M. C. Chagla

M. C. Chagla

M. C. Chagla (30 September 1900 – 9 February 1981), full name Mahommedali Currim Chagla, was a renowned Indian jurist, diplomat, and Cabinet Minister who served as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court from 1948 to 1958.

Contents

Active life and career

Born on 30 September 1900 in Bombay to a well-off Shia Muslim merchant family, Chagla suffered a lonely childhood owing to his mother's death in 1905. He was educated at St. Xavier's High School and College in Bombay, after which he went on to study at Lincoln College, Oxford University, from 1919 until 1922. He then was admitted to the Bar of the Bombay High Court, where he worked with such illuminaries as Sir Jamsetji Kanga and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who would one day become the founder of Pakistan.

Chagla idolized Jinnah and held membership in the Muslim League, but severed all ties to Jinnah after he began to work for the cause of a separate Muslim state. He, along with others, then founded the Muslim Nationalist Party in Bombay, a party which was ignored and pushed aside in the independence struggle. He was appointed as Professor of law to Government Law College, Bombay in 1927, where he worked with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. He was appointed as a judge to Bombay High Court in 1941, becoming Chief Justice in 1948 and serving in that capacity to 1958.

In 1946, Chagla was part of the first Indian delegation to the UN. From 4 October to 10 December, 1956, Chagla served as Acting Governor of the then state of Bombay, later broken up into the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Following his tenure as Chief Justice, he served as the one-man commission that examined the Finance Minister of India, T.T. Krishnamachari, over the controversial Haridas Mundhra L.I.C insurance scandal, which forced T.T. Krishnamachari's resignation as Finance Minister. Krishnamachari was quite close to Nehru and Nehru was therefore intensely angry at Chagla for his revelations of TTK's part in the affair, though he later forgave Chagla. From September 1957 to 1959, Chagla served as ad hoc judge to the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

After retirement he served as Indian ambassador to the USA from 1958 to 1961. Chagla then served as Indian High Commissioner in the UK from April 1962 to September 1963. Immediately on his return, he was asked to be a Cabinet Minister, which he accepted, and he served as Education Minister from 1963 to 1966, then served as the Minister for External Affairs of India from November 1966 to September 1967, after which he left government service. He then spent the remaining years of his life actively, continuing to practice law into his seventies.

As Minister of Education under Jawaharlal Nehru, Chagla was distraught by the quality of education in government schools:

Our Constitution fathers did not intend that we just set up hovels, put students there, give untrained teachers, give them bad textbooks, no playgrounds, and say, we have complied with Article 45 and primary education is expanding... They meant that real education should be given to our children between the ages of 6 and 14 [1]

Unfortunately, this comment remains true for Indian education even today

Personal life and family

In 1930, Chagla married Mehrunissa Dharsi Jivraj, and the couple had one daughter, Husnara, born in 1932, and two sons, Jehangir and Iqbal, born in 1934 and 1939, respectively. Mehrunissa Dharsi Jivraj died in November 1961.

Last years and death

In 1973, Chagla published his autobiography, Roses in December, with the help of his son Iqbal. He vehemently protested against the Indian Emergency.

Mohammed Currim Chagla died on 9 February 1981, at the age of 81 of heart failure. He had been unwell for several years, and had suffered four heart attacks. True to his active and energetic nature, he had not let his health slow him down. On the day of his death, he went as usual to his club in Bombay and had a good time with his friends. He then slipped away to the dressing room and there,peacefully died. According to his wish, he was cremated instead of having a traditional Muslim burial. The Bombay High Court was closed to show respect for him, and several speeches were made in his memory, including one by a future Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

In 1985, a statue of Chagla was unveiled and placed within the High Court itself, appropriately outside the Chief Justice's Court where once he served. The inscription on the statue plinth reads:

"A great judge, a great citizen, and, above all, a great human being."

Further facts

Chagla was an agnostic.

The surname "Chagla" was not his original surname. In Chagla's autobiography, he recounted that in his youth, he was known as "Merchant" as both his father and grandfather were merchants. Hating the name due to its associations with money, he went to his grandfather one day and asked him as to what he should call himself. His grandfather promptly replied "Chagla" as his only son, Chagla's father, had had Chagla as his pet name, which in the Kutchi language means "favourite". Chagla promptly adopted the new surname.

References

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Sardar Swaran Singh
Minister for External Affairs of India
1966–1967
Succeeded by
Indira Gandhi
Preceded by
Gaganvihari Lallubhai Mehta
Indian Ambassador to the United States
1958–1961
Succeeded by
B.K. Nehru

"Roses In December, an autobiography," M.C. Chagla, Tenth Edition, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2000, ISBN 81-7276-203-8


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Chagla — is a village in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies at an altitude of 5328 metres (17,480 feet). The village has a population of about 201. List of towns and villages in Tibet Coordinates: 29°52′N 85°58′E …   Wikipedia

  • Chagla Street — is one of the largest trading market for business in Karachi and Karachi itself is the largest city of Pakistan.It is located in Kharadar ,near Mithadar. Categories: KarachiMarkets in Pakistan …   Wikipedia

  • Ahmed Ghulamali Chagla — was the musician who wrote the score for the national anthem of Pakistan, ( Qaumi Tarana ) in 1950. He was born in May 1902 into a prominent Karachi family. His father, Ghulamali Chagla was the third elected president of the municipality of… …   Wikipedia

  • Qaumī Tarāna — قومی ترانہ National Anthem National anthem of  Pakistan …   Wikipedia

  • Qaumi Tarana — Infobox Anthem title = Nastaliq|قومی ترانہ transcription = Qaumī Tarāna english title = National Anthem of Pakistan image size = caption = Hafeez Jullundhri, author of Quami Tarana. prefix = National country = PAK author = Hafeez Jullundhri… …   Wikipedia

  • Haridas Mundhra — For other uses, see Haridas (disambiguation). Haridas Mundhra (Hindi: हरिदास मूंदड़ा) was a Calcutta based industrialist and stock speculator who was found guilty and imprisoned in the first big financial scandal of free India in the 1950s. The… …   Wikipedia

  • Rattanbai Petit — Rattanbai Ruttie Petit (Gujarati: રાત્તાન્બાઈ પેતીત; The Flower of Bombay ) after marriage Maryam Jinnah (Gujarati: મરયમ જિન્નાહ; February 20, 1900 February 20, 1929), was the second wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah an important figure in the Indian… …   Wikipedia

  • Dina Wadia — Born August 15, 1919 (1919 08 15) (age 92) London, United Kingdom Known for being the only child of Muhammad Ali Jinnah Dina Wadia (born August 15, 1919) is the daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, and …   Wikipedia

  • Government Law College, Mumbai — The Government Law College, also known as GLC and located in Mumbai, India, is one of the oldest and most distinguished law schools in India. The college celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2006.HistoryInceptionBefore 1855 there was no formal… …   Wikipedia

  • Indira Gandhi — इंदिरा गांधी 3rd Prime Minister of India In office 14 January 1980 – 31 October 1984 President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Zail Sin …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”