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.