Khurshed Framji Nariman (1883 – 1948), also known as Veer Nariman, was one of the second generation of

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 ...

stalwarts in 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 ...

. He remained Mayor of Bombay from 1935 for a year.

Life

After studying B.A. and L.L.B., he started his career as a lawyer, and soon his political career as a youth leader, and later with Bombay Municipality, widely supported by

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 ...

. Hinnells, p. 257 He came into the public eye in 1928 as an independent and courageous politician for his sensational protest against the British engineer,

George Buchanan George Buchanan (; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth-century Scotland produced." His ideology of re ...

involved in the Bombay ' Backbay Reclamation' scandal. He was cited for libel, but exposed the scandalous financial arrangements in this scheme. Nariman was later elected president of the Bombay Provincial Congress Committee and then mayor of Bombay. His ''Whither congress? 'Spiritual idealism' or 'political realism' some random thoughts on the Poona conference and after'', published in 1933, was unpopular among members of the party. In 1930 he was influenced by

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 ...

and organised and led the

civil disobedience movement Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". ...

(

Salt March The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of Non violence, non violent civil disobedience in British Raj, colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 19 ...

) in Bombay and also led Bombay province contingent at the

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from States and union territories of India, state-level Pradesh Congress Commit ...

(AICC). He remained Mayor of Bombay from 1935 to 1936. However, following the provincial elections of 1937 in the Bombay Presidency in which Congress secured majority, he was passed over in the selection of the chief minister in favour of B. G. Kher. He complained of a communal bias to the party high command, but no investigation was taken up by

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 ...

. Gandhi responded to a separate appeal, but could find no proof for Nariman's complaints. He was expelled from the Congress party due to his vociferous but unsubstantiated charges. His attempts to reestablish himself in the freedom movement through the

All India Forward Bloc The All India Forward Bloc ( AIFB) is a Left-wing nationalism, left-wing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a Political faction, faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose, and was strongest ...

(founded in 1939 by

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

) failed.

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 ...

Nariman Point Nariman Point is a prominent downtown area of Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. Located on the southern tip of the Mumbai peninsula, at the end of the Mumbai's Marine Drive, Nariman Point houses some of India's prestigious business headquarters. B ...

is named after him. He lived at Readymoney Mansion near

Horniman Circle The Horniman Circle Gardens is a large park in South Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, which encompasses an area of . It is situated in the Fort district of Mumbai, and is surrounded by office complexes housing the country's premier banks. Designed ...

(then Elphinstone Circle) in Mumbai, the road is now called Veer Nariman Road, after him.

Works

*''Harvey-Nariman Libel Case: With a Brief History of the Development Department..''. S. M. Surveyor, 1927. * ''"Whither congress?": 'Spiritual idealism' or 'political realism,' some random thoughts on the Poona conference and after''. D. R. Dewoolkar, 1933. * ''What Next?''. Bombay Book Depot, 1934.

Legacy

, a

business district Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessar ...

South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahalaxmi (Western side), Byculla ...

is named after Khurshed Nariman.

References

*Portions of this text are fro
The Mumbai Pages
(c) 2005, Sourendu Gupta, as released under the terms of the ''

GNU Free Documentation License The GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL or GFDL) is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights ...

'' *
Khurshed F. Nariman, Biography

TIFR Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a leading research Institute under the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is a public deemed university located at Navy Nagar, Colaba in Mumbai. It also has a centres in B ...

20th-century mayors of places in India Parsi people from Mumbai All India Forward Bloc politicians Politicians from Mumbai Indian independence activists from Maharashtra Mayors of Mumbai Indian National Congress politicians from Maharashtra Marathi politicians 1883 births 1948 deaths {{Maharashtra-INC-politician-stub

Life

Works

Legacy

Further reading

References