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4 September 2026 marked the 201st birth anniversary of Dadabhai Naoroji, born in Bombay on 4 September 1825.
Called the 'Grand Old Man of India', he built the Drain of Wealth argument against colonial economic policy.
He was the first Indian elected to the British House of Commons, winning Central Finsbury in 1892 as a Liberal.
He presided over the Indian National Congress three times - Calcutta 1886, Lahore 1893 and Calcutta 1906.
The 1906 Calcutta session he presided over adopted Swaraj as a goal of the Congress.
Born in Bombay into a Parsi family.
Appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Elphinstone College - the first Indian to hold the chair.
Founds the East India Association in London to place Indian concerns before British opinion and Parliament.
Presides over the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress.
Elected MP for Central Finsbury as a Liberal - the first Indian in the British House of Commons.
Presides over the Lahore session of the Congress.
Publishes Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.
Presides over the Calcutta session, at which the Congress adopts Swaraj as a goal.
Dies, having mentored a generation of nationalist leaders.
Naoroji argued that a large share of India's wealth flowed to Britain every year with nothing returned - through salaries and pensions of British officials, payments made outside India, and profits remitted by British firms - leaving India steadily poorer.
Simple Analogy: Like a tenant paying rent, repairs and the landlord's salary, but never earning from the property.
Founded by Naoroji in 1866 to inform British opinion about Indian conditions; treated as a forerunner of the Congress
Founded in 1885; Naoroji presided over it in 1886, 1893 and 1906
Naoroji typifies the Moderates' method - petitions and constitutional agitation, backed by hard economic argument rather than mass action.
R. C. Dutt's The Economic History of India and M. G. Ranade's writings extended the critique of colonial economic policy that Naoroji began.
Naoroji's 1906 presidential address made self-government an avowed Congress goal, on the eve of the 1907 Surat split between Moderates and Extremists.
GS Paper 1 > Modern Indian History - the freedom struggle and its important personalities
General Awareness > Modern Indian History
Who of the following was/were economic critic/critics of colonialism in India? 1. Dadabhai Naoroji 2. G. Subramania Iyer 3. R. C. Dutt Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer: 1, 2 and 3
The 1929 Session of Indian National Congress is of significance in the history of the Freedom Movement because the
Answer: attainment of Poorna Swaraj was adopted as the goal of the Congress
Consider the following statements: 1. The first woman President of the Indian National Congress was Sarojini Naidu. 2. The first Muslim President of the Indian National Congress was Badruddin Tyabji. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: 2 only
The 'Swadeshi' and 'Boycott' were adopted as methods of struggle for the first time during the
Answer: agitation against the Partition of Bengal
In 1916, the Indian National Congress session was held at:
Answer: Lucknow
Naoroji's argument that India's wealth was transferred to Britain each year without an equivalent return, chiefly through official salaries, pensions, payments made abroad and remitted business profits.
Self-government; adopted as a goal of the Indian National Congress at the 1906 Calcutta session over which Naoroji presided.
Body founded by Naoroji in London in 1866 to press Indian concerns on British opinion and Parliament; a forerunner of the Congress.