptain
UnitShropshire Light Infantry[1]
Battles/warsSecond Anglo-Afghan War[2]
Lushai Rising

Captain Herbert Richard Browne (11 October 1858 – 9 September 1890) was a British military officer and the first political officer of the North Lushai Hills. Browne was tasked with pacifying the Lushai Hills until he was betrayed by Khalkam and killed on transit to Changsil.

Early life

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Herbert Richard Browne was born on 11 October 1858 to Henry Browne, 5th Marquess of Sligo and Catherine Henrietta Browne in Hooghly District, West Bengal. Herbert was the third oldest child among his nine siblings. He had four brothers, George Browne, Arthur Browne, Terence Maurice Browne and Alfred Eden Browne. His five sisters were Catherine Elizabeth Browne, Edith Hester Charles, Florence Marion Beresford-ash, Norah More and Alice Evelyn Mahon.[3]

He would rank lieutenant after becoming a gentleman cadet from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. His first assignment was to the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot as the second lieutenant.[4] Later on, Browne would join the Shropshire Light Infantry before being appointed a probationer of the Indian Staff Corps in 1882.[5] Browne would also participate in the Second Anglo-Afghan War where he would earn a medal.[6]

Career

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Herbert Richard Browne was the Assistant Commissioner of Assam since 1883. He was reassigned in May 1890 as the Political Officer of the North Lushai Hills.[7] He was granted a salary of ₹1,000 a month.[8] Browne's headquarters were established at Fort Aijal. His responsibilities as a political officer concerned with establishing political influence and control over the unruly Lushai chiefs annexed by the Chin-Lushai expedition.[7] The northern boundaries of Browne's jurisdiction were demarcated as the territory enclosed between the Cachar border, Hill Tipperah border and Manipur River, with an imaginary border for the Southern Lushai Hills demarcated via the Darlung Peak. The Chief Commissioner also prompted Browne to cooperate with Fort Lungleh, Fort Tregear and Fort White by raising concern over the numerical strengths of Lushai tribes. Browne's first task upon arriving at Fort Aijal was to capture Lengpunga, the chief responsible for the Chengri Valley raid, and recommend suggestions fitting his punishment to the commissioner.[9] The creation of his office also oversaw the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar transferred to him.[10]

As part of his military strategy of pacifying the Lushai Hills Browne committed to reopening the old Changsil bazaar and extended it to Sairang Bazaar and Fort Aijal. As the Lushai Hills were annexed Browne assigned British troops to guard the markets and give merchants confidence to trade with the Lushais instead of assigning and negotiating the responsibility with the chiefs in old policy. To prevent loss of the merchants only five shops were opened in 1890. Five local men were assigned to supervise and set prices of the goods and products in the bazaars. Zou argues that Brown liberalized the trade in the Lushai Hills to rebuild market and trade while maintaining a paternal role of implementing necessary regulations.[11] Browne would subsequently warn the ethnic groups in neighbouring areas such as Manipur to not act hostile towards the Lushais who were now British subjects.[12]

The Western Lushai chiefs who were related to Lengpunga did not wish to supply either labour or taxes to the British administration and opposed the punishment of Lengpunga. Captain Browne held a Durbar of Chiefs on 14 June 1890, and he declared that Lengpunga's chieftainship would be deposed for four years as punishment for his conduct on the Chengri Valley raid.[10] Browne would subsequently announce the new British policies. Raiding was now prohibited, freedom of movement must be granted to British government employees and military forces and cessation of the chief's right to tax traders and merchants in their territory.[13] Browne allied the western Lushai chief Khalkam with an oath of fealty with Browne. However, the introduction of taxes and the restrictions on hunting in their territory infuriated Khalkam, who decided to revolt against British rule. Khalkam would hold a meeting with Western Lushai chiefs in his Zawlbuk and plan an uprising with the support of Thangula, Thamruma, Lenkhunga, Lalrima, Mingthang and Rankupa.[14]

Death

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Further information: Lushai Rising

On 9 April 1890, Browne travelled to Changsil outpost from Fort Aijal with a small party of sepoys. Khalkam used his influence to get a subordinate chief, Thansuma, to arrange a war party to ambush his travel while Khalkam's brother Thanruma met with Browne to collect information on his destination to inform the war party.[15] On the path two miles away from the Changsil outpost, Browne and his party were at a junction of roads from Fort Aijal and Khalkam's village. The coolies were first to hear the gunshots fired at this position.[16] The war party armed with guns and daos surrounded Browne and attacked. The result of the ambush saw three of Browne's men killed. Browne himself was stabbed in the arm with three severe wounds and excessive bleeding.[17] As a result of this, Browne was mortally wounded.[18] One survivor managed to escape the ambush and inform the officials at Changsil. Browne was brought to the Changsil soon after but died within 15 minutes of arrival.[19] Thansuma and Lenkhunga were responsible for the murder of Captain Browne, with Khalkam liable for his involvement and conspiracy.[20]

Browne's office would be filled by R.B McCabe, the deputy commissioner of Lakhimpur whose reputation for pacifying the Ao Nagas was well known and recorded.[21][22]

References

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  1. ^ Naval & Military Gazette and Weekly Chronicle of the United Service 1883.
  2. ^ Evening Mail 1913.
  3. ^ Horn.
  4. ^ Dublin Daily Express 1878.
  5. ^ London Daily Chronicle 1882.
  6. ^ Bart 1890, p. 439.
  7. ^ a b Reid 1942, p. 21.
  8. ^ Reid 1942, p. 20.
  9. ^ Reid 1942, p. 22.
  10. ^ a b Reid 1942, p. 23.
  11. ^ Zou 2019, p. 576.
  12. ^ Zou 2019, p. 577.
  13. ^ Zorema 2007, p. 40.
  14. ^ Chatterjee 1985, p. 190.
  15. ^ McCall 1949, p. 59.
  16. ^ National Archives of India.
  17. ^ Reid 1942, p. 16.
  18. ^ McCall 1949, p. 58-59.
  19. ^ Chatterjee 1995, p. 165.
  20. ^ Sen 2022, p. 1523.
  21. ^ Reid 1942, p. 25.
  22. ^ Chatterjee 2009, p. 269.

Sources

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  • Chatterjee, Suhas (1985). British rule in Mizoram. New Delhi: Mittal Publications.
  • Chatterjee, Suhas (2009). Frontier Officers in Colonial Northeast India. New Delhi: Akansha Publishing. ISBN 978-81-8370-168-6.
  • Horn, Alasdair. "Herbert Richard Browne". MyHeritage. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  • Chatterjee, Subhas (1995). Mizo Chiefs and the Chiefdom. New Delhi: M D Publications PVT LTD. ISBN 81-85880-72-7.
  • National Archives of India. "Rising in Lushai Land- Excellent service uncleared by Surgeon H.B. Melville". Indian Ministry of Culture. Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  • McCall, Anthony Gilchrist (1949). Lushai Chrysalis. London: Luzac.
  • Reid, Robert (1942). The Lushai Hills: culled from History of the frontier areas bordering on Assam from 1883-1941. Calcutta: Firma KLM. p. 49.
  • Sen, Anandaroop (2022). "Insurgent Law: Bengal Regulation III and the Chin-Lushai Expeditions (1872-1898)" (PDF). Modern Asian Studies. 56 (1): 1515–1555. doi:10.1017/S0026749X21000366. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  • Zorema, J. (2007). Indirect Rule in Mizoram: 1890-1954. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. ISBN 978-81-8324-229-5. OCLC 271837683. OL 48056042M.
  • Zou, S. Thangboi (2019). "Riverine bazaars, trade and chiefs in the colonial Lushai Hills". Asian Ethnicity. 22 (4): 563–582. doi:10.1080/14631369.2019.1687284. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  • Evening Mail (26 February 1913). "Lord Sligo". Evening Mail.
  • Naval & Military Gazette and Weekly Chronicle of the United Service (3 October 1883). "Naval and Military Gazette". Naval & Military Gazette and Weekly Chronicle of the United Service.
  • London Daily Chronicle (3 April 1882). "Regimental District". London Daily Chronicle.
  • Dublin Daily Express (12 June 1878). "Naval and Military Gazette". Dublin Daily Express.
  • Bart, Archibald Douglas Stewart (4 October 1890). "Obituary". The London Illustrated News. No. 2685.
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