Judiciary and Police in Early Colonial South Kanara (1799-1862)

The present volume deals with two major aspects of British colonial administration, namely, Judiciary and Police, in early colonial South Kanara. The Judicial and Police set up before the colonial take-over, the introduction of the colonial Judicial and Police systems, their impact and the reactions of the natives are discussed here. This is a significant study which fills certain gaps in the historiography of South Kanara. The work is based on archival researches, and will enrich our knowledge of subtler aspects of the colonial administration under British rule in India.

Dr. N. Shyam Bhat hails from the Perdala Village of Kasargod District, Kerala State. He took his B.A. Degree from the University of Mysore and did M.A. in History from Mangalore University (1983) where he secured First Class, First Rank and won the late Dr. P. Gururaja Bhatt Memorial cash prize. Later in 1988 he took his Ph.D. Degree from Mangalore Univerity. His areas of specialisation are Modern Indian History and History of South Kanara. After serving as Lecturer in Mangalore University for about two years, Dr. Bhat joined the Department of History, goa University, where he is working since November 1988. At present he is a Reader there. Dr. Bhatt has attended several regional, national and international seminars and has published more than a dozen research papers. He has completed a research project titled “Judiciary and Police in Early Colonial South Kanara 1799-1862” funded by the Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi (1996). He visited Lisbon from May to August 1996 on a Research Fellowship sanctioned by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon. His book on South Kanara 1799-1860: A Study in Colonial Administration and Regional Response is published by Mittal Publications, New Delhi in 1998. He has completed another research project on “History of Trade and Commerce in Goa: 1840-1878” funded by Goa University (2000).