Bahman Pestonji Wadia or Bomanji Pestonji Wadia (''BP Wadia'', ''B.P. Wadia'' or ''BPW'') (* 8 October 1881 in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

; † 20 August 1958 in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, India) was an Indian theosophist and labour activist. He was first a member of the

Theosophical Society Adyar The Theosophy Society was founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. The designation 'Adyar' is sometimes added to the name to make it clear that this is the Theosophical Society headquartered there, after the American section ...

(TS Adyar), later of the

United Lodge of Theosophists The United Lodge of Theosophists or ULT is an informal and wholly voluntary association of ''students'' of Theosophy. It was founded in 1909, mainly through the efforts of Robert Crosbie. The first ''parent lodge'' of the ULT was started in Los A ...

(ULT).Olav Hammer, Mikael Rothstein. ''Handbook of the Theosophical Current''. Brill Publishing, 2013 (pp. 83). On 13 April 1918, along with V. Kalyanasundaram Mudaliar, Wadia founded the Madras Labour Union, one of India's first organised labour unions. In 1903 he joined the Theosophical Society in

and moved to Adyar in 1908. He worked for the journal The Theosophist. He became president of the ''Madras Textile Workers' Union'' and engaged himself for worker's rights. In 1919 he visited the ULT in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and was very impressed. When he returned to Adyar in 1919, he tried to work for a change of direction in the TS Adyar, based on the ideals of the ULT, but didn't succeed. He became disappointed and left the TS Adyar to work for the ULT in Los Angeles. In 1923 he founded several lodges on the east coast of the States. In 1925 he founded a lodge in the UK. In 1928 a lodge was founded in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, in 1929 in Mumbai, and in 1930 he began publishing the journal ''

The Aryan Path ''The Aryan Path'' was an Anglo-Indian theosophical journal published in Bombay, India, between 1930 and 1960. Its purpose was to form "a nucleus of universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color; to st ...

''. In 1928 he married Sophia Camacho (1901-1986). In 1945 he founded
The Indian Institute of World Culture (IIWC)
' in

. Other lodges of the ULT were founded in the States, Europe and India. A street in

, ''B.P. Wadia Road'', is named after him.

Notes

Works

* ''Growth through service''. The Theosophical association of New York, New York 1922 * ''Problems of national and international politics''. Theosophical association of New York, New York 1922 * ''Studies in "The secret doctrine“''. Theosophy Co. (India), Bombay 1963 * ''The building of the home''. Indian Institute of World Culture, Bangalore 1959 * ''The inner ruler''. Theosophical association of New York, New York 1922 * ''Theosophy and new thought''. The Cosmopolitan press, Bombay 1907 * ''Thus have I heard, leading articles from "The Aryan path“''. Indian Institute of World Culture, Bangalore 1959

External links

*
Biography and texts

United Lodge of Theosophists India

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadia, B. P. Wadia, Bahman Pestonji Wadia, Bahman Pestonji Trade unionists from Maharashtra 1881 births 1958 deaths Politicians from Mumbai 20th-century Indian politicians Wadia family