Sir Mancherjee Merwanjee Bhownaggree (15 August 1851 – 14 November 1933) was a British Conservative Party politician of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

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 ...

heritage. He was a member of parliament (MP) representing the constituency of Bethnal Green North East in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

between 1895 and 1906, the third British MP of Indian descent, after

David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre (18 December 1808 – 1 July 1851), also known as D. O. Dyce Sombre and David Dyce Sombre, was an Anglo-Indian politician reputed to be the first person of Indian descent to be elected to the Parliament of the Unite ...

, and fellow Parsi

Dadabhai Naoroji Dadabhai Naoroji (4 September 1825 – 30 June 1917), also known as the ''"Grand Old Man of India"'' and "Unofficial Ambassador of India", was an Indian independence activist, political leader, merchant, scholar and writer. He was one of the f ...

. Bhownaggree was the longest-serving British Asian MP until

Keith Vaz Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz (born 26 November 1956) is a British politician who served as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East for 32 years, from 1987 Unit ...

(who was first elected in 1987 and stood down in 2019).

Biography

Bhownaggree was born the son of a merchant in Bombay (now

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

), India, and was educated in

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 ...

and 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 ...

. He became a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

after finishing his education. At 22, he was appointed, on the death of his father, to succeed to the Bombay agency of the

Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...

state of Bhavanagar. Bhownaggree went to the United Kingdom in 1882. Called to the bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1885, in the following year the Maharaja appointed him judicial councillor, a post in which he introduced far-reaching reforms. Mancherjee Bhownagree Vanity Fair 1897-11-18

Mancherjee Bhownagree Vanity Fair 1897-11-18

Bhownaggree settled in the United Kingdom in 1891, becoming a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. He was the head of the Parsi organization in Europe and chairman of the Indian Social Club. He joined the Conservative Party and was selected as the party's candidate in the 1895 general election for Bethnal Green North East. His compatriot

was in the 1892-95 parliament, but Bhownaggree was the only other Indian of that time to enter the House of Commons, and the only one to be re-elected (1900). He was made a

Companion of the Most Eminent 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) Appointm ...

(CIE) in 1886, and was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) upon the occasion of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. During his ten years in parliament, Bhownaggree was a supporter of British rule in India and opposed the campaign for home rule. He originated and unflaggingly maintained in and out of the House the long battle against the disabilities of Indians in South Africa and other overseas dominions of the Crown. His cogent and detailed statement of the case for Indians in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

after annexation was the basis of a blue-book (Cd. 2239, 1904), and was sent to

Lord Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a very important role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and ear ...

by the Colonial Secretary,

Alfred Lyttelton Alfred Lyttelton KC (7 February 1857 – 5 July 1913) was a British politician and sportsman from the Lyttelton family who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sport ...

, with the observation that he felt much sympathy for the views expressed, and that it would be difficult to give a fully satisfactory answer. The practical result was that the proposals of the High Commissioner were in some important particulars rejected. Bhownaggree was one of the first Indians to press forward the need for

technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical area, an area which a manager, other coaching personnel, and substitutes are allowed to occupy during a football match * Technical advisor, a person who ...

and

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

in India side by side with literary instruction. Mancherjee Bhownagree Grave Brookwood

After losing his seat in the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting e ...

he retired from politics. He was a generous donor, contributing to many

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

in the memory of his deceased sister. He also contributed the Bhownaggree Gallery in the

Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust was a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pr ...

. He died aged 82 on 14 November 1933 in London and was buried in the Parsi Section of

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

Writings

In early life, he wrote a history of the constitution of the

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

, and made 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- ...

translation of

's ''Life in the Highlands''. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he assisted in repelling German

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

regarding British rule in India by means of a widely circulated booklet entitled ''The Verdict of India''.

References

External links

*
Asians in British politics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhownaggree, Mancherjee 1851 births 1933 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Parsi people from Mumbai Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire University of Mumbai alumni Emigrants from British India to the United Kingdom British people of Parsi descent English people of Parsi descent Elphinstone College alumni Politicians from Mumbai Indian knights Burials at Brookwood Cemetery British Zoroastrians Indian Zoroastrians British people of Indian descent

Biography

Writings

See also

References

External links