Dadabhai Naoroji

Dadabhai Naoroji (born September 4, 1825, Bombay [now Mumbai], India—died June 30, 1917, Bombay) was an Indian nationalist and critic of British imperialism and economic policy in India. He was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party), which led the nationalist movement in India, and the first Asian to be elected to the British Parliament. Known as “the Grand Old Man of India,” Naoroji campaigned for home rule and was perhaps the most important leader of the Indian Independence Movement before Mahatma Gandhi.

Early life and career

Naoroji was born to Parsi parents who had migrated to Bombay (now Mumbai) from Gujarat (originally part of the Bombay Presidency, now a state). In 1845 he graduated from Elphinstone College and was later appointed professor of mathematics and natural philosophy there. He taught special classes for women and was an early advocate for gender equality. In 1855 he embarked on a career in commerce that took him to England, where he spent much of his life. He joined Cama & Co. in London, the first Indian firm to be set up there, and later started his own company, Naoroji & Co. In addition, he taught Gujarati at University College London.

In 1867 Naoroji founded the East India Association in London, which is considered a forerunner of the Congress Party. It aimed to promote the interests of Indians and included retired British officials in its membership of about 600. In 1874 Naoroji was appointed diwan (minister) of the princely state of Baroda in India. Over the next few years he traveled between India and London and served in the Bombay Municipal Corporation and on the Bombay Legislative Council.

Cofounder of Indian National Congress

Naoroji helped found the Congress Party with Allan Octavian Hume, Surendranath Banerjea, and others in 1885. In 1886, 1893, and 1906 he presided over the annual sessions of the Congress Party. In the session of 1906 his conciliatory tactics helped to postpone the impending split of the party between moderates (named for their political stance and led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale) and extremists (known as such for the assertive nationalism of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and other leaders). His advocacy of home rule helped shape the Congress Party’s efforts toward independence for India, achieved in 1947.

First Asian member of British Parliament

Naoroji stood for election to the British Parliament twice. His first attempt, in 1886, with the endorsement of Florence Nightingale, was unsuccessful, but he was elected in the second attempt, in 1892, to the House of Commons from the constituency of Central Finsbury, winning by just five votes. In the intervening years he had allied the Indian cause with several progressive movements in England and advocated for home rule as well as women’s suffrage. He served a single term as a Liberal member of Parliament and lost a bid for reelection in 1895.

“Drain of Wealth” theory

Naoroji was known for his criticism of the economic impact of imperialism. He elaborated his “Drain of Wealth” theory in his many writings and speeches and especially in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901), challenging the notion that imperialists had brought prosperity to the colonies. Naoroji held that the reverse had been true—that high taxation had impoverished India and that British policies had caused deadly famines. The economic plunder that had enriched colonial powers could be undone only by swaraj, or self-rule, he argued.

Legacy

Dadabhai Naoroji is remembered not only for his anti-colonial thought and championing of progressive ideals but also for his inspiring speeches, such as his presidential address to the Congress Party in 1893:

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Let us always remember that we are all children of our mother country. Indeed, I have never worked in any other spirit than that I am an Indian, and owe duty to my country and all my countrymen. Whether I am a Hindu, a Mohammedan, a Parsi, a Christian, or any other creed, I am above all an Indian. Our country is India; our nationality is Indian.

In 2022 Naoroji’s former home in the London borough of Bromley received a commemorative blue plaque from the English Heritage organization.