New Delhi, 04 September (H.S.): Tributes were paid to eminent freedom fighter and three-time president of the Indian National Congress, Dadabhai Naoroji, on his birth anniversary on Friday at the Central Hall of Constitution House. Floral tributes were offered to his portrait in the presence of Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh, Rajya Sabha Secretary General P.C. Mody, and several prominent personalities, including serving and former members of Parliament.

Dadabhai Naoroji is popularly known as the “Grand Old Man of India”. In 1892, he became the first British-Indian to be elected to the House of Commons of the British Parliament. He propounded the Drain of Wealth theory, highlighting the flow of wealth from India to Britain. Through this theory, he exposed the economic policies of British rule and the economic exploitation of India. He also played a significant role in providing an ideological and political foundation to India’s freedom movement.

Dadabhai Naoroji was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress and served as its president three times, in 1886, 1893 and 1906. At the 1906 session of the Congress, he was the first to publicly call for Swaraj. In recognition of his contribution to the freedom struggle, the then Lok Sabha Speaker G.V. Mavalankar unveiled Dadabhai Naoroji’s portrait in Parliament on March 13, 1954.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar