page_title: Herabai Tata
hierarchical_section_title: Herabai Tata
caption_attribution_description: English: Mother and daughter, Herabai and Mithan Tata who presented the demands for women's suffrage in India to the Joint Select Committee of the House of Lords and Commons, which was reviewing the report of the Southborough Franchise Committee.
context_page_description: Herabai Tata was Indian women's rights activist and suffragist. Married in 1895, Tata's husband was progressive and supported the education of his wife and daughter, hiring tutors to help her with her schooling. In 1909, Tata, who was Parsi, developed an interest in Theosophy and within a few years made the acquaintance of Annie Besant. Around the same time, in 1911, she met Sophia Duleep Singh, a British suffragist with Indian heritage, who influenced her development as a suffragist. A founding member and the general secretary of the Women's Indian Association, she became one of the women who petitioned for enfranchisement before the Montagu-Chelmsford investigation in 1917.
  When the reforms which were proposed failed to include women's suffrage, Tata and other feminists began protesting and publishing articles on the need for the vote. Referred to the Southborough Franchise Committee to develop the electoral regulations for implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms, she wrote an article for The Times of India arguing that as some municipalities already allowed women to vote, extending the right was justified.
context_section_description: Herabai Tata (1879–1941) was Indian women's rights activist and suffragist. Married in 1895, Tata's husband was progressive and supported the education of his wife and daughter, hiring tutors to help her with her schooling. In 1909, Tata, who was Parsi, developed an interest in Theosophy and within a few years made the acquaintance of Annie Besant. Around the same time, in 1911, she met Sophia Duleep Singh, a British suffragist with Indian heritage, who influenced her development as a suffragist. A founding member and the general secretary of the Women's Indian Association, she became one of the women who petitioned for enfranchisement before the Montagu-Chelmsford investigation in 1917.
  When the reforms which were proposed failed to include women's suffrage, Tata and other feminists began protesting and publishing articles on the need for the vote. Referred to the Southborough Franchise Committee to develop the electoral regulations for implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms, she wrote an article for The Times of India arguing that as some municipalities already allowed women to vote, extending the right was justified. Nonetheless, the Southborough Committee also rejected the inclusion of enfranchisement for women and sent their recommendations to the Joint Select Committee of the House of Lords and Commons. Tata was chosen by the Bombay Suffrage Committee to travel to England to present the case in favor of suffrage to the Joint Committee.
  Compiling a report to substantiate the claim for suffrage, Tata and her daughter Mithan made two presentations to the government and traveled throughout the country to try to gain support for their cause. She published articles in various journals and spoke, inspiring individuals and organizations to flood the India Office with endorsements. Though unable to influence the reform act to include complete suffrage for women, the final bill did allow provisions for Indian provinces to enfranchise women if they chose to do so. Once in England, Tata and her daughter enrolled in courses at London School of Economics and remained until 1924. She continued to work for voting rights and legislation protecting children until her husband was injured in an accident and required her care. Tata died in 1941 and is remembered as one of the prominent suffragists in the early struggle for the vote in India.
caption: Herabai (seated) and Mithan Tata, 1919
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