M. C. Chagla Family Tree

Personal Details

• 🎂 Date of Birth
• 30 September 1900
• 📍 Place of Birth
• Mumbai, Maharashtra
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family
• Spouse: Mehrunissa Dharsi Jivraj
• Children: Jehangir Chagla, Husnara Chagla, Iqbal Chagla, Nuru Chagla
• Relatives: Roshan (Daughter-in-law), Rohiqa (Granddaughter), Riaz Chagla (Grandson), Cyrus Mistry (Grandson-in-law), Subbaram Swaminathan (Son-in-law)

Early Career

• Early Life
• Mohammadali Carim Chagla was born to a well-off Gujarati Ismaili Khoja family. He experienced a lonely childhood due to the death of his mother in 1905.
• His early years were spent in the family mansion near Nagdevi Street and Janjiker Lane, Khokha Bazar in Pydhonie. Later, in 1934, he purchased a mansion in Malabar Hill, Bombay.
• 🎓 Education
• Chagla received his early education at St. Xavier's High School and College, Bombay. He then went on to study Modern History at Lincoln College, Oxford, from 1918 to 1921, earning a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1921 and a Master of Arts (MA) in 1925.
• ⚖️ Legal Training
• In 1922, Chagla was admitted to the Bar of the Bombay High Court, where he had the opportunity to work with distinguished legal personalities such as Sir Jamshedji Kanga and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who would later become the founder of Pakistan.

Career Journey

• ⚖️ Early Career and Legal Contributions
• Initially, like many nationalists of his time, Chagla admired Mohammed Ali Jinnah for his nationalistic views and joined the Muslim League. He worked under Jinnah in Bombay for seven years, often in difficult financial circumstances, as he recounts in his autobiography. However, he severed ties with Jinnah when the latter began advocating for a separate Muslim state.
• Chagla, along with other like-minded individuals, then founded the Muslim Nationalist Party in Bombay, which played a minor role in the independence struggle. In 1927, he was appointed Professor of Law at Government Law College, Bombay, where he collaborated with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. He became a judge of the Bombay High Court in 1941 and was elevated to Chief Justice in 1948, serving until 1958. Throughout his judicial career, he consistently advocated for Indian unity and opposed the two-nation theory.
• 🌐 Diplomatic and Government Service
• In 1946, Chagla was part of the first Indian delegation to the United Nations. From 4 October to 10 December 1956, he served as Acting Governor of Bombay State, which was later divided into Gujarat and Maharashtra.
• After his tenure as Chief Justice, he headed the one-man commission investigating Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari in the controversial Haridas Mundhra LIC scandal, which led to Krishnamachari’s resignation. Despite initial friction with Prime Minister Nehru, Chagla’s role was later respected. From 1957 to 1959, he served as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice, The Hague.
• Following his judicial career, Chagla served as Indian Ambassador to the United States (1958–1961) and then as Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1962–1963). On returning to India, he joined the Union Cabinet, serving as Minister of Education (1963–1966) and later as Minister of External Affairs (1966–1967). As Education Minister, he voiced strong concerns about the poor quality of education in government schools, emphasizing that Article 45 of the Constitution intended real education for children aged 6 to 14, not just superficial expansion of facilities.
• 📝 Last Years and Autobiography
• In 1973, Chagla published his autobiography, Roses in December, with the help of his son Iqbal. He strongly opposed the Indian Emergency (1975–77) and remained active in legal and public life well into his seventies.
• He passed away at the age of 80 due to heart failure. Despite his ill health, he maintained his energetic lifestyle; on the day of his death, he spent time at his club in Bombay before passing away peacefully. Honoring his wish, he was cremated instead of receiving a traditional Muslim burial, and the Bombay High Court closed to pay respects. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee delivered a speech in his memory.
• 🏛️ Legacy and Honors
• In 1985, a statue of Chagla was installed within the Bombay High Court, outside the Chief Justice’s Court. The inscription reads:
  “A great judge, a great citizen, and, above all, a great human being.”
• Though born a Muslim, Chagla was largely agnostic. Interestingly, the surname “Chagla” was not original; in his youth, he was known as “Merchant,” which he disliked due to its association with money. His grandfather suggested “Chagla”, meaning “favourite” in Kutchi, and he adopted it.

Achievements and Milestones

• Statue installed in Bombay High Court – 1985
• Commemorative Indian postage stamp – 2004