Sir Cowasji Jehangir, 2nd Baronet, (16 February 1879 – 17 October 1962) was a prominent member of the

Bombay 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 second-m ...

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

community. He was the son of Sir Jehangir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney, 1st Bt. (1853–1934) and grand-nephew of Sir Cowasji Jehangir ''Readymoney'' (1812–1878). He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge. Cowasji Jehangir campaigned for a prominent role for the

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

community in independent India. He had become a member of the "Western India National Liberation Federation", at its founding in 1919, and was elected its president in 1936 and 1937. He was also active in the reactionary "Parsee Central Committee", which was critical of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

Parsis like Dadabhai Naoroji and

Pherozeshah Mehta Sir Pherozeshah Merwanjee Mehta (4 August 1845 – 5 November 1915) was an Indian politician and lawyer from Bombay. He was knighted by the British Government in India for his service to the law. He became the Municipal commissioner of Bombay ...

. At the second "

Round Table Conference The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in Dec ...

" in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

during 1930–1932, where the framework for the political and constitutional future of India was laid down, he was one of the three political "liberals" to represent the Parsi community. To the Minorities Committee and the Franchise Committee he advocated a graded franchise based on the standard of education which would have given the Parsis an immense over-representation in future elections. Such a scheme was never taken seriously by any other party in the discussions. After 1939, when it was apparent that independence was to come in a short while, a large number of Parsis became active in the "Western India National Liberation Federation", whose meetings were often held at his home. As a last-ditch effort, on the eve of independence in 1945, he pleaded to the

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

in a telegram not to forget the claims of the Parsis. This appeal, made as the president of the "Parsee Central Association" was nullified by a telegram from a group of Parsis calling themselves the "Freedom Group" which rejected any special privilege for the Parsis.

Legacy

The

Jehangir Art Gallery Jehangir Art Gallery is an art gallery in Mumbai (India). It was founded by Sir Cowasji Jehangir at the urging of K. K. Hebbar and Homi Bhabha. It was built in 1952. Managed by the Committee of Management, the entire cost of this mansion was ...

was established in 1952 in memory of his late son,About us
Jehangir Art Gallery. the

Cowasji Jehangir Hall The Cowasji Jehangir Hall is a museum of modern art and was part of the The Institute of Science, Mumbai, Institute of Science prior to 1996. The hall was built in 1911 by George Wittet and funded by Cowasji Jehangir. It is located in Colaba are ...

and Jehangir Institute of Psychiatry are named after him. The Readymoney Nursing Home (now

Jehangir Hospital Jehangir Hospital is a 350-bed hospital in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Sir Cowasji Jehangir and Lady Hirabai Jehangir founded the hospital on 6 February 1946. History The Jehangir Nursing Home was set by Sir Cowasji and Lady Hirabai who dona ...

) in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

was founded on property donated by Sir Cowasji and his wife Lady Hirabai. Originally named ''Readymoney Villa'', it was renamed in 1944 after their son Jehangir Cowasji Jehangir, who died in an accident that year.

References

Sir Cowasji Jehangir

TIFR Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a public deemed research university located in Mumbai, India that is dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the De ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jehangir, Cowasji Parsi people from Mumbai Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian knights 1879 births 1962 deaths Indian baronets Indian philanthropists Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India Parsi people

Legacy

See also

References

External links