Dadabhai Naoroji (1825–1917), popularly known as the ‘Grand Old Man of India’, was thrice elected president of the Indian National Congress. In 1892, he became the first Indian to be elected to the British House of Commons. He was one of the primary advocates of Swaraj, or self-rule, for India. Naoroji’s most lasting contribution to Indian nationalism was his exposition of the exploitative nature of British colonialism through his ‘drain theory’. In his public life spanning over six decades, Naoroji amassed a voluminous correspondence. While, unfortunately, most of the letters that Naoroji wrote no longer survive, his archival collection contains thousands of letters from political leaders and intellectuals in India, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. This volume includes correspondence with, among others, Behramji M. Malabari, a prominent social reformer; Henry M. Hyndman, founder of the first British socialist party; and William Wedderburn, an early Indian nationalist colleague. Accompanied by an extensive introduction, these writings open a window to Naoroji’s political career and the broader contours of the early Indian nationalist movement and Victorian politics in Great Britain.

About the Author

S.R. Mehrotra was a professor of history at Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla; Jawaharlal Nehru Professor at M.D. University, Rohtak; and a fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. He is currently co-editing the selected works of Allan Octavian Hume. Dinyar Patel teaches history at the University of South Carolina. He holds a PhD in history from Harvard University, where he completed his dissertation on Dadabhai Naoroji and early Indian nationalism.