Herabai Tata (1879–1941) was an Indian women's rights activist and suffragist. Married in 1895, Tata's husband was progressive and supported the education of his wife and daughter, hiring tutors to help her with her schooling. In 1909, Tata, who was Parsi, developed an interest in Theosophy and within a few years made the acquaintance of Annie Besant. Around the same time, in 1911, she met Sophia Duleep Singh, a British suffragist with Indian heritage, who influenced her development as a suffragist. A founding member and the general secretary of the Women's Indian Association, she became one of the women who petitioned for enfranchisement before the Montagu-Chelmsford investigation in 1917.
Herabai Tata | |
|---|---|
 Herabai (seated) and Mithan Tata, 1919 | |
| Born | 1879 |
| Died | 1941 (aged 61–62) |
| Other names | Herabai A. Tata, Herabai Ardeshir Tata |
| Occupation(s) | women's rights advocate, suffragist |
| Years active | 1911–1920s |
When the reforms which were proposed failed to include women's suffrage, Tata and other feminists began protesting and publishing articles on the need for the vote. Referred to the Southborough Franchise Committee to develop the electoral regulations for implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms, she wrote an article for The Times of India arguing that as some municipalities already allowed women to vote, extending the right was justified. Nonetheless, the Southborough Committee also rejected the inclusion of enfranchisement for women and sent their recommendations to the Joint Select Committee of the House of Lords and Commons. Tata was chosen by the Bombay Suffrage Committee to travel to England to present the case in favor of suffrage to the Joint Committee.
Compiling a report to substantiate the claim for suffrage, Tata and her daughter Mithan made two presentations to the government and traveled throughout the country to try to gain support for their cause. She published articles in various journals and spoke, inspiring individuals and organizations to flood the India Office with endorsements. Though unable to influence the reform act to include complete suffrage for women, the final bill did allow provisions for Indian provinces to enfranchise women if they chose to do so. Once in England, Tata and her daughter enrolled in courses at London School of Economics and remained until 1924. She continued to work for voting rights and legislation protecting children until her husband was injured in an accident and required her care. Tata died in 1941 and is remembered as one of the prominent suffragists in the early struggle for the vote in India.
Early life
editHerabai was born in 1879 in Bombay, which at the time was in the British Raj. At the age of sixteen, she was married to Ardeshir Bejonji Tata[1][Notes 1] an employee at a textile mill. The family were Parsis.[5][6] On 2 March 1898 the couples' daughter, Mithan was born in Maharashtra.[2] They soon moved to Phulgaon, near Nagpur, where Ardeshir worked at a textile mill as an assistant master weaver.[6] He was progressive in his thoughts on women's education and hired tutors to help Tata in her wish to further her education.[7] Taking a position in a mill in Ahmedabad, the family remained there until 1913, when they relocated to Bombay, where Ardeshir became manager of a large textile mill.[2][5]
Activism
edit
Early activism
editIn 1909, Herabai became interested in Theosophy and began attending conventions in Adyar, Madras and Benaras. At the 1912 convention in Benaras, she met Annie Besant,[8][1] who had become president of the Theosophical Society Adyar in 1908.[9] In 1911, while vacationing in Kashmir with her daughter, Tata met the suffragist, Sophia Duleep Singh. Charmed by her enthusiasm for the cause and after reading the literature Singh later sent, Tata became active in the fight for women's enfranchisement.[8][10] In 1916, discussions about Indian Home Rule began to escalate and the Montagu investigations began.[11] Edwin Montagu, Secretary of State for India, and Lord Chelmsford, Viceroy of India traveled to the country with the aim of soliciting opinion on a limited political devolution of British power.[12]
In 1917, Margaret Cousins founded the Women's Indian Association in Adyar to create a vehicle for women to influence government policy. Besant and Tata were both founding members, along with other women. Besant served as the president[citation needed] and Tata was named as the general secretary of the organization.[13] Cousins secured an audience with Montagu to present the political demands of women. On 15 December 1917,[12] Sarojini Naidu led a deputation of 14 leading women from throughout India to present the call to include women's suffrage in the new Franchise Bill under development by the Government of India.[11][13][14] As part of the delegation, Tata made an impassioned plea for women to be included as "people" and not prohibited from voting as if they were foreigners, children or lunatics.[13]
Despite their efforts, when the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms were introduced in 1918 no recommendation was made for women's enfranchisement.[15] Suffragists prepared petitions and submitted them to legislatures and conferences[16] and published updates about the struggle in Stri Dharma, urging support for women's political empowerment as a part of the anti-colonial movement against Britain.[17] As the next step of the process, the Southborough Franchise Committee was formed to develop the electoral regulations for implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms.[18] Their report issued in April 1919 also rejected including women's suffrage, as they felt the conservative society would be against it.[19][20] Tata published her rationale for women's enfranchisement in The Times of India in June, arguing that as women already could vote in Bombay municipal elections, extending the vote was not a novel idea. In July women in Bombay organized a protest meeting at which Tata spoke.[21] When Lord Southborough sent his report to the Joint Select Committee of the House of Lords and Commons, the Bombay Committee on Women's Suffrage[Notes 2] decided to send Tata and her daughter Mithan to give evidence along with Sir Sankaran Nair.[11][19][22]
Move to England
editThe Bombay Suffrage Committee financed the trip with funds provided by Tata Limited, but as all of the expenses were not covered, Tata's husband, Ardeshir, who encouraged her to go, provided the remaining funds needed. She wrote to influential people in a wide range of organizations to gain their support for the cause and was an active speaker at events. Mother and daughter compiled numerous reports on women's franchise to substantiate their case in favor of granting women the vote.[24] Besant and Naidu presented pleas for enfranchisement in August.[24] In September 1919, Tata presented the memorandum Why Should Women Have Votes to the India Office.[25] While in England, the Tatas spoke at various public meetings and events of British suffragists,[22] traveling to "Birkenhead, Bolton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Harrowgate, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle" to gain the support of other women. They were very successful in their pleas which resulted in the India Office being inundated with resolutions of support for women's suffrage in India.[26] She also sent regular correspondence to Jaiji Petit, chair of the Bombay Committee on Women's Suffrage.[27] Tata and her daughter participated in a second presentation before the Joint Select Committee on 13 October.[11] They were also present for the final reading of the bill in December 1919, which included a clause that Indian provinces could enfranchise women if they chose to do so.[2]
Initially planning to stay through the end of the year, Tata and her daughter decided to remain in England when Mithan was accepted for post graduate studies at the London School of Economics.[2][11] Tata also enrolled at the school and though she did not obtain a degree, she took courses between 1919 and 1922 in administration, economics, and social science.[28] During her time in England, Tata worked actively to develop support for women's political identity.[29] She published articles in various journals, like The Vote[30][31] and United India.[32] These activities were not always appreciated in India, as she drew criticism from Young India, when an article published in 1920 alleged that she was not fighting British colonialism, but rather seeking help from their colonizers.[11] That year, she participated in the 8th Congress of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) held in Geneva, Switzerland.[33] In 1923, she was a delegates to the 9th IWSA Congress in Rome. Though not elected, Tata was proposed as a member of the international board, which was the first time Indian women could qualify for administrative positions in the organization.[34]
Return to India
editIn 1924, Tata and her daughter returned to India.[28] That year, she organized a public conference with various women's groups to provide input on a pending bill for children. Among the suggestions sent to the government were provisions to allow women to participate in drafting the act, increased penalties for "forcing a girl into immorality", recognition of women as parents on par with men, and placing women magistrates on the Children's Courts.[35] In 1925, when the National Council of Women in India (NCWI) was formed, Tata joined along with her daughter Mithan.[36] An injury which caused Ardeshir to lose his sight, curtailed her ability to participate as actively as she had formerly, as she became his caregiver.[28]
Death and legacy
editTata died in 1941.[37] Much of her legacy was overshadowed by her more famous daughter,[4] but writer and activist Rita Banerji said Tata was one of the central figures in the fight for suffrage in India.[38] Geraldine Forbes, distinguished teaching professor of history and director of the women's studies department at the State University of New York at Oswego,[39] called Tata the "real soldier" in the campaign for women's enfranchisement in India.[24]
Notes
edit- ^ Some references indicate that her husband was from the influential, industrialist Tata family,[2][3] while others disclaim the familial relationship.[4]
- ^ This committee is variously given as an entity from the All India Home Rule League,[22] the Bombay Women's Suffrage Union,[23] or the Women's Indian Association.[11]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b Mukherjee 2011, p. 111.
- ^ a b c d e Mukherjee 2018b.
- ^ Anand 2015, p. 338.
- ^ a b Doctor 2018.
- ^ a b Asian Voice 2016.
- ^ a b Mankekar 2002, p. 200.
- ^ De Souza 2009.
- ^ a b The Open University 2015.
- ^ Sweet 2010.
- ^ Anand 2015, p. 339.
- ^ a b c d e f g Mukherjee 2011, p. 112.
- ^ a b Forbes 2004, p. 92.
- ^ a b c Odeyar 1989, p. 179.
- ^ Deivanai 2003, p. 113.
- ^ Odeyar 1989, p. 182.
- ^ Forbes 2004, p. 93.
- ^ Tusan 2003, p. 624.
- ^ Odeyar 1989, p. 184.
- ^ a b Forbes 2004, p. 95.
- ^ Odeyar 1989, p. 185.
- ^ Mukherjee 2018a, p. 80.
- ^ a b c Odeyar 1989, p. 186.
- ^ Munshi 2018.
- ^ a b c Forbes 2004, p. 97.
- ^ Mukherjee 2018a, p. 81.
- ^ Mukherjee 2018a, pp. 82–83.
- ^ Mukherjee 2018a, p. 83.
- ^ a b c Donnelly 2018.
- ^ Desai & Thakkar 2001, p. 7.
- ^ Tata 1919, pp. 345–346.
- ^ Tata 1922, p. 130.
- ^ Mukherjee 2018a, p. 84.
- ^ International Woman Suffrage Alliance 1920, p. 15.
- ^ Mukherjee 2018a, p. 181.
- ^ The Vote 1924, p. 279.
- ^ Desai & Thakkar 2001, p. 5.
- ^ Singh 1986, p. 73.
- ^ Banerji 2014.
- ^ Kanafani 1999, p. xi.
Bibliography
edit- Anand, Anita (2015). Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4088-3546-3.
- Banerji, Rita (5 May 2014). "Herabai Tata: The Power Behind Indian Women's Voting Rights". Gender Bytes. India: 50 Million Missing Campaign. Archived from the original on 23 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019. While website is a blog, publisher is an author who has published on gender in peer reviewed books and journals.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - Deivanai, P. (May 2003). Feminist Struggle for Universal Suffrage in India with Special Reference to Tamilnadu 1917 to 1952 (PhD). Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu: Bharathiar University. hdl:10603/101938.
- Desai, Neera; Thakkar, Usha (2001). Women in Indian Society (1st: 2004 reprint ed.). New Delhi, India: National Book Trust. ISBN 81-237-3677-0.
- De Souza, Eunice (13 August 2009). "Imagine a Woman". Mumbai Mirror. Mumbai, India. Archived from the original on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- Doctor, Vikram (3 March 2018). "On the Centenary of Women's Suffrage, A Look at How India Achieved Electoral Equality". The Economic Times. Mumbai, India. Archived from the original on 23 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- Donnelly, Sue (31 October 2018). "A mother and daughter at LSE – Herabai and Mithan Tata". LSE Blogs. London: London School of Economics. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- Forbes, Geraldine Hancock (2004). Women in Modern India. The New Cambridge History of India. Vol. 4 (Reprint ed.). New York, New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-65377-0.
- International Woman Suffrage Alliance (1920). Report of Eighth Congress, Geneva, Switzerland, 6-12 June 1920 (PDF) (Report). Manchester, England: Percy Brothers Ltd. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- Kanafani, Fay Afaf (1999). Nadia, Captive of Hope: Memoir of an Arab Woman. Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-0312-8.
- Mankekar, Kamla (2002). Women Pioneers in India's Renaissance, as I Remember Her: Contributions from Eminent Women of Present-day India. New Delhi, India: National Book Trust. ISBN 978-81-237-3766-9.
- Mukherjee, Sumita (2018a). Indian Suffragettes: Female Identities and Transnational Networks. New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press India. ISBN 978-0-19-909370-0.
- Mukherjee, Sumita (2011). "Herabai Tata and Sophia Duleep Singh: Suffragette Resistances for Indian and Britain, 1910-1920". In Mukherjee, Sumita; Ahmed, Rehana (eds.). South Asian Resistances in Britain, 1858 - 1947. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 106–121. ISBN 978-1-4411-5514-6.
- Mukherjee, Sumita (15 February 2018b). "Tata [married name Lam], Mithan Ardeshir [Mithibai] (1898–1981)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.111939. Retrieved 22 November 2019. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Munshi, Shazneen Y. (13 October 2018). Wadia, Arzan Sam (ed.). "Commemorating Zoroastrian and Indian Women in the British Suffrage Movement". Parsi Khabar. New York City, New York. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- Odeyar, S. B. (1989). The Role of Marathi Women in the Struggle for India's Freedom (PhD). Kolhapur, Maharashtra: Shivaji University. hdl:10603/140691.
- Singh, Nancy (1986). The Sugar in the Milk: the Parsis in India. Delhi, India: Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge for the Institute for Development Education, Madras.
- Sweet, William (2010). "Besant, Annie (née Wood: 1847–1933)". In Grayling, A.C.; Goulder, Naomi; Pyle, Andrew (eds.). The Continuum Encyclopedia of British Philosophy (online ed.). London: Thoemmes Continuum. ISBN 978-0-199-75469-4. – via Oxford University Press's Reference Online (subscription required)
- Tata, Herabai (3 October 1919). "Eastern Women and the Vote: A Plea from India". The Vote. Vol. XVIII, no. 519. London. Retrieved 24 November 2019 – via LSE Digital library.
- Tata, Herabai (28 April 1922). "Indian Women's Enfranchisement". The Vote. Vol. XXIII, no. 653. London. Retrieved 24 November 2019 – via LSE Digital library.
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- "Bombay Children's Bill". The Vote. Vol. XXV, no. 775. London. 29 August 1924. Retrieved 24 November 2019 – via LSE Digital library.
- "Herabai Tata". Making Britain. London: The Open University. 2015. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- "Remembering the First Ever Indian Female Barrister in the UK". Asian Voice. Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 28 November 2016. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2019.