Why in the news?

  • 2025 marks the 200th birth anniversary of Dadabhai Naoroji.

Dadabhai Naoroji

  • Birth: Dadabhai was born on 4th September 1825 in Bombay.
  • Early Life:
    • First Indian to become a professor of Mathematics at Elphinstone College, Bombay.
    • Later settled in London, worked to represent Indian issues in British Parliament and public opinion.
  • Social Reforms and Contributions:
    • Advocated for women’s education and social reforms.
    • Supported causes like abolition of child marriage and promotion of modern education.
    • Associated with London Indian Society (1865) and East India Association (1867) to voice Indian concerns in Britain.
  • Political Contributions:
    • Indian National Congress (INC):
      • One of the founding members of INC (1885).
      • President of INC thrice (1886, 1893, 1906).
      • In the 1906 Calcutta Session, he articulated the demand for “Swaraj” (self-government).
    • British Parliament:
      • First Indian elected to the House of Commons (1892, Liberal Party, Finsbury Central).
      • Used this platform to raise India’s poverty and exploitation under British rule.
  • Economic Contributions:
    • Drain of Wealth Theory:
      • Explained how Britain drained India’s resources without adequate returns.
      • Outlined in his classic book “Poverty and Un-British Rule in India” (1901).
      • Key causes of Drain: Remittances of British officials, Profits of British companies, Payments for British wars and Home charges (cost of India’s administration from Britain).
      • Impact of the Theory: It was the first systematic critique of colonial exploitation and laid the intellectual foundation for India’s freedom struggle.
  • Legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji:
    • Known as the “Grand Old Man of India” and “Unofficial Ambassador of India in Britain”.
    • Inspired leaders like Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Gandhi.
    • His call for Swaraj in the 1906 INC session became the political goal of the freedom struggle.
    • Remembered as a moderate nationalist who combined reasoned arguments with practical politics.
  • Quotes:
    • “India is being bled to death by England”
    • On Swaraj he said – “Self-government is the only and chief remedy”
  • Death: Dadabhai passed away on 30 June 1917