Sir Andrew Fraser

Sir Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser, KCSI (14 November 1848 – 26 February 1919) was an Indian Civil Servant and the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal between 1903 and 1908.

Born in Bombay on 14th Nov, 1848, Fraser was educated at the Edinburgh Academy before being called to the Bar at the Middle Temple. He was a son of Rev. Alexander Garden Fraser (1814-1904) and Joanna Maria Shaw (1823-1864).

He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1871, serving in the Central Provinces for nearly thirty years. In 1897, he was appointed a CSI and was knighted with the KCSI in 1902. During his service he rose to be the Chief Commissioner of Central Provinces in 1899 followed by President of Police Commission in 1902. In 1903, he was selected the successor of James Bourdillon to the post of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal.

Fraser retained the position of Governor of the Western province of Bengal following the 1905 Partition of Bengal. However, his role in the planning of partition of Bengal, earned him notoriety among nationalist agitators, with a notable assassination attempt in 1907 which attempted to derail his train.

Another assassination attempt in November 1908 involved a pistol which failed to go off, the would-be assassin later declaring that he wanted to show Bengalis that even the Lieutenant-Governor was not invincible.

He was succeeded in 1908 by Sir William Baker.

Fraser 's published works include his memoirs Among Indian Rajahs and Ryots published in 1909, and India under Curzon and After published in 1911.

Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser died on 26 February 1919. He is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh, on the south wall of the north section, backing onto the original cemetery. The stone is very distinctive, carrying a St Andrews Cross in red granite by McGlashan.

He is also the founder and the first Principal of one of the biggest and most popular public school Rajkumar College, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.

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