Dadabhai Naoroji, who laid the foundation of Indian freedom struggle
Dadabhai Naoroji: born - 4 September 1825, died - 30 June 1917
Dadabhai Naoroji, who laid the foundation of the Indian freedom struggle, was born on 4 September to a poor Parsi family in Mumbai (Bombay). His father's name was Naoroji Palanji Dordi and mother's name was Manekhabai.
Dadabhai was only 4 years old when his father died. Dadabhai was raised by his mother. Despite being illiterate, his mother paid special attention to his studies. He became a professor of Mathematics and Physics at the age of just 27, after completing his studies from Elphinstone Institute in Bombay.
In 1851, he started the weekly Ghaftar in Gujarati language. Became a member of the Bombay Legislative Council in 1885. In 1886, he was elected to Parliament from the Finsbury area. He also became a professor of Gujarati at the University of London and returned to India in 1869. In 1886 and 1906, he was made the President of the Indian National Congress.
Dadabhai Naoroji was instrumental in the establishment of the Indian National Congress. This is at a time when there were two factions formed in the Congress on the basis of ideology, which were called 'soft party' and 'hot party'. The working style of both the parties was as per their name.
Meanwhile, preparations for the Kolkata session of the Congress in 1906 were going on in full swing. Both parties were strategizing to grab the post of president so that their party's dominance in the party could increase. Because of this it was feared that the session would not end without any quarrel.
Seeing all this, senior members of Congress started getting distracted. They were wondering how to prevent a possible fight for the presidency. After much consideration, the idea was realized and he sent a telegram to Dadabhai Naoroji, who was living in England, that he should be ready to fulfill this responsibility once again for the benefit of the Congress. Prior to this, he had been Congress President twice. Seeing the conditions, Dadabhai got ready and at the age of 71, he became the Congress President for the third time.
Now the biggest responsibility was on his shoulder that he could put the two parties together so that the strength that should be put into fighting the British should not be destroyed in mutual conflict. Dadabhai was able to convince both the sides that according to the circumstances both types of approach need to be adopted. Since Dadabhai was respected by all, he heard and understood her. As a result, the leaders of both parties began to accept that always adopting the same attitude did not work.
Both parties began to understand the need for each other's ideology. In this way, the efforts of Dadabhai Naoroji in the Congress which has been on the verge of breakdown, again restored unity.
Dadabhai Naoroji was respectfully called 'Grand Old Man of India'. In a presidential speech in 1906, he publicly expressed his demand for self-government, he first gave the slogan of 'Swarajya' to the country.
A tribute to him on the birth anniversary of Dadabhai Naoroji, the pioneer of the creation and freedom struggle of such modern India.
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