In the Madras Presidency, the organization of the police system was disordered prior to the advent of the British in India. In the early years of the nineteenth century, the East India Company modified the existing police system on the basis of the findings of Committees which were appointed to go into the ills of the law and order situation. Regulations were passed on the basis of the recommendations made by these Committees. Thereby the police was put under the jurisdiction of Collectors and Magistrates who in turn were answerable to the Courts of Circuit and Sadr Courts. Subsequently the revenue officials were given a free hand in the running of the police administration with the result that the police force was reduced to secondary status. This unsatisfactory situation led the Madras Government to create a separate police department with its own European officials. P. Jegatheesan has given an absorbing account of the law and order situation in the Madras Presidency in the period 1850-80. The work is original in its theme and the subject has been researched painstakingly. The lucid expression of the author and his sound arguments make the book immensely readable.
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