ABSTRACT
The first three Asian MPs at Westminster, Naoroji, Bhownagree and Saklatvala were all Parsis, a remarkable record for such a microscopic community. Parsis were prominent in Indian politics from the middle of the nineteenth century, not only in the Indian National Congress, but also in its forerunners, the Bombay Association and the Bombay Presidency Association. But Bhownagree has not fared well at the hands of historians. The standard account of Parsis in British India is Kulke 1974 who refers only to the negative impact of Bhownagree. Naoroji appears not to have opposed Bhownagree's candidature and wrote to Wacha in India to try and persuade the Indian press to halt their attacks on Bhownagree. Bhownagree's parliamentary work has never been discussed in any publication and merits attention. Seventy percent of Bhownagree's many interventions in the House of Commons were concerned with Indian affairs, most of them focusing on the Indian economy.
