M. C. Chagla
Mohammadali Carim Chagla | |
|---|---|
Hashmatrai Khubchand Chainani | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 September 1900 British India |
| Died | 9 February 1981 (aged 80) |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Alma mater | Lincoln College, Oxford |
Mohammadali Carim Chagla (30 September 1900 – 9 February 1981) was an Indian
Early life and education
Born on 30 September 1900 in
Career
Chagla was appointed Professor of law at the
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
After retirement he served as Indian ambassador to the US from 1958 to 1961. Chagla then served as
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 [4]
Personal life and family
In 1930, Chagla married Mehrunissa Dharsi Jivraj, a lady of his own community and similar family background. Their marriage was harmonious and conventional. The couple had four children, two sons, Jehangir (b. 1934) and Iqbal (b. 1939) and two daughters, Husnara (b. 1932) and Nuru (b. 193x). Their son Iqbal Chagla became a lawyer; with his wife Roshan, he has a daughter (M.C. Chagla's granddaughter) Rohiqa, who is the widow of Cyrus Mistry, the former chairman of Tata Sons in the period 2014–2016. Iqbal's son Riaz (b. c. 1970) was himself appointed a judge of the Bombay High Court in July 2017.[5]
Chagla's younger daughter, Nuru, married Subbaram Swaminathan, a south Indian
Mehrunissa Dharsi Jivraj died in November 1961. Chagla survived her by nineteen years, dying in February 1981.
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
In 1985, a statue of Chagla was unveiled and placed within the High Court outside the Chief Justice's Court where he once served. The inscription on the statue plinth reads:
"A great judge, a great citizen, and, above all, a great human being."
Further facts
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Though born a Muslim, Chagla was more of 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 father, Chagla's great-grandfather, had had Chagla as his pet name, which in the Kutchi language means "favourite". Chagla promptly adopted the new surname.
References
- ^ Chandrachud, Abhinav (7 February 2014). "My dear Chagla". Frontline. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
- ^ "M. C. Chagla | Making Britain". www.open.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ Iyer, V.R.Krishna (22 October 2000). "A person par excellence". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 September 2017.[dead link]
- ^ Right to Education SSA Final Report Archived 11 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Ministry of Human Resource Development, retrieved 3 April 2015
- ^ "When the country's best legal minds came together to celebrate Riaz Chagla's Bombay HC appointment". The Economic Times. 6 July 2017. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
Further reading
Roses In December, an autobiography, M.C. Chagla, Tenth Edition, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2000,
External links
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