Early Period
The first RSM Council to be established in India was appropriately named Primus in India Council No. 19,which received its warrant on 5.12.1892. It was consecrated in Madras (now Chennai). The first TIM was William Thomas Newitt. He was succeeded by Thomas Arthur Taylor and then by Lt. Col. George Montgomery John Moore, then the District Grand Master of Madras. Although quite active initially it became dormant by 1900 and surrendered its warrant in 1907. A hundred years later on 23.2.2007 the Council was reponed in Chennai the first such action by Mark Masons Hall, London.
The next Council to be formed was the Calcutta Council No.20. Its warrant was issued on 27.7.1893 and it was consecrated in 1895. The founders were Prosonno Kumar Dutt TIM, Sir Nripendra Narayan Bhup Maharaja of Cooch Behar Deputy Master and H.M.Rustomjee PCW. It has functioned regularly since its inception except for a brief period of abeyance in the late 1990s. It is one of the oldest RSM councils under MMH. In 1894 Chichgur Council No.20 was consecrated in Bombay but became dormant in a few years and was removed from the Rollin 1908 along with Ceylon Council No.21 of Colombo the only other Council to have been formed in the sub-continent during this period.
Middle Period
After a long gap Plassey Gate Council No.55 was consecrated in 1945 to meet at Fort William Calcutta at the initiative of Guy Dudley Robinson then District Grand Secretary, DGL of Bengal. The members were largely expatriate British and though it performed well initially it ran into difficulties with the departure of expatriates from Calcutta and surrendered its warrant in 1966.
In 1949, Star of Avadh Council No.69 was consecrated in Lucknow. The first TIM was Eric Heysham, Past TIM of Calcutta Council. It was consecrated by N.K.Basu, doyen of Freemasonry in Calcutta for over 50 years. Among the founders was Sir Syed Raza Ali Khan, Nawab of Rampur who had received the Cryptic degrees in the Imperial Scottish Council of the Royal, Select and Excellent Masters No. 553 New Delhi, under the authority of the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland. Star of Avadh Council continues to flourish in Lucknow.
The next RSM Council to be formed was Delhi Council No.91 to work in New Delhi. It was consecrated on 8.8.1964. The actual consecration took place in Lucknow. The founder TIM was Lt. Gen. Sir Harold Williams. He had been admitted to the Cryptic degrees exactly 40 years earlier in the University Council No.24 in Cambridge. The members were largely drawn from Star of Avadh Council and the Imperial Scottish Council No.553SC.
Recent Period
From the late 1960s to 2004 there were just three RSM Councils in India, namely Calcutta, Star of Avadh and Delhi. Then a change began and several RSM Councils have been consecrated in rapid succession. In 2004 two councils, Bombay Council No.248 and United Himalayan Council No.257 (Shimla) were consecrated. Then came new Councils in New Delhi, Kanpur and Chandigarh in Northern India and in Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Kasargod, Kannur and Visakhapatnam in Southern India. In 2011 two Districts were constituted and today we are on the threshold of having a sovereign Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of lndia.
Clarification : This brief history is about RSM Councils in India under MMH. But the Cryptic degrees have been worked in India for over a hundred years in 12 or more Councils under the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland.
