Bombay Presidency Association
What was the Bombay Presidency Association?
Who were the founders of the Bombay Presidency Association?
How did the Bombay Presidency Association influence the formation of the Indian National Congress?
Bombay Presidency Association, political organization founded in January 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, by Pherozeshah Mehta, Badruddin Tyabji, and Kashinath Trimbak Telang. It was one of the key political precursors to the Indian National Congress (Congress Party), which was founded in December 1885. The Bombay Presidency Association advocated for wider Indian representation in the governance of the British Raj and political reforms within the colonial system. As a platform for the intellectual elite of Bombay, it was one of the earliest political groups that paved the way for organized national politics in India. The association gradually merged with the Congress Party, which later led the Indian Independence Movement.
Background
The years following the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company marked the start of a more organized and nationwide political awakening among Indians. Political organizations of all stripes sprouted across the Indian subcontinent. Among these groups were the British Indian Association (founded 1851), which represented the interests of the zamindars (landowning elites under the British revenue system), and the Indian Association (founded 1876), which emerged as the voice of educated Indians against discriminatory and restrictive British policies, such as the Vernacular Press Act and the Arms Act.
| year of enactment | policy | viceroy | key features |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1858 | Government of India Act | Lord Canning | Transferred control of India from the East India Company to the British crown |
| 1861 | Indian Councils Act | Lord Canning | Established representative political institutions in India and strengthened the British crown’s control |
| 1878 | Vernacular Press Act | Lord Lytton | Suppressed Indian-language newspapers critical of the British administration |
| 1878 | Arms Act | Lord Lytton | Banned Indians from bearing arms without a government license |
| 1881 | Factory Act | Lord Ripon | Introduced safety regulations in factories and prohibited child labor under age seven |
| 1884 | Ilbert Bill | Lord Ripon | Allowed Indian judges to try British subjects in India but faced resistance from many British officials and citizens |
Origin and impact
The Bombay Presidency Association was founded on January 31, 1885, by Mehta, Tyabji, and Telang, who were among the most influential political leaders in Bombay at the time. It primarily comprised graduates, lawyers, industrialists, and real estate owners.
Pherozeshah Mehta was called the “Lion of Bombay” for his enduring contributions to the city’s development. As the architect of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act of 1872, he also earned the title “father of the municipal government in Bombay.”
The Bombay Presidency Association was formed after the Ilbert Bill was issued. Introduced by Lord Ripon (viceroy of India from 1880 to 1884), the bill gave Indian judges the authority to try cases involving British subjects in India. Despite its popularity among Indians, the bill was opposed by British residents in India, who objected to the idea of Indian judges trying Europeans. Bowing to this pressure, the bill was watered down before its passage in 1884: Indian judges could try British subjects but only if half the jury was European. This compromise frustrated many Indians, who saw it as racial discrimination and a denial of equality. Amid this growing discontent, the association was formed to provide a platform for Indians advocating for greater representation and reforms in the British administration.
In 1885 the Bombay Presidency Association sent representatives to Britain to support the Liberal Party in the elections to the British Parliament. The association sought to persuade British voters to back candidates sympathetic to Indian political aspirations. However, the strategy failed, as the Liberal Party lost the elections, and the Conservative Party emerged victorious.
Rumblings of discontent emerged within the Bombay Presidency Association, particularly over its support for the Liberal Party in Britain in the 1885 elections. Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy, a prominent Parsi merchant in Bombay, and Dosabhoy Framji, a government official, opposed the association’s involvement in the internal politics of Britain and resigned in 1885. Moreover, a steady exodus of members to the Congress Party, which had a structured plan to nationalize politics in India, further diminished the association’s strength. Two of the association’s founding members—Tyabji and Mehta—joined the Congress Party and served as its president in 1887 and 1890, respectively. The association eventually collaborated with the party and was slowly incorporated into it.
