It was not till 1907 that the Secretary of State for India directed that the Indian Police officers appointed by him should wear the letters "I.P" on their epaulettes to distinguish them from officers of the Provincial Service.

Till then the Indian Police had been described by various titles such as the Superior Grade of the Police Force or as the Indian Police Service or as the Indian Imperial Police.

Following the Mutiny of 1857, superintendents of police were to be European, with rare exceptions. They were recruited in several ways, but from 1893 recruitment was solely by open competitive examination in England, and from 1919 in India. This is how the 720 posts in the eleven provinces of India were filled.

The reputation of the Service for integrity and impartiality was built up by those who were appointed from 1861 onwards in accordance with the recommendations embodied in Act V of 1861. Hence the starting date of 1861.

The Roll contains the names of 1,711 officers, who, from 1861, served as Superintendents, and from 1893 as Assistant Superintendents, and above.

Only one line has been allocated per officer to keep the Roll as concise as possible, giving his initials, surname, if any honours or decorations, his province, and the year in which his service began and ended, if known.

An officer promoted from the Provincial Service is indicated in the Roll by inserting the letters "I.P." between the name of his province and year of promotion. He was apptd. by the Provincial Government, not be the Secy. of State for India.

The names in this Roll have been extracted from the Record of Services published annually till 1947 in the India Office List and in the Burma Office List. These volumes are accessible on open shelves in [the AAS reading room, British Library]. Any one requiring further details about any individual named here should find them in the relevant volume covering his period of service.

The Roll has been compiled with pride together with respect for those, who from 1861, set us standards to maintain, not by their words, but by deeds. This Roll tells you nothing about their deeds, but accounts of them are to be found in the Indian Police Collection in the [India Office Records at the British Library].

Ave atque vale, because one day this Roll can serve as our combined obituary.

Basil R.E. La Bouchardiere, Indian Police, Bombay/Sind 1936-1947.
Horsham, Sussex 1985.