Herbert William Emerson

Sir Herbert William Emerson, GCIE, KCSI, CBE (1 June 1881 — 13 April 1962) was a public servant in British India, mostly known for his time as the governor of the Punjab (12 April 1933 — 1 February 1934 & from 9 June 1934 — 4 April 1938).

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From April 1926 to 11 April 1933, he served as the Home Secretary of The Government of British India.

During his tenure as Home Secretary he had led mass arrests of revolutionaries in India. One such prominent arrest was of revolutionary Bhagat Singh. It is said that the activities of Naujawan Bharat Sabha (an association organised by Bhagat Singh) was thought to be threat by him. In September 1926, he came to know of this. The very next month, a bomb blast took place in Lahore Dussehra Fair. He took advantage of the situation and ordered his arrest but had to soon release him.

He had regular meetings with the Viceroy on the issue of the militant activities of revolutionaries. One such association the HRA was prominent during that time. Emerson also told the Viceroy to declare internal emergency to resolve this issue.

The hanging of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru on 23 March 1931 led to mass protests and rallies all over the country. The houses of many government officials and ministers were stoned and razed down in Delhi including that of Emerson on the morning of 25 March. Emerson was badly injured in these riots. He was taken to Delhi Hospital for treatment from where recovered three months later.

On 23 September 1938, he became League of Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees, and Director of the Inter-Governmental Committee on Refugees, dealing primarily with Russian and European Jewish refugees.[1] He was an active writer, recording local customs and publicizing his opinions.