Question

Who among the following was the first Indian to be elected to the British Parliament?
A.Surendra Nath Banerjee
B.Dadabhai Naoroji
C.Pherozeshah Mehta
D.Badruddin Tayabji

Answer 1

Hint:He was an Indian political and social leader. He was a prominent figure and played a significant role in the establishment of the Indian National Movement. He played a role in the establishment of the Indian National Congress. He was also called by people as the ‘Grand Old Man of India’. He works against the economic exploitation of Indians by Britain.

Complete answer:
Dadabhai Naoroji is also called as ‘Grand Old Man of India’ and ‘Official Ambassador of India’. Dadabhai Naoroji was an Indian Parsi scholar and a politician. He was a leading nationalist author and spokesman. He was a liberal party member of Parliament in the United Kingdom between 1892 and 1895. Naoroji was the first Asian to be a British Member of Parliament. He was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress and thrice he was elected as the president of INC.
Dadabhai Naoroji was born in Gujarat, India, and was from a Parsi speaking family. He always promoted Parsi social reforms. In 1865, Naoroji launched the London Indian Society to discuss about Indian political, social, and literal subjects to the people. In 1867, Naoroji established the East India Association to put the Indian point of view before the British public. This Association won the support of popular Englishmen and was able to exercise influence in the British parliament. In 1874, Naoroji was elected as the Prime Minister of Baroda. Naoroji exposed the economic exploitation India suffered due to British rule. He presented the drain of wealth theory, which refers to a unilateral transfer of wealth from India to Britain resulting in widespread poverty. And he said that self-governance is the best option to stop the drain of wealth. He was an economic critic and played an important role in the Indian National Movement. He argued for the separation of powers of the executive and judiciary. At the age of 83 he returned to India from Britain. Naoroji died on 30 June 1917.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note:His book named ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’ brought the attention of the Indian wealth drain into Britain. He explained his wealth drain theory in this book. Indian posts depicted Naoroji on stamps in several years. He has published a newspaper called "The Voice of India." In December 1855 He was appointed as Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Bombay, becoming the first Indian to hold an academic position. He influenced people for greater representation of Indians in the House of Commons.