Sir Dhanjishah Bomanji Cooper (2 January 1878 – 29 July 1947) was an Indian

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 ...

industrialist, politician and the first

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

. Cooper was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in the

1937 New Year Honours The 1937 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were t ...

Early life

Dhanjishah Cooper was born in a poor Parsi family to Bomanji and Firozabai Cooper. He finished his schooling in a government school in Satara. While working in a paper mill he started a contract business. He started manufacturing iron ploughs in 1922 at Satara and later became a pioneer of diesel engine manufacturing in India.

Career

Cooper entered public life in 1912 and followed the policy of seeking British support for social reform, agricultural development and industrialisation. In 1920, he joined the Non-Brahmin Party under the leadership of

Shahu of Kolhapur Shahu (also known as Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu, Shahu IV, Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, Kolhapur's Shahu) (26 June 1874 – 6 May 1922) of the Bhonsle dynasty of Marathas was a Raja (reign. 1894 – 1900) and the first Maharaja (1900–1922) of t ...

and led the party in Satara. Later due to differences among party leaders, he formed his own political group which came to be called as the 'Cooper Party' which mostly consisted of local elites. As a politician, Cooper rose to prominence as a Satara municipality member, and became its president in 1923. Later he served on the Satara District Local Board, as its vice president (1922–25) and president (1929-32). Additionally, he chaired the Satara District School Board between 1925 and 1928. During this period, he made primary education compulsory in Satara Municipal area. Cooper was also a member of the Bombay Legislative Council and served as minister for Local Self-Government from 1933 to 1934. He was appointed as a member of the Governor's Executive Council where he held the Finance and Revenue portfolios from 1935 to 1937. In

1937 Bombay Presidency elections The elections to the two houses of legislatures of the Bombay Presidency were held in 1937, as part of the nationwide provincial elections in British India. The Indian National Congress was the single largest party by winning 86 of 175 seats in ...

, he was elected to the

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

from Satara North constituency. The

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

had secured the highest number of seats in the Assembly, but refused to form government. The Lord Brabourne invited Cooper to form a government. The

Cooper ministry Following the 1937 Bombay Presidency elections, Indian National Congress emerged as the largest group in the Bombay Legislative Assembly. However, when its leader B. G. Kher refused to form a government, Governor Lord Brabourne instead invited D ...

was short lived, and was soon replaced by

B. G. Kher Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher (24 August 1888 – 8 March 1957) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of Bombay (1937 - 1939, 1946 - 1947) and the first chief minister (then called Premier) of Bombay State (1947 - 1952). He was a ...

's first government.

Personal life

Cooper was married to Gulabai and they had 5 daughters and one son. His only son Nariman died in 1944 and he never recovered from this loss. He died of heart attack at the age of 69 on 29 July 1947, at the Taj Mahal Hotel,

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 second- ...

References

Chief Ministers of Maharashtra Marathi politicians People from Satara (city) Bombay State politicians Independent politicians in India Parsi people Parsi people from Mumbai 1878 births 1947 deaths Politicians from British India {{Maharashtra-politician-stub