Bombay and Congress Presidents

CONTENTS T. K. TOPE (M.A., LL.B., LL.D.) has been an academician throughout his career. He was a professor of Sanskrit for eight years (1939-47), a professor of Law, Government Law College, Bombay (1947-58). Principle, Governmet Law College, Bombay (1958-75), Vice- Chancellor, University of Bombay (1971-77), a member of the Law Commision of India (1962-68), a member of the Maharashtra State Law Commission (1977-80). He is an acknowledged authority on Constitutional Law of lndia. He has to his credit more than 12 books, the most important of which is the Constitutional Law of India (1982). He has been associated with Congress from his student days (1930). He participated in Congress Movements in 1930 and in 1942. CONTENTS BOMBAY AND CONGRESS PRESIDENTS Editor T. K. TOPE MAHARASHTRA STATE BOARD FOR LITERATURE AND CULTURE, BOMBAY CONTENTS First Edition: December, 1985 Publisher Shri S. D Deshmukh Secretary, Maharashtra State Board for Literature and Culture Mantralaya, Bombay 400 032 © Secretary Maharashtra State Board for Literature and Culture Printer The Manager Government Central Press Charni Road, Bombay 400 004 Price- Rs. 12.00 CONTENTS Dedicated to the memory of— Jagannath Shankar Sheth, Dadabhai Naoroji, Mahadeo Govind Ranade, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and others who laid the foundation of Nationalism in Western India CONTENTS FOREWARD Maharashtra State Board for Literature and Culture had decided to publish some source material on history of India's struggle for independence. Perhaps no other time could be more suitable for such publications than the occasion of the centenary celebrations of Indian National Congress. The two volumes written by Dr. T. K. Tope on (1) Bombay And Congress Presidents, and (2) Bombay and Congress movement are some of these books. It is a pride for the Board that it could persuade Dr. Tope to write these important volumes at this appropriate time. I, on behalf of the Board, am grateful to Dr. Tope for allowing us to publish his valuable works. I am also grateful to Shri Bhanubhai Yagnik, President, Congress Centenary Committee, Bombay for agreeing to write preface to the book and to Shri Alva, Director of the Government Printing and Stationery and his workers for producing the book in a record 'time. S. S. BARLINGAY Chairman Yashodhan, Stale Board for Literature and Culture 10th December 1985 Bombay CONTENTS PREFACE The city of Bombay occupies a pivotal position in the history of the Indian National Congress and India's struggle for freedom. It was in Bombay that the Indian National Congress was founded in December 1885 and its first session held. It is in the fitness of things that the concluding celebration of the Congress Centenary year should be held in Bombay by the end of this month. Bombay provided a number of Presidents to the Indian National Congress, notably, Dadabhoy Naoroji, Badruddin Tyabji, Rehimatullah Sayani, Sir Phirozeshah Mehta and N. G. Chandavarkar. Several times during the last hundred years, the Congress held it’s Plenary and A. I. C. C. sessions in Bombay. Bombay’s Congress House, Azad Maidan, Shivaji Park, Mani Bhavan and Bhatia Baug have their own histories in the Congress movement for freedom. It was in Bombay that Mahatma Gandhi launched his Quit India movement on the 8th August, 1942 from August Kranti Maidan, Gowalia Tank, which spread like wildfire throughout the country. All the national leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Malana abul Kalam Azad, Baba Rajendra Prasad were arrested in Bombay at early dawn of 9th August 1942. In short, the history of the Indian National Congress and the freedom movement will be incomplete without the projection of Bombay’s unique role in it. In order to highlight Bombay’s unrivalled place in the history of the Congress and the freedom movement, a History Writing Committee was set up a couple of months ago with Prof. T. K. Tope, former Principal of the Government Law College and Vice-chancellor, Bombay University, as Chairman and Shri Adam Adil and Shri Y. P. Trivedi as Hon. Secretaries. Prof. Tope has taken pains to write the history of the part, Bombay played in all the national events. His book is indeed commendable. It is being published on the occasion of the Congress Centenary Celebrations. I am sure, the reading public in India and abroad will benefit from Prof. Tope’s book. The book deserve to be widely distributed. I deeply appreciate Prof. Tope’s efforts and those of his colleagues. CONTENTS B. M. YAGNIK President Congress Centenary Celebrations Committee December 9, 1985 Bombay CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Sometimes last year, my old friend and a colleague in Congress movement, Shri Bhanubhai Yajnik asked me to undertake the work of writing the history of the Indian National Congress from the point of view of the role the city of Bombay played in the movement. Dr. Surendra Barlinge the Chairman, Board of Literature and Culture Maharashtra, also asked me to undertake this work. I undertook the work as it enabled me to collect source material for the freedom movement in India. The first volume is being published to-day. The second volume will be published some time in February 1986. I would like to record my sense of gratitude to Prof. A. C. Tikekar the librarian of the University of Bombay who placed at my disposal one room in the University library and made all relevant books available to me. Similarly I would like to record my thanks to Shrimati Manda Jathar and Shri Y. S. Govalkar who helped me in making available at a minute’s notice any book from the library. I also thank Shri P. Raghunath who took down the dictation and prepared the press copy. The management of the Government Printing Press deserves my special thanks for the excellent printing and record time in which the book was printed. I would specially thank Shri R. B. Alva, Director, Shri G. D. Dhond, Deputy Director, Shri V. R. Joshi, Manager, Government Central Press, who took personal interest in the printing of the book. December, 20, 1985. T. K. TOPE Prathamesh Veer Savarkar Marg Prabhadevi Bombay 400 025. CONTENTS CONTENTS FOREWARD ............................................................................................................................................. 6 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER I THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS .................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER II THE lNDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND THE CITY OF BOMBAY ...................................... 29 CHAPTER Ill The Demand of Swaraja ................................................................................................... 53 CHAPTER IV SPEECH OF BADRUDDIN TYABJI ....................................................................................... 76 CHAPTER V Speech of Pherozeshah M. Mehta .................................................................................... 80 CHAPTER VI Speech of Rahimtullah M. Sayani .................................................................................... 85 CHAPTER VII Speech of Narayan Ganesh Chandravarkar .................................................................. 103 CHAPTER VIII Speech of Dinshaw Edulji Wacha ................................................................................. 111 PART II CHAPTER IX FIRST SESSION OF THE CONGRESS, 1885 .......................................................... 125 CHAPTER X SECOND SESSION IN BOMBAY Speech of Sir William Wedderburn ............................... 130 CHAPTER XI THIRD SESSION IN BOMBAY Speech of Henry Cotton ................................................... 134 CHAPTER XII FOURTH SESSION IN BOMBAY Speech of Sir S. P. Sinha .............................................. 143 CHAPTER XIll FIFTH (SPECIAL SESSION) IN BOMBAY Speech of Mr. Hasan Iman .............................. 149 CHAPTER XIV SlXTH SESSION IN BOMBAY Speech of Babu Rajendra Prasad ................................... 155 CHAPTER XV SEVENTH SESSION IN BOMBAY Speech of Shri Jagjivan Ram ...................................... 163 APPENDIX I PRESIDENTS OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS ....................................................... 167 APPENDIX II BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON SOME CONGRESS LEADERS FROM THE CITY OF BOMBAY . 171 CONTENTS First Session of the Indian National Congress, 1885 CONTENTS Congress Presidents from Bombay Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Shri Badrudin Tyabji Sir Pherozeshah Mehta Shri Rahimtullah M. Sayani Sri Narayan Ganesh Chandavakar Shri Dinshaw E. Wachha CONTENTS INTRODUCTION The city of Bombay has an interesting history. The island of Bombay was received by the Portuguese from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1534. It was ceded to the British in 1661 and transferred to the East India Company in 1668, “to be held in free and common socage” at a rent of “Pound Sterling 10 payable on the 30th September each year.” The island made rapid progress under the British. The population of the island in 1668 was about 10,000. But by 1675 it rose to 60,000 and in 1701 to 1,50,000. The original inhabitant of the island were Koli and Bhandari, some Portuguese, Kunbis, Dhedes, Mahars and the immigrant Hindus, Muslims and one or two Parsis. As a result of encouragement to trade given by the British, a new class of weavers, artisans and merchants came to settle in the island in considerable numbers. Bombay is a good harbour. This fact added to the export and import operations from the port and

Load more