A Petition to the House of Commons by the Natives of Bombay

A duplicate of a Petition to the House of Commons from the Natives of Bombay (Mumbai) and others: Christians, Jews, Chinese, Parsis; Muslims and Hindus; more than 4000 in number. All the signatures, along with the petition, are on the document which is made of 25 skins of parchment. It is written in English, Gujarati and Marathi and is dated Bombay, 25 January 1831. It asks for a reform in the judicial regulations of the government at Bombay; for more impartial administration of the laws, that native people may freely be admitted to civil and judicial offices; and for the diffusion of the English language among the inhabitants to be encouraged by the British government. The original was sent to England by Sir Charles Forbes, M.P. and Joseph Hume, M.P. and was presented to the House of Commons on 1 September 1831.

Sir Charles Forbes was educated at Aberdeen University before going to India as head of the first mercantile house, Forbes and Co. of Bombay. He not only conducted business but was also involved in community projects such as ensuring fresh water for the local inhabitants. On leaving India he returned to England where he served as MP for Beverley, Yorkshire, from 1812-1818, and then for Malmesbury, Wiltshire, from 1818-1832. He supported Catholic emancipation and votes for women.

He married Elizabeth Cotgrave (d.1861) in 1811. Forbes died in 1849. His eldest son, John, had predeceased his father. The title Forbes had inherited from his uncle was, in turn, inherited by his second son, Charles. His daughter, Elizabeth, married General, Lord James Hay, second son of the seventh Marquess of Tweeddale.

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The petition was presented to the Royal Asiatic Society by Sir Charles Forbes at the Society's General Meeting of 15 May 1835. At the same meeting he also presented a printed version of this petition and one signed by 95 principal inhabitants of Bombay, the original of which had also been presented to the House of Commons on the same occasion. He also presented the impression of a Seal adopted by Bomanjee Hormarjee of Bombay. These items no longer are in the Society's collections.

The material was catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2022.

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The petition was in the care of Sir Charles Forbes before his presentation of it to the Royal Asiatic Society.