Aligarh Movement

The Muslims found themselves in a very awkward  position after the supression of outbreak of 1857 because the British thought that the chief instigators and ringleaders of the outbreak were Muslims. It was at this juncture Syed Ahmed appeared as he saviour of the Muslim community. He did two fold tusks, 1. He brought about the repproachment between the British Government and the Muslim, and 2. he convinced the Muslims to take up modern education with the help of English.The appeal of Syed Ahmed to the British Government to kindly take his community came at very opportune moment. The British , like all Imperial powers, took it as a "divide and rule policy". The fair deal of the British attitude was revealed in the book published by hunterin 1871. Syed ahmed not only established a good relation of the British Government with the Muslims but also founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental Collegeat Aligarh in 1877. He also published a bilingual journal for spreading liberal ideas on social reform he visited England in 1869 and after his return in 1870carried on a vigorous propaganda for the spread English education and western culture among his community. 

Sir Syed Ahmed October 17, 1817 – March 27, 1898), commonly known as Sir Syed, was an Indian educator and politician, and an Islamic reformer and modernist. Sir Syed pioneered modern education for the Muslim community in India by founding the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College, which later developed into the Aligarh Muslim University. His work gave rise to a new generation of Muslim intellectuals and politicians who composed the Aligarh movement to secure the political future of Muslims of India.

The efforts of Syed Ahmed were not confined to the social and religious reforms. He gave a distinctly new turn to Muslim politics which becam anti-Hindu, and therefore also anti-Congress, for he looked the Indian National Congress as a Hindu organisation.
It is not an easy task to find out the basic principles on which his political views rested. He expressed some contradictory views. Ina speech delivered in 1884, he emphasized the fact that the terms Hindu and Mohamedan were only meant for religious distinction, but they formed one nation. In 1888, however, he referred to the Hindus and Muslims as two warring nations who could not lead a common life if the British  were to leave India.
He once bestowed high praise upon the Bengalees whom he described as the "head and crown of all the different communities of Hindustan". But later, the abuses of Bengalees formed a prominent feature of the Aligarh Institute Gazette edited by him. In 1877 he organized and presided over a meeting at Aligarh in which Surendranath Nath Banerjee delivered a speech in favour of simultaneous examinations for Indian Civil Service in England and India,and a revolution in favour of it was unanimously passed, but, later, Syed Ahmed opposed the idea as it would mean Hindu predominance in higher appointments.

The Relation between Hindus and Muslims (contd-1)

It was nottill the third quarter of ninetenth century that the Muslims appreciated the value of English education and seriously took to it. As a result, in the race for progress, the Muslims were handicapped by a time-lag of about fifty years. This is evident from the writings of W.S. Blunt, a liberal minded Englishman who openly protested against the British polocy in Egypt.
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840–1922) was a British poet and writer. He was born in Sussex, and served in the Diplomatic Service from 1858 to 1869. He married Lady Anne Noel and together they travelled extensively in the Middle East and India.
Blunt opposed British imperialism, and his championship of Irish causes led to his imprisonment in 1888.
His own books, Secret History of the English and the Future of Islam endeared him to the whole Muslim World, and he found a warm welcome awaiting in India, when he visited this country in 1883. He mixed freely and intimately with the Muslim leaders of all shades of opinion, and his observations on Muslim politics should, therefore, command both  respect and confidence.
When Mr. Blunt arrived in Tuticorin, the local Muslims complained "of being subject to annoyance from the Hindus."
In Calcutta Maulavi Sayid Amir Hussain, deputy magistrate and a  friend of Amir Ali, told him that " the Bengali Mohammedans were an oppressed community".
Ilbert Bill;
The Ilbert Bill was a bill introduced in 1883 for British India by Viceroy Ripon that proposed an amendment for existing laws in the country at the time to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level, something that was disallowed at the time. It was named after Courtenay Ilbert, the recently-appointed legal adviser to the Council of India, who had proposed it as a compromise between two previously suggested bills. However, the introduction of the bill led to intense opposition in Britain and from British settlers in India that ultimately played on racial tensions before it was enacted in 1884 in a severely compromised state. The bitter controversy deepened antagonism between the British and Indians and was a prelude to the formation of the Indian National Congress the following year
The Muslims and Hindus had different opinions on Ilbert Bill. The difference between the two communities became accentuated  in connection with the legislation for local self-government on elective basis.It is on this occasion that for the first time a demand was made for separate representation of the Mohammadans,.It seems, however, that as in in later days, the ball was set rolling by the English officials More than thirty years ago, the English or official view emphasized the communal difference in political matters in connection with the creation of Legislative Council. Lord Ellenborough suggested the creation of two separate legislatures for the two communities. In those early days a vigorous protest against this was made by a Hindu Politician, and no Muslim is known to have come forward to support the British or official view.But Muhammad Yusuf changed the situation. 
In the mean time Pan-Islamic sentiments had strong influence on India Muslims.
Pan-Islamism (Arabic: الوحدة الإسل poitical movement advocating the unity of Muslims under one Islamic state — often a Caliphate. As a form of religious nationalism, Pan-Islamism differentiates itself from other pan-nationalistic ideologies, for example Pan-Arabism, by excluding culture and ethnicity as primary factors towards unification

The Hunter Commission, demanding entirely separate arrangements for the education of the Hindus and Muslim boys, insisting upon Urdu as a medium of instruction even in a Province like Bengal where 99 pc of the Muslims were ignorant of that language and their spoken language, Bengali,lways been the medium of instruction. 
Hunter Commission officially known as the Indian Education Commission, 1882, was the first education commission in the history of modern India. Appointed by the Government of India, it was to review in depth, the state of education in India since wood's education despatch of 1854, and to recommend necessary measures for further progress. The other consideration, which prompted the Government to launch this enquiry, was the agitation of the missionaries, particularly in England, accusing lapses of the Government in implementing the provisions of the Despatch of 1854. Because of the great importance, which the Government attached to primary education, higher education was excluded from the Commission's purview and instead was directed to concentrate chiefly on primary education.

Relation between the Hindus and Muslims

In most of the the relation between Hindus and Muslims were zamindars and tenants before the British rule.After the advent of the British, the hostile attitude of the Musilms towards the British and their strong aversion to merely secular education kept them severely aloof from English education imparted in schools and colleges. The foundation of Hindu College in 1817 gave a great impetus to the English education in Hindus, but the Muslims made very little progress in it during the next fifty years. The comparative position of the Hindus and Muslims in English education will be evident from the following figures:
In 1865, 9 Hindus and no Muslims passed the M.A. examination,
              41 Hindus and 1 Muhammadan passed the B.A. examination,
               17 students, all Hindus , passed the Law Examination.
               All the Medical graduates were also Hindus.
In 1867,   88 Hindus and not a single Muhammadans passed the M.a. examination and B.A. examinations.
The disparity in progress widened the gulf between Hindus and Muslims. For more knowledge in English the Hindus were given high positions in British administration and their political ideas were also widened.
A liberal Muslim Leader Mr. M.R. Sayani in his presidential address in the 12th session in 1896 held in Calcutta, admirably delineates the sentiments of the Muslims which powerfully influenced them.
Before the advent of the British in India, Mussalmans were the rulers of the country. The Mussalmans had, therefore, all the advantages appertaining to the ruling class.he court language was their own.
The learning of an entirely unknown foreign language, of course, required hard application and industry. The Hindus were accustomed to this, as even under the Mussalmans rule they had practically to master a foreign tongue, and so easily took to the new education. The result was that so far as education was concerned, the Mussalmans who  were once superior to the Hindus now actually became their inferiors. Of course, they grumbled and groaned, but the irony of fate was inexorable.
Mussalmans were gradually ousted from their lands, offices, and other worldly advantages of their former masters. they were soon reduced to a utter poverty. This was clearly manifested in the Wahabi Movement mentioned earlier. The Musalmans did not participated so far in any political organisation in general including Cngress.There was hardly any muslim in the committees of Landholders Society, British India Society, and the British Indian Association. But formed an organisation of their own on 31st January 1856, namely "Mohammedan Association". The British Indian Association welcomed the the organisation. When the Hindu Mela and the National Society were started by the Hindus on communal basis, the Muslim Leader, Nawab Ali Amir Khan, organised the " National Mommedan Association" in Calcutta with a view to  uniting all classes of Muhammadans so that they might work together for the common good. In 1863 Abdul Latif founded the "Mohammedan Literary Society", its object being to interest its memberin present day politics and modern thought and leaning.
The first Muslim uprising began with the Muslim Sultan, Tipu Sultan in 1766, whose famous armed resistance of Mysore, using bamboo Rockets, was the catalyst for the demise of the British from India and earned him the title Father of the Indian Rocket. In fact, the battle against the British in Mysore, 1766 seems to be at the pinnacle of unrest in the colonised lands of all the European colonisers.

The first organized expressions began with Muslim scholars and reformers like Syed Ahmed Khan, Syed Ameer Ali and the Aga Khan who had an influential major hand in the Anti-British Resistance movements during the "Indian Revolution".
Expression of Muslim separatism and nationhood emerged from modern Islam's pre-eminent poet and philosopher, Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal and political activists like Choudhary Rahmat Ali

Abdul Latif (1828–1893) or Nawab Abdul Latif (Bengali: নবাব আবদুল লতীফ) was a nineteenth century educator and social worker in Bengal, later Bangladesh. His title, Nawab was awarded by the British in 1880. Abdul Lateef was one of the first Muslims in nineteenth century India to embrace the idea of modernization. He was a professor at Calcutta Madrasah. His achievements include working to turn Hindu College into Presidency College and thus open it for non-Hindus as well. He also established numerous educational institutes, including Rajshahi Madrasah

1821 - 1846 Nawab Amir 'Ali Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Malerkotla, only son of Nawab Muhammad Wazir Khan, Nawab of Malerkotla, educ. privately. Succeeded on the death of his father, 4th September 1821. Served in person during the First Afghan War 1839-1942. Granted a salute of 9-guns with the personal style of His Highness 1840. He d. at Fort Kotla, 8th April 1846 (bur. there at the Shahi Muqbara), having had issue, one son:

     

Reactions of the Government

Inspite of the moderation and loyalty of the Congress, the English public opinion looked upon the emergence of the Congress as a potential danger to the British power in India.A distinct change in tone and spirit of the Congress was noticeable during its session in Calcutta, and this was undoubtedly due to the greater advance in political life in Bengal during the preceding half a century, as noted earlier.
The reaction of the British Government to the establishment of the Congress and its constitutional demands was not very favourable.
Dufferin in a public speech on 30 Nov 1888, ridiculed the Congress as "taking a big jump into the unknown" and slighted the Congressmen as a "microscopic minority."

George Hamilton, Secretary fo state for India, accused the Congress leaders of possessing "seditious and double sided" character.Towards the end of 1887 a "Special Branch" was created in the police with the object of dealing with specially confidential political movements and meetings, excitement, wandering character of a suspicios nature, public feeling,, illicit trade  in arms and ammunition .The organizers of the fourth session of the Congress at Allahabad in 1888 were obstructed by the local officialsin their attempt to procure a suitable site in he city. In 18888 the Viceroy warned some Princely States not to support the Congress.They patronized the Aligarh movement to implement 'divide and rule " policy.. Lord Curzon wrote to the Secretary  of State on 18  Nov 1900, " My own belief is that the Congress is tottering to its fall, and one of my greatest ambitions wwhile in India is to assist it to a peaceful demise."
Curzon's assesment , however, soon proved to be off the mark.This was mainly due to the fact that the moderate Congress reflected as Dr. J.R.maclane remarked, "only a small segment of nationalist sentiment" British unpopularity was on the icrease under the impact of famines and plagues, the countervailing cotton excise and Curzon's package of aggressive measures including the Indian Universities Act, 1904,  .

  

First 20 years of Indian National Congress (contd -1)

On account of a outbreak of cholera epidemic in Poona, the venue of the conference ( Dec., 1885) was shifted to Bombay.  

The first two decades (1885-1905) in the history of the Indian National Congress, generally described as the Moderate Phase, saw a board uiformity in objectives and methods of work.The Congress met at the end of each year for three days in what turned out to be a great social occasion as well as a political assembly and heard and applauded Presidential addresses as well as other eloquent speeches. Resolutions that were passed dealt broadly with three sorts of grievances caused by alen rule, - political, administrative, and economic.
The main political demand was reform of the Legislative Councils in order to give them greater powers and to make them representative in character by including some members elected by local bodies , chambers of commerce , universities, etc. True, the Congress leaders did not demand voting right for all Indian citizens, and  universal adult suffrage was unknown even to England at that time. The Congress demand had some influence on the making of the Indian Councils Act of 1892. But when the Act of Council Reform was passed in 1892, the Congress regretted " that it did not, in terms, concede to the people the people the right of electing their own representatives to the Council". In the next two sessions of 1893 and 1894 , the Congress passedthe resolutions  pointing out "material alterations are necessary".  There was also an expectation that freedom would gradually broaden from precedent to precedent on the British pattern till India entered the promised but distant land of what Dadabhai Naoroji in 1906 described as "Self-Government or Swaraj like that of United Kingdom or the colonies."
Considering the honesty,  integrity and goodness of the British people, Congress carried on political propaganda in England, formed a British Committee of the Indian National Congress in 1889, voted a sum of Rs. 45,000 per annum for its support, and the Journal India  with Wlliam Digby as the editor was also started for the same purpose in 1890.Among administrative reforms, however, the most important demand was the Indianization of services through simultaneous ICS examination in England and India.. The demend was "raised  not really just to satisfied the tiny elite who could hope to get into the ICS,  as has been sometimes argued, but connected with much broader themes."  Indianization was advocated as a blow against racism. It would also reduce the drain of wealth by the fat salaries and pensions of the injoyed by the Englishmen. The other demands included separation of trial by jury, repeal of the Arms Act, higher jobs in the army for Indians, and the raising of an Indian volunteer force -- demands which combined pleas for racial equality with a concern for civil rights.
Inspite of the moderation and loyalty of the Congress, the English public opinion looked upon the emergence of the Congress as a potential danger to the British power in India. The second Congress was composed of delegates, elected at public meetings held for the purpose in different Provinces. Five hundred delegates were elected of which 434 actually registered their names.

Syed Ahmed delivered a speech on the eve of the third session to be held at Madras, (1897) asked to dissuade the Muslims from attending it.   In the 3rd Conference a Committee of 34 persons was formed for drafting a constitution for Congress. But no such constitution was drafted during these 20 years .The 4th session of the Congress was held at Allahabad where out of 1200 delegates 200 were Muslims.   

              

First 20 years of Indian National Congress

During the one hundred year of the English East India Company, nationalistic feelings had begun growing within the Indian society. Such feelings received a major boost during the Revolt of 1857, which created in many Indians for the first time, a sense of nationhood.
The growth of nationalism was an inevitable result after a century of oppression by a foreign power. The standard of living of the average Indian had deteriorated considerably, and the condition of the peasants was shocking. The Indian people began to realize that their country was being run solely for the interests of a foreign economy and the longer this continued the greater harm it would bring to the country. The economic backwardness of India would prove to be the backbone for the freedom struggle, for every Indian had been adversely affected economically because of the British rule. With this as a common base it became a simpler task for nationalistic leaders to raise popular support for their movement. The work of the social reformers had also managed to raise support for the national movement, for they had educated the people about India's former greatness and encouraged them to attempt to return India to it. The early nationalists were the educated class of India, for they had been exposed to the ideas of liberty, equality, democracy and free speech. They saw that the British had implemented such ideas in their own country but were denying it to India. This class would prove to be the major force behind the early years of the nationalistic movement in India. The press would also play an important role in spreading nationalistic ideas, in fact it was so effective that the British passed a law preventing the vernacular press from publishing material that was anti-British. What was now required was an organization where Indian nationalists could share a common platform and discuss their strategies. Many small organizations came up, but eventually a particular one would come up, which would be instrumental in organizing India's struggle for freedom, it was known as the Indian National Congress. The Indian National Congress was founded ironically by an Englishmen, A.O. Hume a retired civil servant. He got in touch with the prominent nationalists and organized the first session of the Indian National Congress at Bombay in December, 1885. W.C. Bonerjee became the president and it was attended by seventy two delegates. They pledged to promote the idea of nationalism amongst all sections of Indian society and unite Indian opinion on the above matter. The Indian National Congress represented the first small step in the organized struggle for freedom. The Indian National Congress quickly expanded, and the next year there were four hundred and thirty six delegates. The Indian National Congress now met in the December of every year, in a different part of the country each time. The number of delegates increased rapidly, and soon were numbering several thousand. They came from a variety of professions like law, journalism, trade, industry and education. Even landlords joined the organization. One of the greatest presidents of the Indian National Congress was Dadabhai Naorji, also known as the grand old man of India. An extremely learned and educated man, he lived in England for many years and even got elected to the British parliament.
The Indian National Congress gave the freedom struggle direction, which so far had been missing. The Indian National Congress did not immediately begin efforts to free the country. They realized that they first had to create the environment before such efforts could be made. India was essentially a 'nation in making'. Hence the initial priorities were to increase awareness about the concept and to improve the lives of average Indians. They also realized that directly confronting the British at such an early stage would be futile and could in fact be detrimental. This period is dominated by a set of nationalists known as the moderates, who aimed to establish some form of democracy and autonomy within the framework of the British rule. They did not press for total independence and instead simply asked for more representation of Indians in the governing of their own country. Some moderates were not averse to the concept of British rule, they believed that if the British were made aware of the Indian point of view, they would modify their ways. Thus the moderates would send many petitions to the British authorities requesting for fulfillment of various demands. The British rarely agreed to most of their demands.
The British were initially un-perturbed by the Indian National Congress for they did not view it as a serious threat, but as the demands of the Indian National Congress grew, they began to grow suspicious of its motives. Realizing the potential, if the Indian National Congress was able to gather popular support, they began pursuing the policy of Divide and Rule and made efforts to encourage communal forces.
The nationalist movement began during this period but otherwise did not do anything particularly significant. The involvement of the masses of India had still not begun. The moderates perhaps failed to realize the true nature of the British rule in India, and instead falsely believed that if requested in a proper manner, the British would agree to their demands. To their credit it may be said that the the early nationalists did manage to bring in a few reforms, like persuading the British to hold the Indian civil service exams simultaneously in India and England. They were also able to get the Legislative councils expanded, and take the first steps to securing some Indian representation. More importantly ,however, they started a process which would eventually result in India's freedom.
 The Indian National Congress gave the freedom struggle direction, which so far had been missing. The Indian National Congress did not immediately begin efforts to free the country. They realized that they first had to create the environment before such efforts could be made. India was essentially a 'nation in making'. Hence the initial priorities were to increase awareness about the concept and to improve the lives of average Indians. They also realized that directly confronting the British at such an early stage would be futile and could in fact be detrimental. This period is dominated by a set of nationalists known as the moderates, who aimed to establish some form of democracy and autonomy within the framework of the British rule. They did not press for total independence and instead simply asked for more representation of Indians in the governing of their own country. Some moderates were not averse to the concept of British rule, they believed that if the British were made aware of the Indian point of view, they would modify their ways. Thus the moderates would send many petitions to the British authorities requesting for fulfillment of various demands. The British rarely agreed to most of their demands.
The British were initially un-perturbed by the Indian National Congress for they did not view it as a serious threat, but as the demands of the Indian National Congress grew, they began to grow suspicious of its motives. Realizing the potential, if the Indian National Congress was able to gather popular support, they began pursuing the policy of Divide and Rule and made efforts to encourage communal forces.
The nationalist movement began during this period but otherwise did not do anything particularly significant. The involvement of the masses of India had still not begun. The moderates perhaps failed to realize the true nature of the British rule in India, and instead falsely believed that if requested in a proper manner, the British would agree to their demands. To their credit it may be said that the the early nationalists did manage to bring in a few reforms, like persuading the British to hold the Indian civil service exams simultaneously in India and England. They were also able to get the Legislative councils expanded, and take the first steps to securing some Indian representation. More importantly ,however, they started a process which would eventually result in India's freedom

List of Presidents of Indian National Congress ( 1884-1905)

Name of President Life Span Year of Presidency Place of Conference
Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee 29 December 1844- 1906 1885 Bombay
Dadabhai Naoroji 4 September 1825- 1917 1886 Calcutta

Badruddin Tyabji 10 October 1844- 1906 1887 Madras

George Yule 1829–1892 1888 Allahabad
Sir William Wedderburn 1838–1918 1889 Bombay
Sir Pherozeshah Mehta 4 August 1845- 1915 1890 Calcutta
P. Anandacharlu August 1843- 1908 1891 Nagpur
Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee 29 December 1844- 1906 1892 Allahabad

Dadabhai Naoroji 4 September 1825- 1917 1893 Lahore

Alfred Webb 1834–1908 1894 Madras
Surendranath Banerjea 10 November 1848- 1925 1895 Pune
Rahimtulla M. Sayani 5 April 1847- 1902 1896 Calcutta
Sir C. Sankaran Nair 11 July 1857- 1934 1897 Amraoti
Ananda Mohan Bose 23 September 1847- 1906 1898 Madras
Romesh Chunder Dutt 13 August 1848- 1909 1899 Lucknow
Sir Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar 2 December 1855- 1923 1900 Lahore
Sir Dinshaw Edulji Wacha 2 August 1844- 1936 1901 Calcutta
Surendranath Banerjea 10 November 1825- 1917 1902 Ahmedabad
Lalmohan Ghosh 1848–1909 1903 Madras

Womesh Chandra Bannerjee was born on December 29, 1844 at Calcutta, in the present-day state of West Bengal in an upper middle class Brahmin family of considerable social standing. In 1859, he married Hemangini Motilal. His career began in 1862 when he joined the firm of W. P. Gillanders, Attorneys of the Calcutta Supreme Court, as a clerk. In this post he acquired a good knowledge of law which greatly helped him in his later career. In 1864 he was sent to England where he joined the Middle Temple with a scholarship and was called to the Bar in June, 1867. On his return to Calcutta in 1868, he found a patron in Sir Charles Paul, Barrister-at-Law of the Calcutta High Court. Another barrister, J. P. Kennedy, also greatly helped him to establish his reputation as a lawyer. Within a few years he became the most sought after barrister in the High Court. He was the first Indian to act as a Standing Counsel, in which capacity he officiated four times. In 1883 he defended Surendranath Banerjee in the famous Contempt of Court Case against him in the Calcutta High Court.

Dadabhai Naoroji (4 September 1825 – 30 June 1917) , known as the Grand Old Man of India, was a Parsi intellectual, educator, cotton trader, and an early Indian political leader. His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India brought attention to the draining of India's wealth into Britain. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the British House of Commons between 1892 and 1895, and the first Asian to be a British MP. He is also credited with the founding of the Indian National Congress, along with A.O. Hume and Dinshaw Edulji Wacha
Badruddin Tyabji (Tyab Ali) (1844-1906) was the third President of the Indian National Congress. He was succeeded by George Yule.

Badruddin Tyabji was the "First Muslim" to become the "President of Indian National Congress".
He was born on October 10, 1844 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. He was the son of Mullah Tyab Ali Bhai Mian, a Sulaimani Bohra, and a scion of an old Cambay emigrant Arab family.

He sent all of his six sons to Europe for further studies, at a time when English education was considered an anathema for Muslims in India. Badruddin Tyabji returned to India in 1858 as the first Indian Solicitor, one of the other brother was sent to Najran for religious studies. Apart from Badruddin Tyabji (who at one time was the vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University ), all of his other brothers were prominent and well respected members of Indian establishment. Their accomplishments included the first Muslim Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, the first Indian barrister and the first Muslim to qualify as an Engineer.

He passed the London Matriculation and joined the Middle Temple. He became the first Indian Barrister in Bombay in April, 1867. He accepted a Judgeship of the Bombay High Court in 1895. In 1902, he became the first Indian to hold the post of Chief Justice in Bombay

Badruddin Tyabji (Tyab Ali) (1844-1906) was the third President of the Indian National Congress. He was succeeded by George Yule.
George Yule (1829–1892) was a Scottish businessman in India who notably became the fourth President of the Indian National Congress in 1888, the first non-Indian to hold that office. He was succeeded by Sir William Wedderburn.
He was the chief of the well-known Andrew Yule and Co. in Kolkata; was also Sheriff of Kolkata for sometime and President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce
Sir William Wedderburn, 4th Baronet, JP DL (25 March 1838 – 25 January 1918) was a Scottish civil servant and politician.




Born in Edinburgh, the fourth son of Sir John Wedderburn, 2nd Baronet, he was educated at Hofwyl Workshop, then Loretto School and finally at Edinburgh University.
He entered the Indian Civil Service in Bombay in 1860, served as District Judge and Judicial Commissioner in Sind; acted as secretary to Bombay Government, Judicial and Political Departments; and from 1885 acted as Judge of the High Court, Bombay. He retired when acting Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay in 1887. Along with Allan Octavian Hume he was a founder of the Indian National Congress and served as its president in 1889 and 1910.
He was an unsuccessful parliamentary candidate in North Ayrshire in 1892 and served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Banffshire from 1893 to 1900