What was the purpose with which Sir William Wedderburn and W.S.Caine had set up the Indian Parliamentary Committee in 1893?
- To agitate for Indian political reforms in the House of Commons
- To campaign for the entry of Indians into the Imperial Judiciary
- To facilitate a discussion on India’s Independence in the British Parliament
- To agitate for the entry of eminent Indians into the British Parliament
Explanation
Option (a) is correct
- Sir William Wedderburn was a British civil servant and politician who was a Liberal Party member of Parliament (MP). Wedderburn supported Lord Ripon’s administrative reforms to develop local self-government and equality for Indian judges. Due to his pro-India role, Wedderburn was denied a judge’s position in the Bombay HC, leading to his early retirement.
- Wedderburn was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress. He was also the president of the Congress at the Allahabad sessions in 1889 and 1910.
- Wedderburn was the Chairman of the British Committee of the Indian National Congress from July 1889 until his death. He entered the British Parliament in 1893 as a Liberal member and sought to voice India’s grievances in the House. He formed the Indian Parliamentary Committee, serving as its Chairman from 1893 to 1900. The Committee agitated for Indian political reform in the House of Commons.
- Wedderburn also represented India in the 1895 Welby Commission or the Royal Commission on Indian Expenditure. He welcomed the formal proclamation by the British Government on 20 August 1917 that the goal of British policy in India was the progressive establishment of self-government.
