Sir Stuart Fraser, KCSI, CIE, was a distinguished officer of the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India. Five years after joining the Indian Civil Service, he was appointed tutor to the Maharajas of Kolhapur and Bhavnagar, and later (1896-1902) was tutor and guardian to the Maharaja of Mysore.
Contents |
Early life
Stuart Mitford Fraser (2 June 1864 – 1 December 1963) was educated at Blundell's School and Balliol College. He passed the examination for the Indian Civil Service in 1882 and was allocated to the Bombay Presidency.
Tutoring of princes
Within 5 years Fraser was selected as guardian and tutor to the Raja of Kolhapur, later to become Maharajah Shri Shau Chatrapati
He later had responsibility for the leadership preparations of the Maharajah of Bhavanagar, Shri Bhavsinhji II (1875 – 1919) (father of the last Maharaja of Bhavsinhji, Krishna Kumarasingh Bhavasingh)
In 1896 Fraser was appointed as governor and tutor to the young Maharajah of Mysore, who was later to become known as a beneficent ruler who enhanced the reputation of Mysore as a model state.
Anglo-Tibetan Convention 1904
In 1903 Fraser went to the Foreign Department at Calcutta and Simla as deputy secretary and in 1904 was sent by Lord Curzon as H.M Commissioner to negotiate with the Chinese about the Anglo-Tibetan Convention (requiring Tibet to open its border with British India).
Later career
Fraser returned to India in 1905 as Resident in Mysore and Chief Commissioner of Coorg. In 1911 Fraser was appointed Resident in Kashmir and for several months in 1914 was acting Resident in Hyderabad.
At the commencement of the First World War, with Turkey taking the side of Germany, it was Fraser’s resolute and confident approach that persuaded Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, the Nizam of Hyderabad, to resist defeatist view and ensure continued support for the British Raj.
Sources
- Obituary - Sir Stuart Fraser, The Times, 4 December 1963 (pg. 18; Issue 55875; col A)
- Obituary - Sir Stuart Fraser, Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society, LI (1964), p. 197
- Royal India: a descriptive and historical study of India's fifteen principal states and their rulers, Maud Diver, Ayer Publishing, 1971, ISBN 0836921526, 9780836921526
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
