Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet, (15 July 1783 – 14 April 1859), also spelt Jeejeebhoy or Jeejebhoy, was an Indian merchant and philanthropist. He made a significant fortune in cotton and was also a participant in the opium trade.

Early life and business career

Jejeebhoy was born in Bombay in 1783, the son of Merwanjee Mackjee Jejeebhoy and Jeevibai Cowasjee Jejeebhoy. His father was a Parsi textile merchant from Surat, Gujarat, who migrated to Bombay in the 1770s. Both of Jeejeebhoy's parents died in 1799, leaving the 16-year-old under the tutelage of his maternal uncle, Framjee Nasserwanjee Battliwala. At the age of 16, having had little formal education, he made his first visit to Calcutta and then began his first voyage to China to trade in cotton and opium under the mentorship of Sir Roger Faria, whose offices he trained at, initially as a clerk, before he rose in the ranks.

Jejeebhoy's second voyage to China was made in a ship of the East India Company's fleet. Under the command of Sir Nathaniel Dance, this ship drove off a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois After much delay and great difficulty, Jejeebhoy made his way to Calcutta in a Danish ship.

In 1814, his co-operation with the British East India company had yielded him sufficient profits to purchase his first ship, the Good Success, and he gradually added another six ships to this, usually carrying primarily opium and a little cotton to China. By 1836, Jejeebhoy's firm was large enough to employ his three sons and other relatives, and he had amassed what at that period of Indian mercantile history was regarded as fabulous wealth. He was seen as the chief representative of the Indian community in Bombay by the British Imperial authorities.

He was one of two Indian members on the first board of management the Great Indian Peninsula Railway along with Jagannath Shankarsheth.

Philanthropy

thumb|Sketch of Jejeebhoy, 1857

thumb|[[The Illustrated London News print of Jejeebhoy's residence, 1858]]

thumb|Engraving of the Bombay Native Hospital, constructed at the joint expense of Jejeebhoy and the East India Company; it was later renamed "Sir J. J. Hospital".

thumb|right|210px|Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy statue, [[Mumbai]]

An essentially self-made man, having experienced the miseries of poverty in early life, Jejeebhoy developed great sympathy for his poorer countrymen. Some of Jejeebhoy's notable charitable works include:

  • Mahim Causeway: The British Government had refused to build a causeway to connect the island of Mahim to Bandra. Jejeebhoy's wife, Avabai Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, spent Rs. 1,55,800 to finance its construction, after whom it was named. The work began in 1841 and is believed to have been completed four years later.
  • He donated Rs. 1,00,000 to build Sir J. J. Hospital
  • Jejeebhoy donated to at least 126 notable public charities, including the Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy School of Art, the Sir J. J. College of Architecture, the Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art and the Seth R.J.J. High School. He also endowed charities dedicated to helping his fellow Parsis and created the "Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy Parsi Benevolent Fund" in 1849.
  • He paid two-thirds of the entire cost of the Poona (now Pune) waterworks, with the remainder coming from the government.
  • He gave a substantial donation to Bombay Samachar founded by Fardunjee Marzban in July 1822. The Bombay Times was launched in 1838 by a syndicate of persons, which included Sir Jamsetjee. In 1861, it was renamed The Times of India. Jamsetjee also donated handsomely to the Jam-e-Jamshed Press when it was founded in 1859.
  • The Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, formerly The Victoria and Albert Museum, which was designed by a London architect was built with the patronage of many wealthy Indian businessmen and philanthropists like Jejeebhoy, David Sassoon and Jaganath Shunkerseth.
  • Construction of Charni Road and relief to cattle. Between 1822 and 1838, cattle from the congested fort area used to graze freely at the Esplanade Maidan (now called Azad Maidan), an open ground opposite the Victoria Terminus. In 1838, the British rulers introduced a 'grazing fee' which several cattle-owners could not afford. Therefore, Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy spent Rs. 20,000 from his own purse for purchasing some grasslands near the seafront at Thakurdwar and saw that the starving cattle grazed without a fee in that area. In time the area became known as "Charni" meaning grazing. When a railway station on the BB&CI railway was constructed there it was called Charni Road.
  • He spent Rs. 1,45,403 to set up the Sir J. J. Dharamshala at Bellasis Road, and until today, innumerable old and destitute people receive free food, clothing, shelter and medicines. All their needs for the past 150 years, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, have been looked after by the Dharamshala, the first free home for the elderly in Asia. These were the very first distinctions of their kind conferred by Queen Victoria upon a British subject in India.

Advocate of non-violence

In 1855, under royal patronage, the Patriotic Fund was launched to aid the wounded soldiers and widows of those who had died in the Russo-Turkish war. Jamsetjee donated Rs. 5,000/- for this cause. But some remarks from his speech on this occasion are most significant:

<blockquote>Of none of the great evils which afflict our race do we form such inadequate conceptions as of the evils of war. War is exhibited to us in the dazzling dress of poetry, fiction, and history, where its horrors are carefully concealed beneath its gaudy trappings; or we see, perhaps, its plumes and epaulettes, and harlequin finery, we hear of the magnificence of the apparatus, the bravery of the troops, the glory of the victors, but the story of the wholesale miseries and wretchedness and wrongs which follow in its train is untold … What nation is not groaning under war-debts, the greatest of national burdens! Had the inconceivable sum wasted in the work of human butchery been applied to promote individual comfort and national prosperity, the world would not now be so far behind as it is in its career of progress … Our duty to relieve the sufferers in this great war would have remained the same whether the war had been a just one or not; but, considering the nature and objects of this war, we extend this relief now more as a privilege than as a duty … To the call of our gracious Sovereign, and to the call of humanity, the Parsis, my lord, will cordially respond.</blockquote>

His non-violent attitude extended also to the animal kingdom. He would not allow any form of cruelty towards animals. The East India Company introduced a rule "for the annual destruction of dogs in Bombay island, and a considerable number were from time to time destroyed, in spite of frequent petitions from the public". This mass dog killing led to a serious riot. To alleviate this suffering, Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy and Amichand Shah founded Bombay Panjrapole on 18 October 1834.

Arms

General and cited references

References

  • Brief profile of Sir J.J.
  • Brief biography of Sir J.J.
  • Homi Dhalla, "Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, Lesser Known Facts about his Multidimensional Personality", homidhalla.com
  • Sir J.J. on David Philpson's site
  • Parsee settlers in Bombay