Posted on: 13 June 2010

DELHI DURBAR of 1877

Called the "Proclamation Durbar", the Durbar of 1877 was held beginning on 1 January 1877 to mark the coronation and proclaim Queen Victoria as Empress of India. The 1877 Durbar was largely an official event and not a popular occasion with mass appeal like 1903 and 1911. It was attended by the 1st Earl of Lytton - Viceroy of India, maharajas, nawabs and intellectuals. This was the culmination of transfer of control of much of India from the British East India Company to the Government of Great Britain.

The Durbar was the beginning of a great transformation for India where the campaign for a free India was formally launched.

Inside Victoria Memorial in Kolkata is an inscription taken from the Message of Queen Victoria presented at the 1877 Durbar to the people of India:
"We trust that the present occasion may tend to unite in bonds of close affection
ourselves and our subjects;
that from the highest to the humblest, all may feel that under our rule
the great principles of liberty, equity, and justice are secured to them;
and to promote their happiness, to add to their prosperity, and advance their welfare,
are the ever present aims and objects of our Empire."

A medal to commemorate the Proclamation of the Queen as Empress of India was struck and distributed to honored guests.Ramanath Tagore was made a Maharaja by Lord Lytton, viceroy of India.

It was at this glittering durbar that a man in "homespun spotless white khadi" rose to read a citation on behalf of the Pune Sarvajanik Sabha. Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi put forth a demand couched in very polite language:

"We beg of Her Majesty to grant to India the same political and social status as is enjoyed by her British subjects."

With this demand, it can be said that the campaign for a free India was formally launched.

Source : British Library


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Typo...Source : Wikipedia

I only wish that I could have been there to witness the grand spectacle of pomp and pageantry on that historic occasion.

More info re Ganeshg Vasudeo Joshi ...and his connection to the Mahatma? Just noticed Politics Behind Partition in your side margin here .Thanx for posting. It was at this glittering durbar that a man in "homespun spotless white khadi" rose to read a citation on behalf of the Pune Sarvajanik Sabha. Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi put forth a demand couched in very polite language: "We beg of Her Majesty to grant to India the same political and social status as is enjoyed by her British subjects." With this demand, it can be said that the campaign for a free India was formally launched. More info on life of Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi...? H ow MUCH to read ?????

Yvonne : I was equally intrigued about Ganesh Vasudev Joshi, when I read that. Hardly any information available on the Net. Maybe some of the members can help me out here.

It is true that Ganesh Vasudev Joshi was the first proponent of khadi over three decades before Gandhiji made it the main plank for the nationalist movement. He founded of the Sarvajanik Sabha in 1870 and was a brilliant lawyer.Though a moderate himself, he stoutly defended Vasudev Balwant Phadke in 1879. Justice Ranade known for his studied oratory later joined the Sarvajanik Sabha. Ranade was the originator of the Swadeshi idea which deeply influenced Mr. Joshi. In 1874 Justice Ranade had sent a letter to the British Parliament demanding more participation for Indians in the governance of the country. In 1877 Mr. Joshi primarily presented the demands raised in that letter at the durbar. In his times, Mr. Joshi was popularly known as "Sarvajanik Kaka". It will be interesting to find out if the Servants of India Society had its roots in the Sarvajanik Sabha.

Excellent....Thanks Shekar. Any images of Ganesh Vasudev Joshi ?

GV Joshi died in 1883 at the age of 38. Obviously he had no connection with Gandhiji. Ranade died in 1901 and Gokhale in 1914 a few weeks after Gandhi returned to India in 1914.

And Gandhiji stayed active in the quest for sovereignity from 1914 to 1947? 33 TENACIOUSLY COMMITTED YEARS TO ACHIEVE WHAT THIS MAN JOSHI WANTED TO SEE HAPPEN .PROPHETIC VISIONARY? IS "SAVARVAJANIK KAKA " a derogatory title ? As I understand KAKA? FYI http://www.harappa.com/mom/index.html I have seen fashion photos of beautiful wedding garments made of khadi .It is a wonderfully durable cotton fabric from which some of our summer clothes were sewn by our darzi sitting crosslegged on the verandah of our Jamalpur ,Bihar railway bungalow with a Singer sewing machine during the forties.Long run-on sentence ! I enjoy layering the cultural connections in anecdotes . A new fangled sewing machine..with an iconic label SINGER ....used by a turbanned craftsman making C20 clothing for an Anglo-Indian family in a country hurtling towards independence from everything that that word-picture represents .Grin!!

Servants of India Society ? More info Subbiah?