Sir Pherozeshah Merwanjee Mehta (4 August 1845 – 5 November 1915) was an Indian politician and lawyer from

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. He was knighted by the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

in India for his service to law. He became the Municipal commissioner of Bombay Municipality in 1873 and its president four times – 1884, 1885, 1905 and 1911. Mehta was one of the founding members and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

in 1890 held at

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

Early life

Pherozeshah Merwanjee Mehta was born on 4 August, 1845 in Bombay City, Bombay Presidency,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

into a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

-speaking

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

family. His father, a Bombay-based businessman who also spent plenty of time in

, was not highly educated, but he did translate a Chemistry textbook into

and wrote a Geography textbook. Graduating from the

Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the edu ...

in 1864, Pherozeshah obtained his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree with honors six months later, becoming the first such Parsi, from the

University of Bombay University of Mumbai is a public university, public List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, state university in Mumbai. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest univ ...

(later re-established as

University of Mumbai University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

). Sir Alexander Grant, principal of the university, nominated him a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the university and tried to procure him a scholarship founded by

Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet, (15 July 1783 – 14 April 1859), also spelt Jeejeebhoy or Jeejebhoy, was an Indian merchant and philanthropist. He made a huge fortune in cotton and the opium trade with China. Early life and business ...

to study in Europe. However, Mehta did not avail himself of the scholarship. Mehta went to England from India to study law at

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in London. Here, he met and began association with fellow Indian barristers

Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee (or Umesh Chandra Banerjee; 29 December 1844 – 21 July 1906) was an Indian independence activist and barrister who practiced in England. He was a secretary of the London Indian Society founded by Dadabhai Naoroji ...

and

Badruddin Tyabji Badruddin Tyabji (10 October 1844 – 19 August 1906) was an Indian lawyer, activist, and politician during the British Raj. Tyabji was the first Indian to practice as a barrister of the High Court of Bombay. He also served as the third ...

. In 1868, he became the first Parsi

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

called to the Bar from

. The same year, he returned to India, was admitted to the bar, and soon established a practice for himself in a profession then dominated by British lawyers. It was during a legal defence of Arthur Crawford that he pointed out the need for reforms in the Bombay municipal government. Later, he drafted the Bombay Municipal Act of 1872 and is thus considered the 'father of Bombay Municipality'. Eventually, Mehta left his law practice to enter politics.

Political and social activities

When the

Bombay Presidency Association Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

was established in 1885, Mehta became its president, and remained so for the rest of his years. He 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. Mehta was one of the founders of the

. He was the chairman of the Reception Committee in its fifth session in Bombay in 1889. He presided over the next session in Calcutta. Mehta was nominated to the

Bombay Legislative Council Bombay Legislative Council was the legislature of the Bombay Province and later the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Bombay Province in British India and the Indian state of Bombay. History The Indian Councils Act 1861 set up the B ...

in 1887 and in 1893 a member of the

Imperial Legislative Council The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of British Raj, British India from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Government of India Act 1858 by providing for the addition of six additional members to the Governor General ...

. In 1894, he was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

(CIE) and was appointed a Knight Commander (KCIE) in 1904. In 1910, he started ''

The Bombay Chronicle ''The Bombay Chronicle'' was an English language, English-language newspaper, published from Mumbai (then Bombay), started in 1910 by Sir Pherozeshah Mehta (1845–1915), a prominent lawyer, who later became the president of the Indian National ...

'', 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. He served as a member of Bombay's Municipal Corporation for six years. Mehta died on 5 November 1915, in Bombay.

Legacy

A portrait of Pherozeshah Mehta at the Indian Parliament House, shows his importance in the making of the nation.Portraits-Rajya Sabha
He was known as 'The Lion of Bombay' and 'Uncrowned King of Bombay'. In Mumbai, even today Mehta is much revered; 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."
The-south-asian.com. Retrieved on 29 November 2018.

Bibliography

* 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.

References

External links