Pherozeshah Mehta
Encyclopedia
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
(August 4, 1845 - November 5, 1915) was an Parsi
Parsi
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n political leader, activist, and a leading lawyer, who was knighted by then British Government in India for his service to the law. His political ideology was, as was the case with most of the Indian leaders of his time, moderate and was hence not directly opposed to the crown's sovereignty but only demanded more autonomy for Indians to self-rule.
He became the Municipal commissioner of Bombay Municipality in 1873 and its President four times - 1884, 1885, 1905 and 1911.
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
(August 4, 1845 - November 5, 1915) was an Parsi
Parsi
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n political leader, activist, and a leading lawyer, who was knighted by then British Government in India for his service to the law. His political ideology was, as was the case with most of the Indian leaders of his time, moderate and was hence not directly opposed to the crown's sovereignty but only demanded more autonomy for Indians to self-rule.
He became the Municipal commissioner of Bombay Municipality in 1873 and its President four times - 1884, 1885, 1905 and 1911.
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
(August 4, 1845 - November 5, 1915) was an Parsi
Parsi
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n political leader, activist, and a leading lawyer, who was knighted by then British Government in India for his service to the law. His political ideology was, as was the case with most of the Indian leaders of his time, moderate and was hence not directly opposed to the crown's sovereignty but only demanded more autonomy for Indians to self-rule.
He became the Municipal commissioner of Bombay Municipality in 1873 and its President four times - 1884, 1885, 1905 and 1911.http://www.vohuman.org/Article/Sir%20Ph
Hewas chosen the president of Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
in 1890.
Early life
Graduating from the Elphinstone College
Elphinstone College
Elphinstone College is an institution of higher education affiliated to the University of Mumbai. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges of the University of Mumbai. It was exalted as a prestigious seat of learning during the British Raj and is generally observed for its vibrant alumni...
in 1864 he passed the M.A. examination, with honors, six months later, being the first Parsi to have obtained a Master's degree from the University of Mumbai
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
. He later went to England to study law at Lincoln's Inn in London.
In 1868 he returned to India and was admitted to the bar, and soon established a practice for himself in a profession which was till then dominated by British lawyers.
It was during a legal defence of Arthur Crawford he pointed out the need for reforms in the Bombay municipal government, and later he drafted the Bombay Municipal Act of 1872,History The Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) and is thus considered the father of Bombay Municipality.Political figures
Eventually, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta left his law practice to join politics.
Political and social activities
When the Bombay Presidency Association was established in 1885, Pherozeshah Mehta became its president, and remained so for the rest of his years.Great Minds - The Tribune, Sunday, January 30, 2000He encouraged Indians to obtain western education and embrace its culture to uplift India. He contributed to many social causes for education, sanitation and health care in the city and around India.
Pherozshah Mehta was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
Rajya Sabha and its President in 1890, as its president he presided over Indian National Congress session held in Calcutta.Presidents of Indian National Congress
Pherozshah Mehta was nominated to the Mumbai Legislative Council in 1887Biography and in 1893 a member of the Imperial Legislative Council
Imperial Legislative Council
The Imperial Legislative Council was a legislature for India during the middle years of the British Raj.The Indian Councils Act 1909 increased the number of members of the Legislative Council to sixty, of which twenty-seven were to be elected...
.Sir Pherozshah Mehta - A biography
In 1910, he started Bombay Chronicle
Bombay Chronicle
Bombay Chronicle was an English-language newspaper, published from Mumbai , started in 1910 by Sir Pherozeshah Mehta , a prominent lawyer, who later became the president of the Indian National Congress in 1890, and a member of the Bombay Legislative Council in 1893.It was an important Nationalist...
, an English-language weekly newspaper, which became an important Nationalist voice of its time, and an important chronicler of the political upheavals of a volatile pre-independent India.Role of Press in India's struggle for Freedom
He saw through the British tactics of binding Parsi loyalty to the crown, by repeatedly making Parsis feel superior by showering them with decorations and praise, as by 1946 as many as 63 Parsis had been knighted. In his presidential address to Indian National Congress, he once said: "In speaking of myself as a native of this country, I am not unaware that, incredible as it may seem, Parsis have been both called and invited and allured to call themselves, foreigners."
Pherozeshah Mehta died on November 5, 1915, in Bombay.
Legacy
A portrait of Pherozshah Mehta at the Indian Parliament House, shows his importance in the making of the nation.Portraits-Rajya SabhaHe was Known as lion of mumbai.
In Mumbai, even today Sir Pherozeshah Mehta is a much revered man, there are roads, halls and law colleges named after him. He is respected as an important inspiration for young Indians of the era, his leadership of India's bar and legal profession, and for laying the foundations of Indian involvement in political activities and inspiring Indians to fight for more self-government.
In Mehta's lifetime, few Indians had discussed or embraced the idea of full political independence from Britain. As one of the few people who espoused involvement of the activity of Indians in politics, he was nicknamed Ferocious Mehta."
Books and References to Pherozeshah Mehta
- Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, a Political Biography - Homi Mody. New York, Asia Pub. House, 1963.
- Sir Pherozeshah Mehta - Hormasji Peroshaw Mody. New Delhi, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (1967, ©1963)
- Life and times of Sir Pherozeshah Mehta - V S Srinivasa Sastri, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1975.
- Pherozeshah Mehta : Socio-political ideology - S R Bakshi. New Delhi, Anmol Publications, 1991.
- Sir Pherozeshah Mehta memorial volume - Godrej N Dotivala. Bombay : Mayor's Fund Committee, 1990.
- Pherozeshah Mehta : maker of modern India -Nawaz B Mody. Allied Publishers, 1997.
- Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, a sketch of his life and career. (Spanish) Madras, G.A. Natesan 1916.
- Some unpublished & later speeches & writings of Sir Pherozeshah Mehta - POO. Jeejeebhoy. Commercial Press, 1918.
- Ten Indian Biographies, in Hindi - Surendra Sharma; Avadha Upadhyaya; Lakshminidhi Chaturvedi; P S Verma; P N Ojha; Janakosharan Verma; Ganesha Datta Gaur. Prayaga, Hindi Press, 1930.