Badruddin Tyabji died in 1906 at the age of sixty-two. By today's standards he was not very old, but he had achieved much during his lifetime. In his chosen profession of the law he had risen high. He rose to become the Chief Justice of Bombay; and also president of the Indian National Congress. His reputation was such that it was usual for him to be consulted by the highest decision-makers in the land. His wife, who combined a strong character with great sweetness and docility, gave grace and warmth to his home life; while each one of his army of sons and daughters would have made any father proud. It would seem that Badruddin had nothing left to wish for.
And yet, there was a large section of his public life where he knew he had failed. He had hoped the Muslims would agree to join the Indian National Congress and would take part in all national activities, but this did not suit the British, or rather the Viceroy, Lord Dufferin, who managed to convert the north Indian leader Syed Ahmed Khan into an ally. Syed Ahmed Khan's objective became to keep Muslims away from the 'mainstream' of Indian public life and he succeeded. He was as we all know rewarded with a knighthood.
This was one of the most blatant examples of British 'divide and rule' policy; but rather than blame Britain we should perhaps look nearer home and lay the blame where it is due on the selfishness of those leaders who were unable to see where the real advantage to their community lay. The consequences of their misjudgement have grown and intensified for the whole nation but, more important for their community which is now, in a sense, fighting for survival. It is futile to think of 'what might have been'; but, at the same time we cannot help believing that if Syed Ahmed Khan had cooperated with Badruddin Tyabji in bringing Muslims out 'into the open' and encouraged them to take part in all facets of national life, the community would have been stronger, more self-confident. For Badruddin's influence could be very forceful and enduring.
In his own family his influence has endured for a century, and might endure longer. His sons and grandsons grew up with a strong sense of their duty 'to serve the country'; whether as government servants, professionals or in any other occupation, they never lost their sense of what they owed to their country. It may be of some significance that, among the large number of descendants, hardly any joined in the exodus to the UK and the US which took place in the sixties and seventies. Their roots. were firmly planted by Badrudddin and they were very deep.
This is an age of expediency, and we are in danger of forgetting what it means to live and work according to ethical, or even just rational, principles. I have tried to show the principles by which every aspect of Badruddin Tyabji's life was decided. Events have moved so fast that the situation of a hundred years ago, or even fifty years ago, might seem unimaginably strange to the young people of today; and so I have also tried to describe the social and political atmosphere of the times in which he lived, and to place his life in that context.
For nearly all the material in this little book, I have relied heavily on the detailed and accurate biography of Badruddin Tyabji by his son Husain Tyabji (Thacker & Co., 1957). Rather than depend on the unclear memories of family members, I preferred to base this work firmly on the well-documented statements and descriptions of my Uncle Husain. I hope that, if he had been alive now, he would not have disapproved of the use I have made of his book. I am also indebted to A.G. Noorani's book written for the Publications Division in the series 'Builders of Modern India'.
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