Dadabhai Naoroji

Dadabhai Naoroji helped lay the foundation of India's contemporary freedom struggle. At a time when the East India Company had systematically dismantled the nationalistic co- operation between the princely states of India, rose to prominence Dadabhai Naoroji, a peerless patriot who defined the modern Indian freedom struggle
Dadabhai was born on September 4th, 1825 to a poor Parsi family in Bombay. His father, Naoroji Palanji Dordi, died when Dadabhai was only 4 years old. Dadabhai was brought up by his illiterate mother Maneckbai who gave Dadabhai the best English education possible.
As a student, Dadabhai had a knack for mental mathematics and went on to distinguish himself in Mathematics and English at the Elphinstone Institution (now College) in Bombay. So impressed were his peers that one professor called him the "promise of India." Another offered to pay half the expenses for Dadabhai to study abroad. His Parsi elders refused to pay the other half of the expenses out of fear that Dadabhai would convert to Christianity and marry an Englishwoman.
On completion of his education, Dadabhai was appointed the Head Native Assistant Master at the Elphinstone Institution and went on to become the first Indian Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy.
Dadabhai entered the political fray in 1852. The East India Company acquired a 20 year lease to "manage" India from the British Government in 1833. The Company applied for renewal of the lease in 1853. Dadabhai strongly opposed the renewal of the lease and organized large meetings and sent petitions to the British Government in England to deny the Company a renewal. Even though the British Government did renew the Company's lease, his petitions dispelled a lot ignorance regarding India.
Dadabhai felt that the British misrule of India was because of ignorance of the way of life and needs on the Indian people. To remedy this he felt that he must educate the Indian masses of their rights. Dadabhai began free literacy classes for girls in Marathi and Gujarati. He set up the Dnyan Prasarak Mandali (Society for Promotion of Knowledge) for the education of adult menfolk. Topics of general awareness were discussed before large gatherings. Then he believed that the British bureaucracy in India must be made aware of the problems of India. He wrote several petitions to Governors and Viceroys regarding India's problems. Finally he felt that the British people and the British Parliament must be made aware of India's plight. He yearned to go to England to put forward India's case there. Dadabhai got this opportunity when the rich Cama family invited him to join in a business venture in England. Dadabhai did not think twice, he set sail for England on June 27th, 1855.
Dadabhai wanted to win friends and sympathizers for India. He joined several learned societies, delivered many speeches and wrote articles on the plight of India. He founded the East Indian Association on December 1st, 1866. The association was comprised of high ranking officers from India and people who had access to Members of the British Parliament. Dadabhai had become the unofficial ambassador of India.
Dadabhai was elected to the British Parliament in 1892 from Central Finsbury as the Liberal party candidate. This made it possible for Dadabhai to work for India from within! He got a resolution passed for holding preliminary examinations for the I.C.S. in India and England simultaneously and also got the Wiley Commission, the royal commission on India expenditure, to acknowledge the need for even distribution of administrative and military expenditure between India and England.