Question – Dadabhai Naoroji played an important role in India’s freedom struggle. Discuss.
- February 16, 2023
- Posted by: Pallavi Singh
- Category: Blog
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Answer –
Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917)- one of the makers of modern India – known as the Grand Old Man of India, was a Parsi intellectual, educator and an early Indian political and social leader. He played an instrumental role in the formation of the Indian National Congress. Naoroji also served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom House of Commons. He was the first Indian to become a British MP.
Contribution of Dadabhai Naoroji to Indian Freedom Struggle:
a) He was associated with the innumerable societies and organisations through which he voiced grievances of the Indian people and proclaimed their aims, ideals and aspirations to the world at large.
b) He was instrumental in the formation of the ‘London Indian Society’ in 1865, whose objective was to discuss Indian social, political and scholarly subjects.
c) He also helped in setting up the East India Association’ in 1867 that aimed at conveying the Indian perspective to the Britain public. The association is counted among the precursors of the Indian National Congress that played an instrumental role in the Indian independence movement.
d) Naoroji was also member of the Indian National Association, founded in 1876 by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose. The Indian National Congress, founded later on December 28, 1885, merged with Indian National Association and Naoroji was elected as the Congress President in 1886.
e) Thrice he was elected to the post of the President of the Indian National Congress, in 1886, 1893 and in 1906. During his third term, he prevented a split between moderates and extremists in the party. The Congress’ demand for Swaraj (self-rule) was first expressed publicly by him in his presi- dential address in 1906.
f) Naoroji concentrated his work on drainage of wealth of India to Britain during the British Raj in India and systematically introduced the ‘Drain of Wealth theory’ to elucidate his perspective.
g) He resolved to form an approximate idea of the net national profit of India and the effect the country faced due to colonisation. He made effort to prove that money was being drained out of India by Britain.
h) He later published a book in 1901, titled ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’ where he estimated the loss of India’s revenue to Britain amounting to 200-300 million pounds, which were never returned.
i) As a liberal MP in the UK, he brought out the economic adversities faced by India before the English audience and this he made possible by presenting himself as an Imperial citizen.
j) The principal reason that led to the formation of the Royal Commission on Indian Expenditure in 1896 was the work on the Drain of Wealth theory by Naoroji, who also remained a member of the Commission.
Conclusion –
Dadabhai Naoroji was instrumental in the establishment of the Indian National Congress founded by A. O. Hume in 1885. Dadabhai Naoroji believed in non violent and constitutional methods of protest, as was thus known as “Moderate”.