Dadabhai Naoroji was a maths professor, businessman and campaigner from Bombay. He spent decades showing, with hard figures, how British rule drained wealth out of India. In 1892 he stood for Parliament in Finsbury Central in London and won by just five votes, earning the nickname "Narrow Majority". In the Commons he spoke up for India and for working people, and became known as the "Grand Old Man of India".
Dadabhai Naoroji
Britain's First Asian MP
EXTRA-ORDINARY TRAIT
COURAGE
JFDI PILLAR
D — DRIVE
COUNTRY & REGION
India (Asia)
LIFESPAN
1825 – 1917
GENDER
Man
EDITION
No.037
✦ DEFINING MOMENT
On the hustings in Finsbury, 1892, addressing the crowd.
✦ ARCHIVAL DOSSIER
The Story
✦ DID YOU KNOW?
A few years earlier, Prime Minister Lord Salisbury had said someone like him could never win an English seat. He won anyway.
✦ YOUR TURN
Where do you need to stand up even when the odds are tight?