Guide to the Papers of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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.
Related Materials
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
Series 2. Sapru Papers Pt2
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
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
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 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