Sir Ardeshir Dalal, KCIE (24 April 1884 – 8 October 1949) 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 ...

civil servant, and later, a businessman associated with the

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continents ...

. He was knighted in 1946, and was a vocal opponent of the partition of India.

Biography

Dalal was born on 24 April 1884 in

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 ...

to Rustomjee Dalal, who worked as share-broker. He studied at Elphinstone College in Mumbai, and In 1905 he applied for J. N. Tata Scholarship for higher studies. He received the scholarship, and studied at St. John's College Cambridge. Following this, he qualified by examination to enter the Indian Civil Service, joining in 1908.

Career

Dalal was initially appointed as a

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 ...

, and served in several districts, eventually serving as deputy secretary to the government of the State of Bombay, and serving as a member of the Provincial Legislative Council in 1923. In 1928, he became the first Indian to serve as Municipal Commissioner of Bombay, serving in that role for three years.Sir Adershir Dalal
He was the founder of IIT'S. He joined Tata Group as a Director of

Tata Steel Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group. Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata S ...

in 1931 and served Tata group till 1941 and again from 1945 his death in 1949. He was knighted in 1939. He was one of the signatories to the

Bombay Plan The Bombay Plan is the name commonly given to a World War II-era set of Import substitution industrialization-based proposals for the development of the post-independence economy of India. The plan, published in 1944/1945 by eight leading Indian ind ...

formulated in 1944. In June 1944, he resigned from Tatas as the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, invited him to join the

Viceroy's Executive Council The Viceroy's Executive Council was the cabinet of the government of British India headed by the Viceroy of India. It is also known as the Council of the Governor-General of India. It was transformed from an advisory council into a cabinet consistin ...

as Member-in-Charge of Planning and Development. His contributions as one of the architects of the Government of India's post

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

economic plan formulated in 1945 have been noted. He was knighted again as a KCIE in 1946 died on 8 October 1949. A hospital-cum-nursing college in Jamshedpur has been named after him as ''Ardeshir Dalal Memorial Hospital''.

Opposition to Division of India

Before the creation of Pakistan, Dalal suggested that for the next 10 years, some "experimental" measures should be taken to address the concerns of the India's Muslim community rather than moving ahead with the creation of Pakistan and if the Muslim populace won't be satisficed with them then it should be "free to seek and work out its own destiny in its own way". He suggested that India should adopt a federal constitution with a

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

. He proposed giving 33.25% representation to the Muslims in the legislature and central executive, and reserving some representation for the

Scheduled castes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

and Sikhs. He suggested that the citizens be guaranteed civil, personal, and religious freedom by the incorporation of a fundamental rights charter in India's constitution. He also suggested that the Indian constitution should be under the guardianship of India's federal court and 2 out of its 5 judges should be Muslims. He was of the view that the creation of Pakistan "in attempting to solve one problem, will create many more". He viewed India as not only a geographical but also a cultural and a spiritual entity. In the words of Dalal, Dalal believed that the creation of Pakistan would impede this unity and it should be "considered only if no other alternative is possible". Highlighting the primary cause of Muslims' objection to live in a united India under a central government, Dalal wrote,

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalal, Ardeshir 1884 births 1949 deaths Parsi people from Mumbai Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India Tata Steel people Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Bachelor Indian knights Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Businesspeople from Mumbai Members of the Council of the Governor General of India