Frank Anthony (25 September 1908 – 3 December 1993) was a leader of the

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...

and

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

community in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and was until his death the Anglo-Indian nominated representative in the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

except during the 6th and 9th Lok Sabha. He served as the president of the All India Anglo-Indian Association. Frank Anthony was a part of the constituent assembly that wrote the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

. He was deeply opposed to the partition of India. Anthony was known for championing Christian education. He was also the founder of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) which operates the ICSE board of Education in India.

Early life and education

Anthony was born in Jubbulpore (now called Jabalpur) on 25 September 1908. Anthony was educated at Christ Church High School and Robertson College in Jabalpur. He studied at Nagpur University, and

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and became a

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 ...

. Louis D'Silva and M. Ezra Sargunam stated that "Frank Anthony had a brilliant academic career" and he was the winner of the Viceroy's All-India Gold Medal for English.

Role in Constituent Assembly

In 1942–46, he was a member of the

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Indian Legislature, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes calle ...

, and later a member of the

Constituent Assembly of India Constituent Assembly of India was partly elected and partly nominated body to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the Provincial assemblies of British India following the Provincial Assembly elections held in 1946 and nominated ...

during 1946–50 and represented the Anglo-Indian community in assembly. He was also temporary vice president of Constituent Assembly and was a part of the Advisory Committee and Sub-committee on Minorities.

Career

In 1942, Anthony was elected the president-in-chief of the community of the All India Anglo-Indian Association. He opposed the partition of India on the grounds that it would jeopardise the interests of the minority communities. He stressed the following: Anthony criticized the pro-separatist

All India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim League lat ...

led by

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

, holding them to be responsible for the murders that occurred during

Direct Action Day Direct Action Day (16 August 1946) was the day the All-India Muslim League decided to take a "direct action" using general strikes and economic shut down to demand a separate Muslim homeland after the British exit from India. Also known as ...

and for spreading communal hatred: Frank Anthony charged the pro-separatist All India Muslim League with being "born in hatred" and being "responsible for an inevitable cycle of violence." The All India Anglo-Indian Association saved the lives of both Hindus and Muslims during the rioting. When the future of India was being decided by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

leaders, he presented the Anglo-Indian case to

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

and

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

, and they agreed to make special provisions for the Anglo-Indians in the

Indian Constitution The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and ...

. In particular, two seats were reserved for members of the Anglo-Indian community in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

(Lower House) of the Indian parliament, the only reserved seats in the House (these seats were abolished in 2020 by the 104th Amendment of the Constitution of India). Frank Anthony championed the right of

converts to Christianity The following is a list of notable people who converted to Christianity from a different religion or no religion. This article addresses only past voluntary professions of faith by the individuals listed, and is not intended to address ethnic, c ...

to raise their children in the Christian religion. Anthony was a member of the Provisional Parliament during 195052. He was nominated to all Lok Sabhas from the 1st to the 10th, except for the 6th and 9th Lok Sabha. After Anthony retired from practising as a lawyer, Nehru in 1952 asked him to go to

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

to defend Mehr Chand Khanna, the ex-finance minister of the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...

. In those days, no Hindu lawyer would go to Peshawar. Following Anthony's discussions with the chief minister, Khanna was released. In October 1946, he was one of India's delegates at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. In 1948 and 1957, he represented India at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference. In 1978, Anthony assisted the Nehru family when

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

was arrested. Anthony's greatest contribution was in the field of Anglo-Indian and Christian education. In 1947, he was elected chairman of the Inter-State Board of Anglo-Indian Education. He was also the Founder-Chairman of the All India Anglo-Indian Educational Trust which, today, owns and administers six schools named after him, including The Frank Anthony Public School, New Delhi, The Frank Anthony Public School, Bengaluru, The Frank Anthony Public School, Kolkata and three Frank Anthony Junior Schools in the cities of

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. These schools took as inspiration the model of the long-established English public school. In the words of Alan Basil de Lastic, the former Archbishop of Delhi, Frank Anthony "always stood for the Christian right to education". Anthony was also the chairman of the ICSE Council. He was a member of the Church of North India, a United Protestant denomination of Christianity.

Death

Frank Anthony died on 2 December 1993 of cardiac arrest. On 3 December 1993, the Indian Parliament adjourned after mourning his death. His funeral liturgy was presided over by Pritam Santram, a bishop of the Church of North India; Alan Basil de Lastic, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Delhi was present, along with other Christian clergy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Frank 1908 births Anglo-Indian people Madhya Pradesh politicians 1993 deaths Educators from Madhya Pradesh Founders of Indian schools and colleges Indian Protestants Members of the Constituent Assembly of India People from Jabalpur Nominated members of the Lok Sabha India MPs 1952–1957 India MPs 1957–1962 India MPs 1962–1967 India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1991–1996 Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University alumni 20th-century Indian lawyers 20th-century Indian educational theorists

Early life and education

Role in Constituent Assembly

Career

Death

See also

References