1. Manilal Maganlal Doctor was a British Indian barrister and politician, who travelled to numerous countries of the British Empire, including Fiji, Mauritius and Aden, providing legal assistance to the local ethnic Indian population.
45 Facts About Manilal Doctor
1. 2.
Manilal Doctor met Gandhi, who asked him to go to Mauritius, where he represented Indo-Mauritians in court and edited a newspaper, The Hindustani.
3.
Manilal Doctor was barred from practicing law in several British colonies.
4.
Manilal Doctor later managed to practice law in Aden, Somalia and Bihar State in India but spent his final days in Bombay.
5.
Manilal Maganlal Doctor was born on 28 July 1881 in Baroda, Gujarat, India.
6.
Manilal Doctor then went to London as a student of Bar-at-Law in 1905.
7.
In 1906, Manilal Doctor met Mahatma Gandhi, who had become aware of the plight of the Indians in Mauritius.
8.
Manilal Doctor arrived in Mauritius on 11 October 1907 and began work as a barrister.
9.
Manilal Doctor soon clashed with the Judge of the Supreme Court when he refused to remove his shoes and turban on entering the court, pointing out that these were allowed in the high courts of Bombay and Madras.
10.
Manilal Doctor left Mauritius for Bombay on 28 November 1910 to attend the annual Indian National Congress Meeting.
11.
Manilal Doctor tried to arouse worldwide sympathy towards the suffering of the Indo-Mauritians by writing regularly to overseas newspapers.
12.
Sometime in 1911, Manilal Doctor traveled to London where he spent considerable time with Dr Pranjivan Mehta, a close friend of Gandhi.
13.
Gandhi encouraged him to practice law in South Africa, but Manilal Doctor wanted to take part in the debate of Congress calling for the abolition of Indenture.
14.
Manilal Doctor attended the 26th Annual Session of the Congress and seconded the motion calling for an end to Indenture.
15.
Manilal Doctor exchanged letters with Totaram Sanadhya, who organised for collection of money for Manilal Doctor's fare and law books and made arrangements for his stay in Fiji.
16.
Manilal Doctor met Gandhi in Durban, but Gandhi despite his initial reluctance agreed to release Manilal Doctor.
17.
Manilal Doctor was welcomed by hundreds of people, some of whom had journeyed long distances.
18.
Manilal Doctor was presented with a welcoming letter in which he was implored to improve the conditions of the Indians.
19.
Manilal Doctor set up a law practice, defended Indians for low fees and wrote letters and petitions for them.
20.
Manilal Doctor was initially employed as a telephone operator, but when he complained that he was not being given the promised job, he was sent to work in a cane field.
21.
The Government ignored these protests claiming that Manilal Doctor was not eligible for nomination as he was born in Baroda and not a British subject.
22.
Manilal Doctor was a regular contributor to the press in India on matters regarding Fiji and, in 1917, was the editor of the English section of the first newspaper published in Fiji by Indians, Indian Settler.
23.
Manilal Doctor made submissions for their report, published on 29 February 1916, which reported on the deplorable living conditions of the indentured labourers and their lack of access to education and medical facilities.
24.
Manilal Doctor was not religious but believed that Arya Samaj was the best sect for the casteless Indian society that was developing in Fiji.
25.
Manilal Doctor believed in the advancement of his community and when some Europeans suggested a federation of Fiji and New Zealand, Manilal, through the Indian Imperial Association circulated a petition for Fiji to become part of India since the country's future depended on its Indian population.
26.
Manilal Doctor's application was refused but he made an agreement with the Fijian owners and started to build.
27.
Manilal Doctor was ordered to leave and when he did not comply, was fined 10 pounds.
28.
Manilal Doctor was bitter about the incident and on 24 September 1919 the Indian Imperial Association passed a resolution condemning the government for not allowing him to build when Europeans themselves had acquired land by illegal means.
29.
Manilal Doctor sent a telegram regarding this incident to Andrews, who had it published in the Indian press.
30.
On 26 December 1919, the Association organised a conference in the Suva Town Hall, which Manilal Doctor chaired and which passed a number of resolutions, including a call for independence for India, sympathy for the victims of the Punjab massacre and other resolutions relating to Fiji Indians.
31.
Manilal Doctor reassured those workers who had been threatened by their employers and pacified others who wanted to teach saboteurs a lesson.
32.
Manilal Doctor held meetings in Suva and Nausori in which the strikers reiterated their demand of rise in wages by 5 shillings.
33.
The meetings were so peaceful that the Inspector General of Constabulary sent a message to Manilal Doctor, thanking him and expressing his appreciation at the quiet and orderly way in which the meeting of the strikers had been conducted.
34.
Jayunkvar, Manilal Doctor's wife, was active in the strike, exhorting Indians not to return to work and organizing Indian women.
35.
Manilal Doctor was sent to Nukulau Island to await a ship to New Zealand.
36.
Manilal Doctor was not allowed to practice law in New Zealand.
37.
Andrews informed Gandhi that a paper that Manilal Doctor had sent to him from New Zealand had 4 or 5 sections cut out.
38.
Manilal Doctor had already been refused permission to practice in Australia and was refused permission to practice in Ceylon and even in India he was not allowed to practice in the Bombay and Madras High Courts.
39.
Manilal Doctor soon became a regular contributor to the Socialist, an English periodical in Bombay.
40.
Manilal Doctor was involved in Socialist activities and came into contact with Communists who were trying to get organised in India.
41.
Manilal Doctor attended the Gaya Congress in 1923 and soon after issued a manifesto of the Labour and Kisan Party of India.
42.
Manilal Doctor was not happy with rivalries among Indian leaders and kept looking for outside openings.
43.
Manilal Doctor tried to settle in Penang but was warned by the Colonial Secretary for Singapore that he would be prevented from landing there.
44.
Manilal Doctor continued to provide service to the people of Aden and Somaliland but the revolutionary and radical zeal seemed to have left him.
45.
Manilal Doctor visited Mauritius in 1950 where he was enthusiastically welcomed.