Joachim and Violet Alva 2008 stamp of India

Joachim Ignatius Sebastian Alva or Joachim Piedade Alva (21 January 1907 – 28 June 1979) was an Indian lawyer, journalist and politician from

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

. He was a prominent

Mangalorean Christian Mangalorean Catholics ( kok, Kōdiyālcheñ Kathōlikā) are an ethno-religious community of Latin Catholics in India typically residing in the Diocese of Mangalore in the erstwhile South Canara area, by the southwestern coast of present-day Ka ...

figure involved in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. After Independence, Alva was appointed Sheriff of Bombay in 1949 for the

Bombay state Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...

. In 1950, he entered the Provisional Parliament of India. He was elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

in 1952, 1957, and 1962 from North

Kanara Kanara, also known as Karavali is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The region comprises three civil districts, ...

. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1968 and retired from the Rajya Sabha in 1974.

History

Joachim Alva belonged to the Alva-Bhat, a

Mangalorean Catholic Mangalorean Catholics ( kok, Kōdiyālcheñ Kathōlikā) are an ethno-religious community of Latin Catholics in India typically residing in the Diocese of Mangalore in the erstwhile South Canara area, by the southwestern coast of present-day K ...

clan from Belle in

Udupi district Udupi district (also Udipi or Odipu in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara coastal region, there are seven taluks, ...

. He was educated at the Jesuit St. Aloysius College, Mangalore,

Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1823, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the ed ...

Government Law College, Mumbai The Government Law College, Mumbai, (GLC Mumbai), founded in 1855, is the one of the oldest law schools in Asia. The college, affiliated to the University of Mumbai, is run by the Government of Maharashtra. Bal Gangadhar Tilak ,Pratibha Pa ...

and the Jesuit

St. Xavier's College, Mumbai St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic, autonomous higher education institution run by the Bombay Province of the Society of Jesus in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by the Jesuits on January 2, 1869. The college is affil ...

. In 1928, Alva became the first Christian to be appointed as Secretary of the fifty-year-old Bombay Students Brotherhood. Along with

Khurshed Nariman Khurshed Framji Nariman (1883 – 1948), also known as Veer Nariman, was one of the second generation of Parsi stalwarts in the Indian National Congress. He remained Mayor of Bombay from 1935 for a year. Life After studying B.A. and L.L.B., he st ...

, H.D. Raja and Soli Batliwala, he was a pioneer of the Bombay Youth League. In 1930, Alva founded the Nationalist Christian Party with the goal of drawing the Christian community into the freedom struggle. He was expelled from St. Xavier's College for moving a resolution at the Catholic Students Union urging it to throw open its doors to students of other communities. In 1937, Alva presided over a large meeting of Christians at Bombay addressed by

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

. He was actively involved in organizing the "No-Tax" campaign at the

Bardoli Satyagraha The Bardoli Satyagraha, in the state of bardoli, India during the British Raj, was a major phase of civil disobedience and revolt in the Indian Independence Movement on 12 June 1928. The movement was eventually led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a ...

and appointed Dictator of the War Council. Imprisoned twice by British Indian authorities on charges of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...

, Alva was jail companion to

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of I ...

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for le ...

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...

and J. C. Kumarappa. In 1934,

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

wrote a letter to Alva to inform him that he had missed him at

Yerwada Jail Yerwada Central Jail is a noted high-security prison in Yerwada, Pune in Maharashtra. This is the largest prison in the state of Maharashtra, and also one of the largest prisons in South Asia, housing over 5,000 prisoners (2017) spread over var ...

because of his early release. In Nasik prison, Alva wrote two books: ''Men and Supermen of Hindustan'' and ''Indian Christians and Nationalism.'' Although the manuscripts of both were confiscated by prison authorities, ''Men and Supermen of Hindustan'' was subsequently re-drafted and published in 1943. In 1937, Alva married Violet Hari, a Gujarati Protestant from

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

and professor of English at St. Xavier's Indian Women's University College. Violet would also go on to become active in national politics. On 9 August 1943, the first anniversary of Quit India Day, Joachim and Violet Alva founded ''FORUM'', a weekly news magazine which became known for its championing of the cause of independence. After Independence, Alva was appointed Sheriff of Bombay in 1949. In 1950, he entered the Provisional Parliament of India. He was elected to the

in 1952 and 1957 and 1962 from North Kanara. In 1952, Violet was elected to the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

making them the first couple to be elected to Parliament under adult franchise. The Government of India issued a stamp commemorating the couple in November 2008.A stamp in memory of Joachim and Violet Alva

Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...

, 20 November 2008.

Personal life

Joachim and Violet Alva had two sons, Niranjan and Chittaranjan, and a daughter, Maya. The couple were close associates of

Khin Kyi Maha Thiri Thudhamma Khin Kyi (16 April 1912 – 27 December 1988) ( my, ခင်ကြည်) was a Burmese politician and diplomat, best known for her marriage to the country's leader, Aung San, with whom she had four children, including Aung ...

, Burma's ambassador to India from 1960, widow of Burmese nationalist General Aung San. The late

Henry F. Grady Henry Francis Grady (February 12, 1882 – September 14, 1957) was an American diplomat. Born in San Francisco, California, to John Henry and Ellen Genevieve (Rourke) Grady, he earned a PhD in economics from Columbia University. On October 18, ...

, the first US Ambassador to India, was godfather to Maya. His son Niranjan is married to

Margaret Alva Margaret Nazareth Alva ( born 14 April 1942) is an Indian politician. Alva served as the 17th Governor of Goa, 23rd Governor of Gujarat, 20th Governor of Rajasthan and 4th Governor of Uttarakhand the until the end of her tenure in August 2014. S ...

, née Margaret Nazareth, former General Secretary of the

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...

, former

Governor of Uttarakhand The governor of Uttarakhand is appointed by the president of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the president's pleasure. The governor is ''de jure'' head of the state government; all its executive actions are taken in the gov ...

and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alva, Joachim 1907 births 1979 deaths India MPs 1952–1957 India MPs 1957–1962 India MPs 1962–1967 Indian independence activists from Karnataka Indian Roman Catholics Lok Sabha members from Karnataka Mangaloreans Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka Sheriffs of Mumbai Prisoners and detainees of British India