Sir Atul Chandra Chatterjee (

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

: অতুল চন্দ্র চ্যাটার্জী; 24 November 1874 – 8 September 1955) was an Indian diplomat and government official who served as the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1925 to 1931 and was member of the governing body of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

Assembly in 1925 and 1946. He is known for proposing the

India House India House was a student residence that existed between 1905 and 1910 at Cromwell Avenue in Highgate, North London. With the patronage of lawyer Shyamji Krishna Varma, it was opened to promote nationalist views among Indian students in Britai ...

in London in 1925, which was designed by Sir

Herbert Baker Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He wa ...

and completed in 1930.

Early life and education

He was born in Calcutta (now

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

) to Hem Chandra Chatterjee and Nistarini Devi. Chatterjee was educated at Presidency College in Kolkata and then at King's College at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he graduated in 1896 with an honours degree. In 1896, he stood for the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

examinations, passing first.

Career

From 1897 to 1906, Chatterjee served as an ICS official in the United Provinces, eventually rising to the office of

District collector A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...

, after which he spent some time as an industries official in the government of the United Provinces. He represented India at the

International Labour Conference The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...

in Washington in 1919, and then at Geneva in 1921 and from 1924 to 1933. He succeeded Sir

Dadiba Merwanji Dalal Sir Dadiba Merwanji Dalal CIE (12 December 1870 – 4 March 1941) was an Indian Parsi diplomat who was the second High Commissioner for India and the first of Indian origin. A justice of the peace, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of th ...

as High Commissioner for India in 1925 and served until 1931. In 1927 he served as the President of the International Labour Conference. From 1926 to 1931 he was a member of the governing board of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

, and was elected its Vice-President in 1932 and its President in 1933. Chatterjee was an Indian delegate to the

London Naval Conference 1930 The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Empire of Japan, Japan, French Third Republic, France, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy, and the ...

, and led the Indian delegation at the Ottawa Imperial Conference in 1932. From 1921 to 1924, he was the Industries Member on the Viceroy's Executive Council, and served as the High Commissioner to the UK from 1925 to 1931, after which he served on the Council of India until 1936. From 1938 to 1946, he served as Chairman of the Permanent Central Opium Board of the

, also serving as an adviser to the

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India Secretary or the Indian Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of th ...

from 1942 to 1947. For his services, Sir Atul was appointed a CIE in the

1919 Birthday Honours The 1919 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

list and knighted with the KCIE in the 1925 New Year Honours list., He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) on 8 July 1930, and was appointed a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) in the New Year Honours of 1933.

Personal life

Chatterjee first married Vina Mookerjee and had two daughters, Reva Violet Chatterjee (1901–1977) and Vera Chatterjee (died in the post-First World War flu epidemic). Vina died young soon after Vera's birth. In 1924, he married Dr.

Gladys Broughton Gladys Mary Chatterjee, Lady Chatterjee OBE (née Broughton; 30 October 1883 – 7 May 1969) was a British teacher, schools inspector, and barrister, and the wife of Sir Atul Chandra Chatterjee. Life She was born in 1883. Her parents were Emi ...

, , sometime labour adviser to the Government of India, who was a barrister and served with the Indian Educational Service. After Indian independence, Chatterjee emigrated to the UK, settling in Kensington in London, where he died aged 80 in 1955. Subsequently Lady Chatterjee presented his books to the Centre of South Asian Studies,

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

.University of Cambridge: CHATTERJEE PAPERS

Works

* ''Notes on the Industries of the United Provinces''. (1908), Nabu Press, 2010. . * ''British contributions to Indian studies'', with Sir Richard Burn, British Council. Pub. for the British Council by Longmans, Green, 1943. * ''A short history of India'', with W. H. Moreland. Longmans, Green and co., 1944. * ''The New India ''. Allen and Unwin, London. 1948.

Footnotes

References

* ''Who's Who, 1954'' * *

External links

Sir Atul Chandra Chatterjee
'' National Portrait Gallery''
Lady Gladys Mary Broughton Chatterjee
'' National Portrait Gallery'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatterjee, Atul Chandra Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Indian knights 1874 births 1955 deaths Presidency University, Kolkata alumni University of Calcutta alumni Alumni of King's College, Cambridge High Commissioners of India to the United Kingdom Politicians from Kolkata Writers from Kolkata Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India 19th-century Indian politicians 20th-century Indian politicians