Joseph Baptista

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Joseph Baptista

|image = Kaka Joseph Baptista.jpg

|image_size =

|caption =

|birth_name =

|birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1864|03|17}}

|birth_place = Matharpacady, Mazagaon, Bombay

|death_date = 18 September 1930 (aged 66)

|death_place = Bombay

|resting_place = Sewri cemetery

|resting_place_coordinates =

|residence = Bombay

|nationality = Indian

|known_for = Mayor of Bombay

|education = Barrister

|alma_mater = University of Bombay
University of Cambridge

|occupation = Engineer in the forest department

|years_active =

|title = Mayor of Bombay

|term = 1925–1926

|predecessor =

|successor =

|party =

|opponents =

|spouse =

|partner =

|children =

|parents = John Baptista

|relations =

|signature =

|website = [http://kakabaptista.com kakabaptista.com]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

|footnotes =

}}

File:Joseph Baptista 2.jpg

Joseph "Kaka" Baptista (17 March 1864 – 18 September 1930) was an Indian politician and activist from Bombay (today known as Mumbai), closely associated with the Lokmanya Tilak and the Home Rule Movement. He was the first president of Indian Home Rule League established in 1916. He was elected as the mayor of Bombay in 1925. He was given the title Kaka that means "uncle".

Early life

Joseph Baptista was born on 17 March 1864 in Matharpacady in Mazagaon, Bombay. His father, John Baptista hailed from Uttan, near Bhayandar. The Baptistas belonged to the East Indian ethnic community.

He completed his early education from St. Mary's School, Mumbai. He then joined the College of Engineering in Pune and later pursued a BA degree in political science from the Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.{{acad|id=BPTT895J|name=Baptista, Joseph}} During this period, he first met Bal Gangadhar Tilak.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

Political activism

In 1901, Baptista joined the Bombay Municipal Corporation, and would be a part of the BMC for the next 17 years. Influenced by the Irish Home Rule movement, Baptista's ideas on an Indian version took root. His ideas deeply influenced Tilak and the two became close associates. He assisted Tilak by launching the Sarvajanik Ganpati (public Ganpati celebrations) to raise nationalistic feelings.{{cite web|url=http://www.east-indians.com/profile.htm|title=Kaka Baptista|publisher=East Indian Community|accessdate=12 October 2008|archive-date=19 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019085124/http://www.east-indians.com/profile.htm|url-status=dead}} In addition, Baptista coined the phrase "Swaraj is my Birthright", that was later made popular by Tilak. In 1916, along with Tilak, Annie Besant founded the Home Rule Movement, with Baptista opening the Belgaum unit. He was also the legal advisor to Lokmanya Tilak.{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-12-22/india/27975418_1_clear-backlog-crore-cases-judges|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021235354/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-12-22/india/27975418_1_clear-backlog-crore-cases-judges|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 October 2012|title=77,000 judges needed to clear backlog: CJI|last=Deshpande|first=Swati|accessdate=12 October 2008|work=The Times of India|date=22 December 2007}} Later he interviewed British Prime Minister David Lloyd George for the British government's views on the Home Rule. In the interview, Baptista gained the impression "that the Cabinet had decided to give India the fullest possible measure of Home Rule without delay."{{cite book|last=Turner|first=John|title=Lloyd George's Secretariat|publisher=CUP Archive|year=1990|pages=254|isbn=978-0-521-22370-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Dk9AAAAIAAJ}}

Baptista was also a practising barrister at the Bombay High Court. One of his most high-profile clients was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, where he demanded an open trial to assure the dignity of fundamental rights. In 1920, founded the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). As a labour leader he took up the cause of mill workers and postmen and other blue collar workers. Although religious, he refused to mix politics and religion refusing to have separate religion-based electorates.

{{blockquote|text=I thoroughly disapprove of separate electorate for Indian Christians in water-tight compartments}}

In 1925, Baptista was elected as the mayor of the Bombay Municipal Corporation, a post that he occupied for a year.

Death

Baptista died in 1930 and is buried in the Sewri cemetery. The Mazagon Gardens, site of the demolished Mazagaon Fort, near Dockyard Road station is named after him. On 12 October 2008, his tomb at Sewri cemetery was restored with the funds of local MLC Kapil Patil. The ceremony was attended by members of the Bombay Catholic Sabha and Shikshak Bharati, a teacher's organisation.{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-10-12/mumbai/27916186_1_tombs-christian-leaders-marathi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021235407/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-10-12/mumbai/27916186_1_tombs-christian-leaders-marathi|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 October 2012|title=Christian leaders tombs at Sewri restored|date=12 October 2008|work=The Times of India|accessdate=12 October 2008}}

In 1999, a book on Baptista titled Joseph Baptista: The father of Home Rule in India was released by K R Shirsat at Lalbaug in Mumbai. Through the book, the author hoped that Baptista would be a role model for modern-day youths.{{cite news|url=http://www.expressindia.com/news/ie/daily/19990521/ige21026.html|title=Book on Kaka Baptista released|date=21 May 1999|work=Indian Express|publisher=Express Group|accessdate=12 October 2008}}

References

External links

{{official website|http://kakabaptista.com}}
[http://www.east-indians.com/profile.htm East Indians] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019085124/http://www.east-indians.com/profile.htm |date=19 October 2014 }}

Category:Mayors of Mumbai

Category:20th-century mayors of places in India

Category:19th-century Indian engineers

Category:19th-century Indian lawyers

Category:1864 births

Category:1930 deaths

Category:University of Mumbai alumni

Category:Trade unionists from Maharashtra

Category:Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge

Category:Indian independence activists from Maharashtra

Category:Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India

Category:20th-century Indian engineers