Order of The Indian Empire - History

History

The British founded the Order in 1878 to reward British and "native" officials who served in India. The Order originally had only one class (Companion), but expanded to comprise two classes in 1887. The British authorities intended the Order of the Indian Empire as a less exclusive version of the Order of the Star of India (founded in 1861); consequently, many more appointments were made to the former than to the latter.

On 15 February 1887, the Order of the Indian Empire formally became "The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire" and was divided into two classes: Knights Commander and Companions, with the following first Knights Commander:

  • General Sir Frederick Sleigh Roberts
  • Edward Drummond
  • Sir Alfred Comyns Lyall
  • Bhagvatsingh of Gondal
  • Robert Anstruther Dalyell
  • Maxwell Melvill
  • Alexander Cunningham
  • Rana Shankar Baksh Singh
  • Dietrich Brandis
  • Sir Monier Williams
  • Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju, Maharaja of Vizianagram
  • Donald Campbell Macnabb
  • Honourable Nawab Sir Imam Buksh Khan Mazari, Nawab of Rojhan Mazari
  • Nawab Munir ud-Daula Salar Jang, the Prime Minister of Hyderabad
  • George Christopher Molesworth Birdwood
  • Ranjit Singh, Raja of Ratlam
  • Surgeon-General Benjamin Simpson
  • Albert James Leppoc Cappel
  • Sayyid Hassan Ali Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Murshidabad
  • Lachmessur Singh, Maharaja of Darbhanga
  • Bapu Sahib Avar
  • Donald Mackenzie Wallace
  • Alfred Woodley Croft
  • Bradford Leslie
  • Baba Sir Khem Singh Bedi(1830-1905) was the fourteenth spiritual head of the Sikhs

However, on 21 June 1887, a further proclamation regarding the Order was made; the Order was expanded from two classes to three - Knight Grand Commander, Knight Commander and Companion. Seven Knights Grand Commander were created, namely:

  • HRH The Prince of Wales
  • HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
  • HRH The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
  • HRH The Duke of Cambridge
  • The Lord Reay, Governor of Bombay
  • The Lord Connemara, Governor of Madras
  • General Sir Frederick Sleigh Roberts (promoted from a Knight Commander)

Appointments to both Orders ceased after 14 August 1947. The Orders have never been formally abolished, and as of 2012 Queen Elizabeth II remains the Sovereign of the Orders. Today, there are no living members of the order.

  • The last Grand Master of the Order, Admiral of the Fleet Louis Mountbatten, Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–1979), died on 27 August 1979.
  • The last surviving GCIE, HH Maharaja Sri Sir Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma (1912–1991), the Maharaja of Travancore, died on 19 July 1991 in Trivandrum.
  • The last surviving KCIE, HH Maharaja Sri Sir the Maharaja of Dhrangadhra (1923–2010), the Maharaja of Dhrangadhra-Halvad, died at Dhrangadhra on 1 August 2010.
  • The last surviving CIE, Vice-Admiral Sir Ronald Brockman (1909–1999), died on 3 September 1999 in London.

The fictional characters Purun Dass (invented by Rudyard Kipling) and Harry Paget Flashman (invented by George MacDonald Fraser) each held a KCIE; Kipling's engineer Findlayson in The Day's Work (1908) aspires to the CIE.

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