DOCSLIB.ORG

Lord Lexden Reveiws, an Indian in the House – 16

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Lord Lexden Reveiws, an Indian in the House – 16 BOOK REVIEW Lord Lexden Conservative Peer Lord Sheikh’s study of the first four British MPs of Indian descent is written with vigour and clarity An Indian in the House The Lives and Times of the Four Trailblazers who first brought India to the British Parliament intellectually accomplished fleeing Jewish pogroms, had was an eloquent Communist Parsis who divided their time created much tension in the firebrand who proclaimed By Mohamed Sheikh between Britain and India. area. Bhownaggree played the that “we must have uniform Publisher Mereo Books Both were elected for anti-immigration card quite standards for all the workers inner London working-class blatantly but proved a faith- all over Europe and Asia”. He seats in the 1890s. Naoroji ful, energetic constituency MP, frequently caused uproar in ohamed Sheikh, won Finsbury Central holding the seat until 1906. the Commons, of which he an active as a Liberal, whose radi- was a member between 1922 Conservative cal programme included Trafalgar Square, London and 1929, with a short gap Shapurji Saklatvala addresses peer for 14 home rule for India, by just the Six Processions meeting in 1923-4, under the watch- Myears, is a man with wide on “Unemployment Sunday” ful eye of M15. business and philanthropic Moderation interests. This is his second was embodied in book. The first provided a the last member of vivid account of the life of the quartet, Lord Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780- Sinha, of Raipur in 1839) who won the respect of the Presidency of the British in India for his skill Bengal (1863-1928). in holding together a mighty A quite outstanding Sikh empire. It collapsed after barrister, he believed his death. His son, Duleep that Indians should Singh, exiled in England, take up positions in joined the Carlton Club and the government of tried unsuccessfully in 1874 their country that to become the Tory candi- became available to date in Whitby, where one them after the First of Gladstone’s sons was MP. World War. A brief Lord Sheikh has now period as a junior turned his attention to the minister at the India first four Indians to enter Office in London in Parliament. The author has “Saklatvala was an 1919-20 meant that done a great service by bring- three votes (subsequently eloquent Communist an Indian voice was ing together short biographies increased to five) in 1892. firebrand who frequently heard in the Lords of them in a single volume, Naoroji did not survive the caused uproar in for the first time. written with vigour and clarity. next election in 1895 which the Commons” After 1929, no The first two, Dadabhai brought Bhownaggree, a one of Asian origin Naoroji (1825-1917) and Sir successful barrister, into the The third Indian MP, was seen in the Commons Mancherjee Bhownaggree Commons as the first (and Shapurji Saklatvala (1874- until 1987 when Keith Vaz was (1851-1933) felt consid- only) Tory MP for Bethnal 1936) was also a Parsi. He too elected. It is unlikely that the erable respect for each Green North East, one of won an inner London seat, four trailblazers, described other, while making their the capital’s worst slum areas, Battersea North, but differed so well in this book, would mark in opposing political with a majority of 160. An from his predecessors in have regarded him with parties. Both were prominent, influx of East Europeans, some almost every other respect. He unqualified approval. 50 | The House magazine | 16 November 2020.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Ethnic Diversity in Politics and Public Life
    BRIEFING PAPER CBP 01156, 22 October 2020 By Elise Uberoi and Ethnic diversity in politics Rebecca Lees and public life Contents: 1. Ethnicity in the United Kingdom 2. Parliament 3. The Government and Cabinet 4. Other elected bodies in the UK 5. Public sector organisations www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 Ethnic diversity in politics and public life Contents Summary 3 1. Ethnicity in the United Kingdom 6 1.1 Categorising ethnicity 6 1.2 The population of the United Kingdom 7 2. Parliament 8 2.1 The House of Commons 8 Since the 1980s 9 Ethnic minority women in the House of Commons 13 2.2 The House of Lords 14 2.3 International comparisons 16 3. The Government and Cabinet 17 4. Other elected bodies in the UK 19 4.1 Devolved legislatures 19 4.2 Local government and the Greater London Authority 19 5. Public sector organisations 21 5.1 Armed forces 21 5.2 Civil Service 23 5.3 National Health Service 24 5.4 Police 26 5.4 Justice 27 5.5 Prison officers 28 5.6 Teachers 29 5.7 Fire and Rescue Service 30 5.8 Social workers 31 5.9 Ministerial and public appointments 33 Annex 1: Standard ethnic classifications used in the UK 34 Cover page image copyright UK Youth Parliament 2015 by UK Parliament. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 / image cropped 3 Commons Library Briefing, 22 October 2020 Summary This report focuses on the proportion of people from ethnic minority backgrounds in a range of public positions across the UK.
    [Show full text]
  • Tata History Material
    Bibliography of History of “The House of Tata” By N. Benjamin 934, 9th D Road, Sardarpura, Jodhpur 934 003 [email protected] Primary sources A. Proceedings and Reports of commissions and committees 1. Report of the Indian factory labour commission, 1908. Vol. 2- evidence (Simla, 1908). Oral evidence of N.B. Saklatvala. 2. Indian Tariff Board, Representation submitted to the Tariff Board by the Tata Iron and Steel Company, Limited, regarding the steel industry in India. Jamshedpur, July 1923 (Calcutta, 1923). 3. Indian Tariff Board, Evidence recorded during enquiry into steel industry. Vol. I. The Tata Iron and Steel Company (Calcutta, 1924). Evidence of J. C. K. Peterson representing the Company given before the Indian Fiscal Commission in March 1922. 4. Indian Tariff Board, Evidence recorded during enquiry into the steel industry. Vol. II. Applicants for protection and engineering firms (Calcutta, 1924). Written and oral evidence of Tinplate Company of India, Limited. 5. Indian Tariff Board, Evidence recorded during enquiry into the steel industry. Vol. III. Remaining witnesses (Calcutta, 1924). Written and oral evidence of M. Homi which is critical of the Tisco’s demand for protection. 6. Indian Tariff Board, Evidence recorded during the enquiry regarding the increase of the duties on steel (Bombay, 1925). Written and oral evidence of the Tata Iron and Steel Company, Limited. 7. Indian Tariff Board, Report of the Indian Tariff Board regarding the grant of protection to the steel industry (Calcutta, 1924). Material regarding Tisco and Tinplate Company of India. 8. Indian Tariff Board, Report of the Indian Tariff Board regarding the increase of the duties on steel (Bombay, 1924).
    [Show full text]
  • This Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation Has Been Downloaded from Explore Bristol Research
    This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Brah, A. K Title: Inter-generational and inter-ethnic perceptions : A comparative study of South Asian and English adolescents and their parents in Southall General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. Inter-Generational and Inter-Ethnic Perceptions: A Comparative Study of South Asian and English Adolescents and Their Parents in Southall Avtar K. Brah, School of Education, University of Bristol July 1979 Memorandum This thesis is submitted to the University of Bristol in support of an application for admission to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
    [Show full text]
  • The Fifth Commandment: a Biography of Shapurji Saklatvala and Memoir by His Daughter by Sehri Saklatvala First Digital Edition, July 2012
    The Fifth Commandment: A Biography of Shapurji Saklatvala and Memoir by his Daughter By Sehri Saklatvala First digital edition, July 2012. Originally published by Miranda Press, July 1991, with ISBNs 0951827405 & 978-0951827406. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. 2 Table of Contents Editor's Note 5 Author's Preface 6 Chapter 1 - The Sun Rises in the East 8 Chapter 2 - The Plague Years 20 Chapter 3 - The Quest for Iron 31 Chapter 4 - The Sun Veers to the West 41 Chapter 5 - The Quest for a Political Solution 54 Chapter 6 - The Mind is its Own Place 66 Chapter 7 - Freedom for Me and Mine, Bondage for Thee and Thine 88 Appendix A to Chapter 7: Statement of the Workers’ Welfare League of India, 1919 112 Appendix B to Chapter 7: ‘The Call of the Third International’ 123 Appendix C to Chapter 7: Terms of Comintern Membership 129 Chapter 8 - A Communist in Parliament 135 Appendix A to Chapter 8: Report to the Labour Party Conference, 1922 147 Appendix B to Chapter 8: ‘Explanatory Notes on the Third International’ 151 Appendix C to Chapter 8: Saklatvala’s Election Addresses of 1922 159 Chapter 9 - A New Voice for the People 167 Chapter 10 - Speaking Against Imperialism 201 Chapter 11 - The Deportations to Ireland 212 Chapter 12 - The MP for Battersea and India 240 Chapter 13 - A Narrow Defeat 261 Chapter 14 - Re-election and the Red Scare 274 Chapter 15 - Banned from the USA 296 Chapter 16 - A Subversive in Parliament 314 Chapter 17 - The General Strike and a Term of Imprisonment
    [Show full text]
  • Class Against Class the Communist
    CLASS AGAINST CLASS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE THIRD PERIOD, 1927-1932. By Matthew Worley, BA. Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, August 1998. C TEXT BOUND INTO THE SPINE Acknowledgments This thesis would not have beenpossible without the guidance, encouragementand advice of my supervisorChris Wrigley. Professor Wrigley's encyclopaedicknowledge and ever expanding library madethis project a joy to complete.Closer to home, the loving support and patient encouragementof Louise Aikman kept me focusedand inspired whenever the pressuresof study appearedtoo much to bear. Thanks are also due to Chris, Pete and Simon (for a lifetime's friendship), Scott King (for welcome distractions),Dominic and Andrea (for help and camaraderie), Pete and Kath (for holidays), John (for Manchester),my family (for everything) and Toby Wolfe. ii Contents Abstract iv Abbreviations A Introduction: The Communist Party of Great Britain I in the Third Period Chapter One: A Party in Transition 15 Chapter Two: Towards the Third Period 45 Chapter Three: The New Line 82 Chapter Four: The Party in Crisis 113 Chapter Five: Isolation and Reappraisal 165 Chapter Six: A Communist Culture 206 Chapter Seven: Crisis and Reorganisation 236 Conclusion: The Third Period Reassessed 277 Bibliography 281 iii Abstract This thesis provides an analysisof communismin Britain between 1927 and 1932.In theseyears, the CommunistParty of Great Britain (CPGB) embarkedupon a'new period' of political struggle around the concept of class against class.The increasingly draconianmeasures of the Labour Party and trade union bureaucracybetween 1924 and 1927 significantly restricted the scopeof communist influence within the mainstreamlabour As movement.
    [Show full text]
  • U DBN Papers of Reginald Francis 1921-1953 Orlando Bridgeman
    Hull History Centre: Papers of Reginald Francis Orlando Bridgeman U DBN Papers of Reginald Francis 1921-1953 Orlando Bridgeman Biographical background: Reginald Francis Orlando Bridgeman was born in London on 14 October 1884. The family was descended from Sir Orlando Bridgeman, the famous law officer, who died in 1674. Reginald was the eldest son of Colonel the Hon. Francis Bridgeman, the second son of the third earl of Bradford, and Conservative MP for Bolton, 1885-1895, and his wife Gertrude Hanbury. Reginald's unusual life saw him move from being a comfortably placed minor aristocrat, in an appropriate occupation, to a committed leftwing activist - a stance which he maintained from his 30s for the rest of his life. Reginald Bridgeman was educated at Harrow, but left school at sixteen to study languages abroad. He began a diplomatic career in 1903, as honorary attache in the embassy at Madrid and in July 1908 he was posted to Paris as third secretary. He was in Paris until 1916 and counted amongst his friends Jean Cocteau and other members of the Paris avant-guarde. He was promoted to Second Secretary in 1911, and became Private Secretary to Sir Francis Bertie, the Ambassador to France, in 1912. He was briefly transferred to Athens but came back to Paris in 1917 as private secretary to Lord Derby, the British Amabassador. He was promoted to first secretary in 1918 and was transferred to Vienna in 1919, where he was briefly Charge d'Affaires. In November 1920 he was promoted Counsellor of Embassy and appointed to the British Legation at Teheran.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethnic Minorities in Politics, Government and Public Life
    Ethnic Minorities in Politics, Government and Public Life Standard Note: SN/SG/1156 Last updated: 16 October 2013 Author: John Wood & Richard Cracknell Section Social and General Statistics Section There are currently 27 minority ethnic MPs in the House of Commons; 4.2% of the total. The UK population is becoming increasingly diverse in terms of ethnicity. The 2011 Census showed 18% of the UK population reporting a non-white background. This compares with 8% ten years earlier. However, despite an increase of 15 minority ethnic MPs between the 2001 and 2010 general election, the diversity of MPs remains disproportionate to the population as a whole. Contents 1 The population of the United Kingdom 2 2 Parliament 2 2.1 The House of Commons 2 Into the 20th Century 2 After 1945 3 2.2 Female Ethnic Minorities in Parliament 5 2.3 The House of Lords 5 2.4 International comparisons 8 3 The Government and Cabinet 8 4 Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly 8 5 Local Councils and the London Assembly 8 6 Civil Service 9 7 Other public sector organisations 9 7.1 Police 9 This information is provided to Members of Parliament in support of their parliamentary duties and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual. It should not be relied upon as being up to date; the law or policies may have changed since it was last updated; and it should not be relied upon as legal or professional advice or as a substitute for it. A suitably qualified professional should be consulted if specific advice or information is required.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethnic Minorities in Politics and Public Life
    BRIEFING PAPER Number SN01156, 4 March 2016 Ethnic Minorities in By Lukas Audickas Politics and Public Life Inside: 1. The population of the United Kingdom 2. Parliament 3. The Government and Cabinet 4. Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly 5. Local Councils and the London Assembly 6. Civil Service 7. Other public sector organisations www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary Number SN01156, 4 March 2016 2 Contents Summary and key statistics: 3 1. The population of the United Kingdom 4 2. Parliament 4 2.1 The House of Commons 4 Into the 20th Century 4 After 1945 5 2.2 Ethnic minority women in Parliament 7 2.3 The House of Lords 7 2.4 International comparisons 9 3. The Government and Cabinet 9 4. Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly 9 5. Local Councils and the London Assembly 10 6. Civil Service 10 7. Other public sector organisations 10 7.1 Police 10 7.2 Judges 11 7.3 Teachers 11 7.4 Armed forces 11 7.5 National Health Service 11 7.6 National Fire and Rescue Service 11 7.7 Ministerial Appointments 11 Contributing Authors: Richard Cracknell, John Wood, historic analysis Cover page image copyright: Picture by Mark Dimmock, (Itiafa Akerejol from St Saviour’s and St Olave’s School, Southwark 2010) subject to parliamentary copyright. 3 Ethnic Minorities in Politics and Public Life Summary and key statistics: Currently more than 6% MPs in the House of Commons and Share of ethnic minorities Members of the House of Lords are from an ethnic minority House of Lords background1.
    [Show full text]
  • For Country, for Class: Nationalism, Empire and Identity in the Communist Party of Great Britain: 1935-1945
    University of Huddersfield Repository Billam, Gregory For Country, For Class: Nationalism, Empire and Identity in the Communist Party of Great Britain: 1935-1945 Original Citation Billam, Gregory (2019) For Country, For Class: Nationalism, Empire and Identity in the Communist Party of Great Britain: 1935-1945. Masters thesis, University of Huddersfield. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/35117/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided: • The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy; • A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and • The content is not changed in any way. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ For Country, For Class: Nationalism, Empire and Identity in the Communist Party of Great Britain: 1935-1945. Gregory Billam - U1457116 Word Count: 27,959. Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the post-graduate programme MA by Research in History at the University of Huddersfield, 17th January 2019. Contents: Contents: ................................................................................................................................................ 1 List of Abbreviations: .............................................................................................................................. 2 Abstract: .................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • By-Elections, the Labour Party, and The
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by St Andrews Research Repository ‘CONTESTS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE’: BY-ELECTIONS, THE LABOUR PARTY, AND THE RESHAPING OF BRITISH RADICALISM, 1924-1929* MALCOLM R. PETRIE University of Edinburgh ABSTRACT. Via an examination of the Labour party's approach to by-election campaigning in Scotland between the fall of the first Labour administration in October 1924 and the party’s return to office in May 1929, this article explores the changing horizons of British radicalism in an era of mass democracy. While traditional depictions of inter-war politics as a two-party contest in which political allegiances were shaped primarily by social class have increasingly been questioned, accounts of Labour politics in this period have focussed chiefly on national responses to the challenges posed by the expanded franchise. In contrast, this article considers local experiences, as provincial participation and autonomy, particularly in candidate selection and electioneering, came to be viewed as an impediment to wider electoral success, and political debate coalesced around attempts to speak for a political nation that was, as the focus on Scotland reveals, indisputably British. Often portrayed as evidence of ideological divisions, such internal quarrels had crucial spatial features, and reflected a conflict between two models of political identity and participation: one oppositional in outlook, local in loyalty, and rooted in the radical tradition, the other focused upon electoral concerns and Labour’s national standing. As the 1929 general election campaign began, the national election agents of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal parties together instructed their candidates to neither answer questionnaires nor meet delegations from organized lobbying groups.
    [Show full text]
  • The Marxist Volume: 13, No. 01 Jan-March 1996 Shapurji
    The Marxist Volume: 13, No. 01 Jan-March 1996 Shapurji Saklatvala and the Fight against Racism and Imperialism 1921-28 Shapurji Saklatvala was elected the Labour MP for Batteresa North at the General Election in 1922. He lost his seat a year later, but was re-elected, this time as a communist, at the December 1923 election. He represented the South London constituency for five years until defeated by a Labour candidate in 1929. Saklatvala was one of only four communists ever to be elected to the House of Commons. He was also distinctive in being Labour's first non white MP. The period of his active political life, stretching from 1916 to 1936, covers a momentus era in socialist politics. Inspired by the Russian revolution, like so many others in the Labour movement, he moved sharply to the left. Although not a foundation member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, he joined the party from the Independent Labour Party in 1921. This was a few months after the ILP's Annual Conference had rejected a move to affiliate to the Communist International. He remained a loyal and active member of the CPGB until his death in 1936. His activity in the party as both a grass roots activist, an MP, and also as a member of the Central Committee, covered the first formative years of British communism. Saklatvala's life, covering as it does a testing period for revolutionary socialists, can give an insight into how communists, over half a century ago, tackled the still hotly contested issues of race, and the struggle against imperialism.
    [Show full text]
  • Parsi Zoroastrians
    Parsi Zoroastrians John R. Hinnells Parsi Zoroastrians in Britain The Parsis formed the first Asian religious tradition in Britain in 1861, though the first Parsi known to have visited Britain came in 1724 to protest against injustices done to his family by the East India Company. He stayed for a year and won his case, returning to India a vindicated and wealthy man. The first Indian firm to be opened in Britain was started by Parsis in London and Liverpool in 1855; thereafter individuals came for education and trade. The numbers are unknown, but probably there were only around 150 at any one time until after the Second World War when several retired here from the Medical Corps, and more came in the 1960s for education and trade. They currently number approximately 5,000. They are centered mainly in London, especially in the Harrow area, but there are small groups in many other large cities. The fact that they are so few in number, and so little is known about them, means that they are a vulnerable group subject to media disparagement. For example, the Observer newspaper produced a supplement on new cults in Britain and under ‘Z’ included Zoroastrians, despite the fact, as we shall see, it is probably the oldest prophetic religion in the world. To the protests of Zoroastrians and interested academics the Observer’s staff simply replied ‘we wanted something under ‘Z’’, completely disregarding the distress this caused and parental concern that their children’s peers might mock them. Similarly when in 1994 Prince Charles said he wanted to be Defender of Faiths and listed among those he named the Zoroastrians, a columnist in the London Evening News of 27 July wrote scornfully of the Zoroastrians.
    [Show full text]