The lesser-known Parsi freedom fighters of India

The role of the Parsi community in India’s social and economic development is widely known. Today, Parsis are largely associated with industrial development, thanks to business houses like Tatas, Wadias, Pallonjis, and Godrej which are household names. 

However, little is known about the stellar contribution of Parsis to the freedom struggle that started with the Mutiny at Meerut on May 10, 1857, and spread across Delhi, Agra, Kanpur and Lucknow. 

The Parsis living in Persia (now Iran) fled to India in the 8th century following religious persecution by the Arabs. Followers of Zoroastrianism, they came to India through Valsad and established the port of Sanjan in present-day Gujarat. With time, the community moved from Gujarat to neighbouring Maharashtra, with Bombay (now Mumbai) becoming their second home. 

The Parsi community’s sharp focus on education produced many lawyers, bureaucrats and technocrats. Alongside, as India was struggling for freedom from the clutches of British rule, the Parsis used their intellect to further the cause.

One of them was Bhicoo Batlivala, a barrister and campaigner for India's independence. She was born in in October 1910 to Sorabji Batlivala, a successful Parsi wool mill owner. She studied constitutional law and history.

She toured the US in 1939-40 for a lecture tour, advocating for India’s freedom. Bhicoo began writing about India's civil and political rights during wartime in 1941. She also campaigned for the release of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1941 and Mahatma Gandhi in 1943. 

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An articulate and charismatic speaker, she is described in a British government surveillance report as one of the few Indians beyond Krishna Menon who had any influence on the policy of the India League.

Meerut Conspiracy Case

Another Parsi activist who gave a tough time to the British was Jhabwala, a trade unionist and socialist who motivated the masses through his writings and speeches.

He was one of the 27 accused in the Meerut Conspiracy Case initiated in the British Raj in March 1929 and decided in 1933. The accused were arrested for organizing an Indian railway strike.

Jhabwala took a very prominent and leading part in the Trade Unions and Workers and Peasants Party. On 22nd January 1927, he gave a speech on general revolt against organized oppression, the need for a gradual revolution, and the adoption of Leninism against tyranny and oppression. For some time, he also acted as the Secretary of the Bombay branch of the League against Colonial oppression.

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Shapurji Saklatvala was described by the British secret services as ‘one of the most violent anti-British agitators in England.’ Born in 1874 into a wealthy Parsi family in Bombay (now Mumbai), he was sent away to England to manage the family’s Manchester office after he fell ill with malaria.

He joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in 1909 in England as he was drawn to ideas of equality and socialism. In the 1922 election in England, he became the Labour and Communist MP for Battersea North, making him the first MP of colour to be elected in the history of the Labour Party.

For taking up issues around India’s freedom struggle and opposing key proposals, he was described by the press as the ‘Member of Parliament for India’.

In the heart of the British Empire, Saklatvala worked to attack, expose and abolish the colonial structures.

Similarly, Bhikhaji Rustom Cama or Madam Cama was a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. She unfurled one of the earliest versions of the flag of independent India on August 22, 1907, becoming the first person to hoist an Indian flag in a foreign nation. The hoisting was done at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart, Germany.

On June 30, 1921, the Parsis of Mumbai conducted a meeting at the Excelsior Theatre to donate Rs 30,001 to Mahatma Gandhi for the Tilak Swaraj fund.

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The contribution of Dadabhai Naoroji and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta to India’s freedom struggle is well known. Dadabhai was one of the first Indian political activists and a moderate leader in the Congress. Very vocal in his criticism of British policies in India, he acted as a mentor to Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

His book 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India' highlighted how the British economic policies extracted wealth from India to finance Britain's industries. 

Born on August 4, 1845, in Bombay in a merchant family, Pherozshah was responsible for the founding of the Bombay Chronicle newspaper in April 1913. The newspaper became an important agency for expressing Indian public opinion towards the nationalist movement. He was engaged in the forming and running of political associations and in serving Governmental official institutions.

Pherozeshah presided over the Congress session held in Calcutta in 1890 and kept the extremists from dominating the Congress. Along with Justice Telang, he founded the Bombay Presidency Association (1885) and served as its Secretary.

(US Anu is a Madurai-based writer. She specialises in stories around human interest, environment and art and culture.)

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