Sir Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad KCIE (July 1864 – 10 December 1947) was an eminent

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n barrister and jurist who practiced in the Bombay High Court in the early 20th century.

Life and background

Chimanlal was born in July 1864 at Bharuch,

Bharuch district Bharuch (formerly commonly known as Broach) in India, is a district in the southern part of the Kathiawar peninsula on the west coast of state of Gujarat with a size and population comparable to that of Greater Boston. Bharuch derives its name f ...

, then in the Bombay Presidency of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

and now part of the state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. The eldest of four brothers, he was born into an aristocratic ''

Brahmakshatriya * In the Hindu varna system, Brahmakshatriya may refer to a '' Brahmin'' who pursues royalty, and hence concurrently adopts the ''Kshatriya'' varna. Brahmakshatriya dynasties * Sena Dynasty: The founder of the Sena rule was Samantasena who descr ...

'' family which had achieved distinction in the law for the preceding two generations. The surname ''Setalvad'' derives from the family's origins in the Punjab, where their surname was ''Talvad''. Some Talvads who were leaders of their community became known as ''Seth – Talvads'' ("Chiefs of the Talvads") which over time become "Setalvad". In the 18th century, some Setalvads migrated to present-day Gujarat and settled around Surat, serving as paymasters in the imperial Mughal armies. Chimanlal's grandfather, Ambashankar Brijrai Setalvad (1782–1853) worked for the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

in the early 19th century, initially as a ''sreshtadar'' (registrar) in the '' Sadr Diwani Adalat'', the Supreme Civil Claims Court. He was subsequently appointed ''Sadr Amin'', or subordinate judge, for Ahmedabad district. Soon becoming renowned for his legal acumen, he eventually rose to Principal ''Sadr Amin'', the highest judicial post then open to non-Europeans, and held the post at the time of his death. Chimanlal's father, '' Rao Sahib'' Harilal Ambashankar Setalvad (1821–1899), also served as ''Sadr Amin'' of Ahmedabad and was awarded the title of ''Rao Sahib'' by the British government upon his retirement in 1877. He subsequently served as ''

dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the e ...

'' of the salute state of

Limbdi Limbdi is a taluka in Surendranagar district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. History The area formed a part of the 9-gun salute state during the British Raj, when it was governed by members of a Jhala (clan), Jh ...

Career

An alumnus of

Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1823, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the ed ...

, Mumbai, he served as Vice-Chancellor of

Bombay University The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

and as a member of the Governor of Bombay's Executive Council. He also was founding President of

Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha {{Use Indian English, date=November 2018 Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha ( hi, बहिष्कृत हितकारिणी सभा) is a central institution formed by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar for removing difficulties of the untouchables an ...

, established by

B.R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served ...

in 1924. Chimanlal was recognized by

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

as an impartial advocate of great integrity. While in favour of independence from Britain, Chimanlal was opposed to

Partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

; sadly, he lived to see Partition and its accompanying horrors become a reality before his death on 10 December 1947, aged 83.

Honours

Setalvad was knighted in the

1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Jan ...

List. He was further appointed a Knight Commander 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 (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

(KCIE) in the

1924 Birthday Honours The 1924 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were p ...

list.

Family

He was the father of M.C. Setalvad, later

Attorney General of India The Attorney General for India is the Indian government's chief legal advisor, and is its chief advocate in the courts. They are appointed by the President of India at the instance of the Union Cabinet under Article 76(1) of the Constitution an ...

from 1950 to 1963. His great-granddaughter is

Teesta Setalvad Teesta Setalvad (born 9 February 1962) is an Indian civil rights activist and journalist. She is the secretary of ''Citizens for Justice and Peace'' (CJP), an organisation formed to advocate for the victims of 2002 Gujarat riots. Personal life ...

, a noted journalist and civil rights activist.

Works

* ''Recollections & reflections, an autobiography'', Padma Publications, 1946.

In popular culture

In the film '' Gandhi (1982)'', Chimanlal Setalvad is portrayed by

Habib Tanvir Habib Tanvir (1 September 1923 – 8 June 2009) was one of the most popular Indian Urdu, Hindi playwrights, a theatre director, poet and actor. He was the writer of plays such as, ''Agra Bazar'' (1954) and '' Charandas Chor'' (1975). A pi ...

as a member of the Hunter Commission, in which role he cross-examines General Dyer (credited in movie as Indian Barrister).

References

External links

Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad
at the National Portrait Gallery, London {{DEFAULTSORT:Setlavad, Chimanlal Harilal 19th-century Indian lawyers 1864 births 1947 deaths Scholars from Mumbai Elphinstone College alumni Knights Bachelor Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian knights Gujarati people 20th-century Indian lawyers Members of the Bombay Legislative Council