Fraser, Sir Andrew

Sir Andrew Fraser

Fraser, Sir Andrew (1848-1919) Lieutenant Governor of Bengal from 1903 to 1908. It is said that the idea of partitioning Bengal into two provinces in order to improve administrative efficiency came actually from Andrew Fraser. Scholars also believe that partition of bengal (1905) was not really Curzon's idea. However, official documents do indicate that curzon had great reliance on Fraser who had a number of correspondences with him regarding the partition of Bengal for the sake of better governance.

Born on 14 November 1848, Andrew Henderson Fraser was educated at Edinburgh Academy. He became a Barrister-at-Law from Middle Temple and later joined the Indian Civil Service in 1871. Before he joined as Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, Fraser held the position of Chief Commissioner of Central Provinces (1899) and President of Police Commission (1902). After the partition of Bengal, he continued to remain Lieutenant Governor of the other part of Bengal, what came to be known as Western Bengal (with orissa and Bihar).

Due to his role in the partition of Bengal plan, Fraser was facing considerable opposition from the anti-partition agitators. For his services to the colonial state Fraser was decorated with CSI. He was an adept writer. Among Indian Rajahs and Ryots (1909) and India under Curzon and After ((1911) are two of his notable works. Fraser died on 26 February 1919. [Sirajul Islam]