Dadabhai Naoroji Biography

The first ever Asian to be a British Member of Parliament, Dadabhai Naoroji was a pioneer in many fields. He was an intellectual and an educator; he was the first Indian to become a professor at the Elphinstone Institute, Bombay, where he taught mathematics and natural philosophy. He had a deep love for mathematics and along with his love for the subject he also harbored several other interests. He was born into a poor Parsi family and struggled a lot during his childhood as his widowed mother single-handed raised him. As a young man he traveled to London to become a partner in Cama & Co, the first Indian company to be established in Britain. However, he was fed up with the unethical practices adopted in the company and resigned. Later on he went on to establish his own cotton trading company and became actively involved in politics. He felt that the British were exploiting India and set up the Gyan Prasarak Mandali to educate the adult men folk. He wrote many articles and gave speeches on the plight of India and played an important role in the formation of the Indian National Congress.