Bhicaji Framji Balsara (often misrendered as Bhicaji Franyi Balsara; May 30, 1872 – 1962) was an Indian immigrant to the United States, notable for being amongst the first Indians to become a naturalized US citizen. Balsara was a

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 ...

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 arrived in the United States in 1900, as a cotton buyer for the

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate group of companies headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest business conglomerate, with products and services in over 160 countries, and operations in 100 c ...

and both settled and married in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He applied for citizenship in 1906 but was granted the status only in 1909 after he fought his case before two courts, the Circuit Court in New York and the

Federal Court of Appeal The Federal Court of Appeal () is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters. History Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 empowers the Parliament of Canada to establish "additional Courts for the better Admi ...

. This is as the initial presiding judge,

Emile Henry Lacombe Emile Henry Lacombe (January 29, 1846 – November 28, 1924) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and of the United States circuit court, United States Circuit ...

in the Circuit Court only reluctantly conferred American citizenship on Balsara, as he reasoned that there "was much force in the argument that the Congress which framed the original act for naturalization of aliens... intended it to include only white persons belonging to the races whose emigrants had contributed to the building up on this continent of the community of people which declared itself a new nation...." Lacombe, however, conceded that Balsara "appears to be a gentleman of high character and exceptional intelligence." Lacombe only gave Balsara citizenship on the hope that the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

would indeed challenge his decision and appeal it to create "an authoritative interpretation" of the law. He was aided in his appeal by the minuscule Syrian American community in New York, seeking to use his case as a precedent for their own naturalization attempts. Balsara married Louise Darre, and they had two daughters together.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balsara, Bhicaji Franyi Emigrants from British India to the United States American Zoroastrians American people of Indian descent American people of Parsi descent Parsi people from Mumbai 1872 births 1962 deaths Naturalized citizens of the United States

See also

References