Guide to the Papers of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru

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MS 9823

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Collection Summary

Creator
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru
Title
Papers of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru collected by D.A. Low
Date Range
1896-1981
Collection Number
MS 9823
Extent
9.54 metres (8 boxes + 115 volumes)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
National Library of Australia

Introduction

Scope and Contents

The collection consists largely of photocopies of the papers of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, 1875 – 1949, which were collected, copied and bound by Professor D. A. Low. The original collection is held in full in the National Library of India, Calcutta. The collection documents the Indian National Movement for Independence focussing on the years 1920 to 1949.

The papers also include other Indian materials, in particular copies of private papers from some of Sapru’s Indian and British contemporaries and Low’s own copies and notes for the period 1916 to 1944 from the records of the Home Department, Political Branch of the Government of India, which was the key colonial government department confronting the Indian national movement.

The collection is largely comprised of photocopies of correspondence; biographies of Sapru; photographs; reports and articles relating to Sapru; proceedings and legislation of the Indian and British Governments including Round Table Conferences and Constitutional Reforms; and publications relating to Sapru and the Indian Government. His correspondence includes contact with British and Indian leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Lord Linlithgow, Lord Irwin and Lord Willingdon.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn109585).

Conditions Governing Use

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred Citation

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru collected by D.A. Low, National Library of Australia, MS 9823, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Professor D.A. Low donated the copies of the Sapru Papers and related papers to the Library in three instalments in 2002-2003.

A microfilm copy of the Sapru Papers is also held at the National Library of Australia at Mfm G 2137 – 2153 and is available in the Newspaper Reading Room.

A large collection of Sapru’s legal opinion and related matters is held at the Nehru Memorial Museum and the Library in Delhi.

Arrangement

The Sapru Papers were bound in 114 volumes; there were also some additional loose papers. The Library placed these additional papers into folders ensuring maintenance of the original order. The bound volumes cover the period 1896 – 1949 and relate to Series 1 and Series 2 of the original deposit of Sapru papers held in the National Library of India. The date overlap in the original deposit between the two series occurred as a result of a further consignment of the Sapru Papers which was not able to be integrated into the original series, thereby creating a second series.

A published index produced by the National Library of India titled The Sapru correspondence: A check-list first series can be used to locate letters by correspondent within the bound volumes of Series 1.

Users should note that the original papers in the National Library of India are bound up in alphabetical order of correspondent, while the copies in the National Library of Australia’s collection are bound up in chronological order. The numbering on items in the latter refer to the original volumes in the National Library of India.

Biographical Note

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru was born on 3 December 1875 and died on 29 January 1949. Sapru was a Kashmiri Pandit and his lifetime home was Allahabad in North India. He was educated at Agra College, graduating with an M.A. in English and Law.

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru was a prominent constitutional lawyer and non-party peace maker in India from the early 1920s until his death. He corresponded with many political and international leaders and was greatly respected by Gandhi and other Congress leaders as well as by the British. On at least five occasions he played a crucial role as mediator between British government and Indian leaders between 1929 and 1942. He played a pivotal role in India’s constitutional and political development in both his political and public life, making successive attempts to direct constitutional reforms toward Indian independence. He entered active politics in 1907, joining the Moderate Section of the Congress and held various positions in government office between 1912 and 1923, including membership of India’s Imperial Legislative Council, the Franchise Commission and Law member of the Government of India. He broke away from the Congress in 1917, disagreeing with Gandhi’s civil disobedience tactics.

In 1924 he was the driving force behind the Commonwealth of India Bill. Between 1931 and 1934 he was a delegate at all three Round Table Conferences held by the British Government in London on Indian constitutional reform, making a plea for a status of equality for India. In 1943 he played a key role in the establishment of the Indian Council of World Affairs becoming its first president and remaining so until his death in 1949. Following India’s independence in 1947, Sapru remained well informed of the progress of Indian politics, but Parkinson’s disease prevented him from taking any active part.

Sources: Low, D.A. The Sapru Collection and related materials: note by Professor Anthony Low, 2002; The International who’s who, 1949; Dictionary of Indian Biography, 2000

Professor D.A. Low: Donald Anthony Low was born on 22 June 1927 in Nainital, India. He first settled in Australia in 1959. Low’s main interests have included the 19th and 20th century history of India and Africa and the history of the Commonwealth.

Low holds a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University, a Doctor of Literature from Cambridge University and is a fellow of such societies as the Royal Historical Society and the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Low was the recipient of the Centenary Medal in 2003.

Low has held various professional positions at colleges and universities in the UK, Uganda and Australia from 1951-1994 including Senior lecturer in History, Makerere University Uganda 1951-1958; Founding Dean School of African and Asian Studies, University of Sussex 1964-1969; Professor of History, University of Sussex 1964-1972; Director of the Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University 1973-1975; Vice Chancellor, Australian National University 1975-1982; Smuts Professor History of the British Commonwealth, Cambridge University 1983-1994

Low’s other professional positions have included President, African Studies Association of Australia and the Pacific 1979-1982; President, Asian Studies Association of Australia 1980-1982; Founding president, British Australian Studies Association 1984-1986; Chairman of the editorial board of the Round Table 1992-1994

Publications by Low include Soundings in Modern South Asia History (ed) (1968); Government Archives in South Asia (ed) (1969); Lion rampant: essays in the study of British imperialism (1973); Congress and the Raj (ed) (1977); Constitutional heads and political crises: Commonwealth episodes, 1945-1985 (ed) (1988); Eclipse of empire (1991); Rearguard action: selected essays on late colonial India (1996); The egalitarian moment: Asia and Africa (1996); Britain and Indian nationalism: the imprint of ambiguity 1929-1942 (1997).

Source: Who’s who in Australia 2004.

Item Descriptions

Series 1. Sapru Papers Pt 1

Government of India National Library, The Sapru correspondence: A check-list - first series. Government of India Press: Calcutta, 1961 (Item 1)

1896 - 1909 (Item 2)

1910 - 1916 (Item 3)

1917 - April 1919 (Item 4)

1918 (Item 5)

April 1919 - 5 May 1921 (Item 6)

May - December 1921 (Item 7)

1919 - 1921 (marked as miscellaneous) (Item 8)

January - December 1922 (Item 9)

January - October 1923 (Item 10)

October 1923 - June 1924 (Item 11)

July 1924 - December 1925 (Item 12)

January 1926 - June 1927 (Item 13)

July 1927 - June 1928 (Item 14)

July - December 1928 (Item 15)

January - October 1929 (Item 16)

November - December 1929 (Item 17)

January 1930 (Item 18)

February - March 1930 (Item 19)

April - May 1930 (Item 20)

June - July 1930 (Item 21)

1 August - 20 September 1930 (Item 22)

21 September - December 1930 (Item 23)

January - February 1931 (Item 24)

March 1931 (Item 25)

April - May 1931 (Item 26)

June - July 1931 (Item 27)

July - September 1931 (Item 28)

August - September 1931 (Item 29)

October - December 1931 (Item 30)

January - February 1932 (Item 31)

March - April 1932 (Item 32)

1 May - 21 June 1932 (Item 33)

22 June - 6 July 1932 (Item 34)

7-31 July 1932 (Item 35)

1 August - 15 September 1932 (Item 36)

16 September - 31 October 1932 (Item 37)

August -December 1932 (Item 38)

November - December 1932 (Item 39)

January - December 1933 (Item 40)

1 January - 15 February 1933 (Item 41)

16 February - 31 March 1933 (Item 42)

April - June 1933 (Item 43)

1 July - 30 September 1933 (Item 44)

October - December 1933 (Item 45)

January - March 1934 (Item 46)

1 April - 30 June 1934 (Item 47)

July - September 1934 (Item 48)

October - December 1934 (Item 49)

January - June 1935 (Item 50)

January - June 1936 (Item 51)

July - December 1936 (Item 52)

January - May 1937 (Item 53)

June - December 1937 (Item 54)

1938 (Item 55)

January - May 1939 (Item 56)

June - December 1939 (Item 57)

January - June 1940 (Item 58)

July - December 1940 (Item 59)

January - March 1941 (Item 60)

April - May 1941 (Item 61)

June - August 1941 (Item 62)

September - December 1941 (Item 63)

January - March 1942 (Item 64)

1 April - 10 August 1942 (Item 65)

11 August - December 1942 (Item 66)

1943 (Item 67)

January - July 1944 (Item 68)

August - November 1944 (Item 69)

December 1944 (Item 70)

January - February 1945 (Item 71)

March - June 1945 (Item 72)

July - December 1945 (Item 73)

January - July 1946 (Item 74)

April - December 1946 (Item 75)

January - May 1947 (Item 76)

June - December 1947 (marked Series I II) (Item 77)

1948 and 1949 (Item 78)

Series 2. Sapru Papers Pt2

January 1924 - December 1929 (Item 79)

January - June 1930 (Item 80)

July - December 1930 (Item 81)

January - December 1931 (Item 82)

January - May 1932 (Item 83)

1 June - 31 July 1932 (Item 84)

1 August - 30 September 1932 (Item 85)

1 October - 30 December 1932 (Item 86)

1 January - 31 March 1933 (Item 87)

1 April - 31 October 1933 (Item 88)

1 November 1933 - 31 March 1934 (Item 89)

April 1934 - 31 July 1934 (Item 90)

August - December 1934 (Item 91)

July - December 1935 (Item 92)

1 January - 30 December 1936 (Item 93)

January - December 1937 (Item 94)

1 January - 30 April 1939 (Item 95)

May - December 1939 (Item 96)

January - -July 1940 (Item 97)

August - December 1940 (Item 98)

January - May 1941 (Item 99)

June - December 1941 (Item 100)

January - July 1942 (Item 101)

August - December 1942 (Item 102)

January - August 1943 (Item 103)

September - December 1943 (Item 104)

January - December 1944 106 January - April 1945 (Item 105)

May - December 1945 (Item 107)

January - March 1946 (Item 108)

July - December 1946 (Item 109)

January - May 1947 (Item 110)

January - June 1948 (Item 111)

July 1948 - 19 March 1949 (Item 112)

Miscellaneous papers; [n.d.]. (Item 113)

Government of India. Histories of the Civil Disobedience movements (Item 114)

Indian Politics 1931 (Item 115)

Note by Professor Anthony Low: The Sapru Collection and related materials, 2002; papers and publications relating to the Government of India; correspondence from the Hailey Papers 1 January 1962 - 10 September 1965; memoranda by Lord Reading, 26 June 1930 - 10 July 1930. (photocopies) (File 116) - Box 1

Parliamentary proceedings and articles, correspondence 11 December 1940 - 27 January 1942. (photocopies typescripts) (File 117) - Box 1

In Camera Meetings1939; report of the Proceedings of the All-India Conference of the Moderate Party, 30 December 1919 - 1 January 1920 (File 118) - Box 1

Articles relating to Annie Besant; photographs with caption list; Report of the Unemployment Committee 1935; papers of the Provincial Government 1907. (photocopies typescripts) (File 119) - Box 1

Article: Raina, K.N. (1976). Tej Bahadur Sapru Response: Selected legal opinions; articles relating to post-war reforms; Reading Papers 2 May 1921 - 18 May 1924; listing of Irwin Papers and other extracts placed with original collections of Sapru Papers at National Library of India, 2 January 1921 - 6 April 1931; handwritten notes relating to Sapru. (photocopies) (File 120) - Box 1

Telegrams from Lord Willingdon to Edwin Montagu and Willingdon to Lord Reading 10 August 1920 - 27 February 1922; letters from the Adyar Archives 10 December 1921 - 19 December 1921; proceedings of the Governor’s Conference 21 July 1930. (typescripts) (File 121) - Box 1

Working of the Reforms Memorandum for the Reforms Inquiry Committee, 1924. (photocopies) (File 122) - Box 1

Extracts from: Sir George Lowndes Papers 14 August 1920; Meston Papers 30 December 1912 - June 1914; Butler Papers 26 February 1920 - 29 June 1923; Chelmsford Papers 15 May 1920 - 14 March 1921; articles relating to education and unemployment. (typescripts) (File 123) - Box 1

List of collections held in the Manuscript Division, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Teen Murti House, New Delhi; article, ‘Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru: A political biography’, 1981. (photocopies) (File 124) - Box 2

Reports, telegrams and correspondence relating to Indian Government politics 1925 - May 1928. (photocopies) (File 125) - Box 2

Reports, telegrams, correspondence relating to Indian Government politics 11 May 1931 - 18 November 1931; article relating to the Jamnalal Bajaj Ki Diary, 1930-1933. (photocopies) (File 126) - Box 2

Articles relating to Sapru and India 1903-1972; thesis: G.F.H. Buckee, (1972). An examination of the development and structure of the legal profession at Allahabad 1866-1935. (photocopies) (File 127) - Box 2

Articles relating to Indian Government reforms and proceedings, 1919-1925. (photocopies) (File 128) - Box 2

Home Department Poll 13 June 1932; miscellaneous letters, 14 March 1931 - 4 July 1934; articles relating to Indian Government; report of the Unemployment Committee, United Provinces, 1935. (photocopies) (File 129) - Box 2

Various correspondence including correspondence from Emerson, 16 -17 July 1931; speech extracts; English translations of lectures and letters relating to the Indian Government, 12 March 1931 - 17 July 1931. (photocopies) (File 130) - Box 3

Handwritten and personal notes by D.A. Low relating to the Sapru Papers; correspondence to D.A. Low, 27 March 1942 - 3 April 1975; booklet titled Collection of private papers in the National Archives of India. (File 131) - Box 3

Raina, K.N. Gopala Ratnam, K.V. Tej Bahadur Sapru: Profiles and tributes. Allahabad: Tej Bahadur Sapru Commemoration Volume Committee, 1971. (photocopy) See piece 157. (File 132) - Box 3

Reading Papers, 30 April 1921 - 28 March 1929. (transcripts) (File 133) - Box 3

Bar Council of Delhi. Commemoration Volume on the occasion of birth centenary of Dr Tej Bahadur Sapru, 1976. (photocopy) (File 134) - Box 3

Handwritten extracts from the Haig collection, 1 December 1939 - 4 December 1939; and Gandhi-Emerson correspondence, 16 May 1931 - 13 March 1932; Templewood collection Willingdon-Hoare, 28 August 1931 - 10 January 1932; correspondence 22 January 1933 - 6 December 1937. (photocopies) (File 135) - Box 3

Photocopy of an article: Hailey. M (1933). “India: 1983”. Asiatic Review. Commonwealth of India Bill (n.d.); Indian Constitution, parts i-xii. (File 136) - Box 3

Prasad Papers 28 September 1937 - 24 December 1937; note by Willingdon, [n.d.]; correspondence: Hailey to Irwin 23 May 1930 - 9 June 1930, Hailey to Montmorency 5 June 1930. (photocopies transcripts) (File 137) - Box 3

Articles relating to the Indian government; Indian Government statements, 21 March 1933 - 13 September 1933; abstract of police intelligence report, 18 January 1930 - 28 June 1930. (photocopies) (File 138) - Box 3

Various correspondence including correspondence from Emerson, 11 March 1931 - 13 August 1931 (photocopies typescripts) (File 139) - Box 4

Volume III Records I - X of the Joint Committee on Indian Constitutional Reform, 1934. (photocopy) (File 140) - Box 4

Proceedings of the Indian Legislative Council assembled for the purpose of making laws and regulations, from April 1916-March 1917 Volume LV. (photocopy) (File 141) - Box 4

Proceedings of the Indian Legislative Council assembled for the purpose of making laws and regulations, from April 1917-March 1918 Volume LVI. (photocopy) (File 142) - Box 4

Proceedings of the Indian Legislative Council assembled for the purpose of making laws and regulations, from April 1918-March 1919 Volume LVII; and Proceedings of the Indian legislative council assembled for the purpose of making laws and regulations, from April 1919-March 1920 Volume LVIII. (photocopy) (File 143) - Box 4

Indian round table conference proceedings 12 November 1930 - 19 January 1931. (photocopy) (File 144) - Box 4

Indian round table conference, second session, proceedings 7 September 1931 - 1 December 1931. (photocopy) (File 145) - Box 4

Indian round table conference proceedings, third session, 17 November 1932 - 24 December 1932. (photocopy) (File 146) - Box 4

Articles relating to the deaths of Sapru and Gandhi; correspondence from the Birla Papers 1 October 1948 from Pyarelal; copy of the Indian National Congress, sessions 12-13, 15-17, 20, 22-28, 31 and a special session, 29 August 1918 - 1 September 1918. (photocopies) (File 147) - Box 5

Articles relating to Sapru’s role in the Central Legislative Assembly, 3 February 1921 - 15 March 1921. (photocopies) (File 148) - Box 5

Articles relating to Sapru’s role in the Central Legislative Assembly, 15 March 1921 - 15 September 1921. (photocopies) (File 149) - Box 5

Articles relating to Sapru’s role in the Central Legislative Assembly, 20 September 1921 - 18 January 1922. (photocopies) (File 150) - Box 5

Articles relating to Sapru’s role in the Central Legislative Assembly, 20 January 1922 - 22 September 1922. (photocopies) (File 151) - Box 5

Sethana Papers including miscellaneous correspondence, 1921-1932. (photocopies) (File 152) - Box 6

Sethana Papers including miscellaneous correspondence, 1921-1932. (photocopies) (File 153) - Box 6

Miscellaneous correspondence relating to economic conditions in the United Provinces including newspaper cutting and letters to Gandhi, Emerson, Irwin and Prasad, 13 March 1931 - 21 June 1931. (photocopies) (File 154) - Box 6

Miscellaneous correspondence including letters to Gandhi, 14 March - 5 September 1931. (photocopies) (File 155) - Box 6

Correspondence and reports relating to civil unrest in India, 21 March - 14 April 1931. (photocopies) (File 156) - Box 6

Correspondence and reports relating civil unrest, picketing and land revenue in the Madras and other provinces, 1931. (photocopies) (File 157) - Box 6

Miscellaneous paper, 8 August 1931. (photocopy) (File 158) - Box 6

Miscellaneous correspondence and telegrams including letters to Gandhi and Emerson, 23 March 1931 - 16 June 1931; and Indian News Agency Telegrams. (photocopies typescripts) (File 159) - Box 7

Correspondence and reports relating to arrests and civil unrest; includes letters from Emerson and Prasad, 1931. (photocopies) (File 160) - Box 7

Sapru Felicitation Draft, a commemorative volume of tributes to Sapru from Indian and British contemporaries. (photocopy) (File 161) - Box 7

See folder 128

Miscellaneous handwritten notes; Montagu Papers, 24 April 1911 - 27 November 1917; extracts from Indian People, 26 April 1906 - 30 May 1909. (photocopies) (File 162) - Box 7

Abstract of the proceedings of the Council of His Honour the Lieutenant Governor United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, assembled for the purpose of making laws and regulations, 1913. (photocopy) (File 163) - Box 7

Extracts from the newspaper The Leader, 15 April 1918 - 31 March 1921. (photocopies) (File 164) - Box 7

Government of India, Despatch on proposals for Constitutional Reform. Calcutta: Central Publication Branch, 1930 (File 165) - Box 8

Imperial Record Department, List of the heads of administrations in India and of the India office in England. New Delhi: Government of India Press, 1939 (File 166) - Box 8

Indian Statutory Commission, Report of the Indian Statutory Commission Volume 1: Survey. Calcutta: Government of India, 1930 (File 167) - Box 8

Katju, K.N, Reminiscences and experiments in advocacy. Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1952 (File 168) - Box 8

Kidwai, R.A, The proceedings of the All Parties National convention. Allahabad: All Parties National convention, 1929 (File 169) - Box 8

National Library of India, The Sapru correspondence: A check-list - first series. Calcutta: Government of India Press, 1961 (File 170) - Box 8

Ram, M, Two historic trials in Red Fort. An authentic account of the trial by a general court martial of Captain Shah Nawaz Khan, Captain P.K. Sahgal and Lt. G.S Dhillon and the trial by a European Military Commission of Emperor Bahadur Shah. New Delhi: Roxy Printing Press, 1946 (File 171) - Box 8

Sapru, T.B; Jayakar, M.R; Gopalaswami Ayyangar, N; Prasad, J, Constitutional proposals of the Sapru Committee. Bombay: Padma Publications, 1946 (File 172) - Box 8


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