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"Dadabhai Naoroji was a man of enormous intelligence who developed a passion for a cause... to put right what he saw was a great injustice, the gross unfairness with which the British government was treating India and the Indians,” stated Lord Mohamed Sheikh when unveiling the curtain on August 10, 2022 to reveal the blue plaque affixed on the one-time residence of Britain’s first Asian Member of Parliament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Blue Plaque scheme maintained by English Heritage helps in "linking the past and the present” by identifying houses in London "where important people in history have lived and worked… Although blue plaques don’t offer legal protection to buildings, they do raise awareness of their historical significance and so can help preserve them,” notes the website english-heritage.org.uk.
 "Dadabhai Naoroji 1825-1917 Indian Nationalist and MP lived here,” testified the blue plaque on 72 Anerley Park in Penge, a semi-detached two-storey house with an attic and basement, constructed of red brick with decorative stonework dressings. Of the nearly 30 years spent by Dadabhai in London  (see "Seven spells," pg 26) he is known to have resided in this property for the longest duration from 1897 to 1904. The blue plaque will ensure "the memory of the great man is always perpetuated and will be here long after we are gone,” added Sheikh, member of the House of Lords and author of An Indian in the House: The Lives and Times of the Four Trailblazers Who First Brought India to the British Parliament (see "The famous four,” Books, Parsiana, August 7-20, 2022).
Representatives from English Heritage, the House of Lords, Indian High Commission, local government, the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE), interfaith groups and well-wishers remained standing in the front garden of the Victorian property for nearly 45 minutes while the four main speakers eulogized the accomplishments of the Grand Old Man, as he was respectfully known. 
The function began with a recital of Avestan prayers and the lighting of the fire urn by ZTFE resident priest Ervad Yazad Bhadha. In his explanation he said the prayers were dedicated to Ahura Mazda and the fravashi (immortal soul) of Dadabhai who was also an ordained priest.
Blue plaque panel member, journalist, author and cricket commentator Mihir Bose who hosted the event introduced the work of English Heritage and said that he was proud that the "985th blue plaque,” was installed in honor of Dadabhai.  He mentioned that only about five percent of blue plaques were dedicated to people from black, Asian or ethnic minorities and encouraged more nominations from a cross-section of British society to reflect their contributions. He thanked the current residents of the building for consenting to the installation of the blue plaque outside their home, his colleagues at English Heritage and to all donors who support the Blue Plaque scheme.
Commending the efforts of English Heritage, Lord Karan Bilimoria of Chelsea expressed that it is "a wonderful way of highlighting the achievements of a variety of backgrounds, but most importantly bringing to life…what Dadabhai did, breaking the glass ceiling, forging new ground, being a pioneer over a century ago against all odds. That is inspirational to people today... When I joined parliament as the first Zoroastrian Parsi Lord in 2006, I knew I was following in the footsteps of the Grand Old Man of India.”
Bilimoria being out of the country at the time of the unveiling, his speech was read out by Sir Rohinton Kalifa. He described the antagonism against Dadabhai in 1892 when "Lord Salisbury, the Prime Minister at that time said how can a ‘Black man’ ever be elected to the House of Commons? And of course Dadabhai was fairer in complexion than Lord Salisbury; that was the irony of it! And, Dadabhai being elected by a small margin, a handful of votes, was nicknamed Narrowji!..
"He saw himself from day one as representing the hundreds of millions of people in India in the British parliament. He saw it as his duty to highlight the huge injustice that existed in India and of course he was one of the pioneers to fight for India’s independence and was three times president of the Indian National Congress. And, that is why there is a portrait of Dadabhai in Westminster and also a portrait in the central hall of the Indian parliament.”
"Dadabhai in many ways was a radical although he represented the liberal party,” summed up ZTFE president Malcolm Deboo, expounding on Dadabhai’s family, community, national and religious fervor. His father, a practicing priest, had died when Dadabhai was just four years old. Married at the age of 11 to Goolbai, when he became famous his mother told him to get himself another wife but he declined. He was a pioneer of female education in India, an ethical individual.
He had first arrived in London in 1855 with Kharshedji and Muncherji Cama to set up a branch of Cama and Company in London. However he left the Company three years later when it started dealing in opium. For 45 years he was elected as the leader of the Zoroastrians in Europe, serving as president of the associations that were precursors to the ZTFE: Europena Zarthostionu Dharamnu Khatu (Religious Funds of the Zarathushtrians of Europe) and Amalgamated Charitable Fund of The Zoroastrians of Europe. While working tirelessly for the Zoroastrian community in Iran, he was also an active proponent of interfaith dialog, having attended the Parliament of the World Religions in 1893.
While thanking English Heritage for recognizing Dadabhai, Deboo pointed out that Freddy Mercury’s family home in Feltham had been conferred the blue plaque honor in 2016. Civil engineer Ardaser Cursetjee Wadia’s home in Richmond was recognized with a blue plaque last year. 
Dadabhai’s famous book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India, published in 1901 when he was residing at 72 Anerley Park, highlighted the British Empire’s exploitation of India and appealed to parliamentarians and the British public to scrutinize the impact of British rule in India. Known for giving fair and balanced speeches in parliament, Dadabhai was mentor to the likes of Mahatma Gandhi in his early years, assisted to a lesser extent Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and was the frontrunner to other Zoroastrian parliamentarians: Sir Muncherji Bhownaggree (1895-1906), Shapurji Saklatvala (1924-1929), and Bilimoria, in 2006 who like Dadabhai took his oath on the Avesta.