Thomas Herbert Lewin (, , , 1 April 1839 – 11 February 1916) was a British military officer, linguist and ethnologist. He is most well known for his role as the superintendent of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Lewin studied and published on the tribes of the northeast frontier on the Chakma, Kuki and Lushais. For this reason he gained the exonym of Thangliana from the Lushai tribes.
Early life and education
Thomas Herbert Lewin was born 1 April 1839 in Lewisham, London. He was the son of George Lewin and Mary Lewin (b. Friend). George Lewin was a law clerk under an attorney. His mother Mary was descended from a wealthy family of manufacturers. Thomas Herbert Lewin was christined with his uncles and maternal aunt as sponsors. Lewin was born to five siblings in his family consisting of three sisters (Mary-Jane, Harriet, Isabella) and two brothers (Robert Friend "Bob", William Charles James). Mary Jane would die in 1849 and George Lewin would become bedridden with disease in 1852 that would last five years. Thomas Herbert Lewin was sent to a boarding academy for boys at Surrey House in Littlehampton on the Sussex coast. Four years later in 1854, Lewin would be moved to Mr Hopkirk's academy at Eltham in Kent which prepared boys for a military career. Lewin was described as rebellious and was reputed to be flogged repeatedly for his actions and conduct at the academy. During that time, Lewin also developed talents for music, art and reading. He excelled in English composition and reading aloud but struggled in Artithmetic while passing all his other subjects. This led to him passing the entrance examination to Addiscombe Military College, the East India Company's military seminary near Croydon in Surrey. He was the nephew of George Grote and Harriet Grote.
He became a cadet at Addiscombe Military College. Through his godfather Thomas, Thomas Lewin was nominated for a cadetship by Sir James Hogg, 1st Baronet, who was a director of the East India Company. Lewin continued his unruly conduct and rebellious reputation at Addiscombe where he was routinely punished with extra drills. His most frequent offence was talking in the ranks. Another incident was for not putting out his candle after lights out in the barrack and being punished with four drills. Lewin was also once granted a punishment of fifteen drills for "gross irreverence and disrepect" of loud applause at the end of a theological lecture which he claimed was sincere.
Lewin originally wished to join the artillery regiment, but his poor grades in mathematics barred him from pursuing it. Lewin would return home between terms at the college and study for the exams under a crammer. Despite his talent as a draughtsman, Lewin continued to find heights and distances difficult. Lewin's father, George Lewin, would die in March 1856 from pneumonia at the age of 47. Despite this, Lewin passed his examinations in Addiscombe and became an ensign of the East India Company. Lewin would then embark on a ship to Bengal after news of disturbances broke out there leaving his mother and brothers behind in England.
Career Indian mutiny In September 1857, Lewin travelled to India as a lieutenant and participated in multiple campaigns to put down the Indian Mutiny. When lewin's shipped called at Malta, the news of the Indian mutiny came to light. The entire Bengal army was in open mutiny and in revolt to company rule. During the voyage, Lewin heard the news of the last batch of Addiscombe cadets being massacred at Allahabad as they had sat at the mess, which stirred the situation. Lewin would write on his thoughts with these revelations:
Lewin's ship sailed up the Hooghly and docked in October. Lewin reported to the fort adjutant and settled into the Cadet headquarters of Fort William. His uncle by marriage, Arthur Grote was a civilian in the company's service also offered Lewin to stay with him at their residence in Alipore. Lewin would learn from Grote his cousin Edward was serving in the artillery in Lucknow. Lewin was attached to the 34th Border Regiment under orders for Cawnpore, which he joined at Chinsura in the west. Lewin would encamp on the bare ground for the night before parading and embarking by railroad. The journey would continue via horseback to Allahabad via the Grand Trunk Road under a subaltern named Cochrane. The country was under martial law. Lewin would observe corpses hanging from makeshift gibbets along the way, and Cochrane ordered him and his men to keep their rifles loaded. At Benares, the men joined a detachment of the 82nd Regiment under Captain Marriot and proceeded via a different mode of transport.
Lewin would keep night watch with Cochrane. He described the uneasiness of being among the 'scowling natives' of the Allahabad bazaar to fetch new trousers. He would procure a personal staff consisting of a kitmutgar (table servant) and a syce to look after a grey pony he had recently brought. Lewin's rebellious attitude continued as an incident recounts how he took the reins of the bullocks of an Indian driver and tried to steer the wagon only to crash in a ditch with him trapped under the Bullock's hooves.
Lewin's regiment the 34th, along with the 82nd, 88th and 20th rifle brigades were sent to reinforce the Cawnpore town's ferry and boats over the Ganges river. The regiments were ordered to keep the road bridge open and to fight off the state army of Gwalior under Nana Sahib and Tatya Tope. Lewin was told by a sergeant that lying heaped at the bottom were the bodies of women and children who Nana Sahib had slaughtered. The courtyard was still strewn with blood and torn clothes. Lewin would explore the huts and discover a bible and a wall scratched with the words "Oh Lord, Our God, save us in this our time of trouble".
After relieving and reinforcing Lucknow, Lewin arrived at Cawnpore General Campbell, escorting 2000 women, children and the vulnerable to a place of safety. The General proceeded to escort them by boat down the Ganges River to Allahabad. After Tantya Tope sealed off the town from the west and east with the capture of Bani Bridge to Lucknow, the British forces, while outnumbered, decided to strike first. This would be Lewin's first direct experience of warfare. Lewin would record his experience:
The advance continued and Lewin skirmished towards a village and overran a few snipers with bayonets. Soon afterwards the order came to retire on Cawnpore. The next day heavy guns began to approach entrenchments. As a result, Lewin was ordered to take up position astride the road while round shot and musket balls whistled over them. Two rebel cavalry charges were fought off before the force retired to the entrenchments. The next day, Lewin's company was soon to guard a bridge across a small ravine. The regiment hastily improvised barricades out of wagons, carts, bricks and other materials which lead to casualties as the rebels fired upon them including General Carthew who Lewin offered a drink from his flask. The same night Sir Colin Campbell escorted the non combatants onto boats and saved the situation. On 6–7 December Tantya Tope was defeated as the 34th withdrew behind entrenchments to recover while new arrivals reinforced. The 34th took up quarters in the Masonic Hall in Cawnpore town and celebrated Christmas. Before they left Cawnpore, Lewin went to attend a parade in the courtyard of Bibi ghar to witness four of the rebels being hanged.
In January, Lewin and the 34th were sent to the Madras Artillery detachment at Bani Bridge between Cawnpore and Lucknow to furnish guards for convoys, take supplies to the Alambagh and maintain communications with the south. Lewin, while encamped at Bani Bridge, would hear the news of the death of his cousin Edward, who was killed via a round shot at Lucknow. Lewin was then marched with the 34th, attacking villages and destroying forts while carrying the regimental colours. Lewin at the end of the 23 miles cast it on the ground and stated "Damn the colours! Why don't you carry them yourselves!" which got him reported to the Colonel and rebuked. However, Lewin managed to make the carrying of the regiment colours shared among the soldiers. Reaching Lucknow the 34th was considered to be reduced in strength and strenuously campaigned, which led to them and Lewin being assigned subsidiary tasks in the recapture of the city. During this, Lewin called his pony and galloped into the fray, reaching the school buildings where the Punjab Rifles were fighting alongside the Highlanders. He observed the planning, mapping, gum emplacements, and entrenchments which he described in a letter to his mother on 20 March after the fighting was over.
List of offences of Ensign T.H. Lewin from October 19, 1857 to April 20, 1858 October 1857, Walking into Major Kavanagh's office at Fort Calcutta and mistaking him for a clerk. He was taken down a peg as a result. November 1857, Cutting off a turkey's head with hungry intent on the line of march between Cawnpore and Benares. He was fined for the Turkey. February 1858, Forcibly ejecting another cadet from the tent while encamped at Bani Bridge. He was reprimanded. February 1858, Damming the Queen's colours at Meergunge. He was placed under arrest and severely reprimanded.
Superintendent of Hazaribagh Lewin returned to England in January 1860 for one year to celebrate his 21st birthday. He would return in February 1861 to Calcutta and stay with his uncle Arthur Grote at Alipore. Lewin began to search for a career that would, in a short amount of time, permit him to return home to England to his family. On the voyage back and forth to India, Lewin met with Captain Pughe and his wife, who were friends of Arthur Grote. Pughe had been appointed inspector general of the new military police and, with Grote's influence, offered Lewin the post of adjutant and second-in-command of the 2nd battalion being raised at Rampur in West Bengal. The battalion was raised to supplement the reorganized Indian army and function as a police auxiliary force to keep the peace. Rampur, which was a European civil station consisting of merchants and indigo planters, had experienced the restlessness of the planters, which called for a military police battalion.
Lewin was temporarily in command as the commandant was on leave when he arrived. Lewin presided over 600 men in the battalion of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh origins. Lewin also took the opportunity to join the Bengal Staff Corps as an opportunity to serve outside India, which he received on the merit of his language qualifications. He was assigned as a lieutenant in the 104th Regiment. Lewin worked under the police at Pabna for a few weeks until the military police battalion was disbanded. Lewin was made to choose between regimental life with the 104th or the civil police force. As a result, on 17 April 1962, Lewin was gazetted District Superintendent of Police, 3rd class, at Bhagalpur in northern Bihar with a monthly salary and allowance for travel expenses. After being called upon to shoot a rogue alligator which had eaten a child, Lewin was assigned to Muzaffarpur on temporary duty to organize the new civil police system there before the commandant arrived. The new system saw the head of police not as the district magistrate anymore but with superintendents. Lewin spent two months at Muzaffarpur before being given a permanent appointment with the local rank of Captain as district superintendent at Hazaribagh. Lewin in his spare time wrote for the instruction of his constables a little book on the duties of a policeman called The Constable's Manual which he translated into Hindi, Bengali and Urdu with his clerks. The booklet was officially approved and printed in Calcutta for general distribution and, thus, the first of Lewin's books to be published.