Dadabhai Naoroji
1825 – 1917 Indian politician, economist, early nationalist
The early Indian thinker whose "drain theory" charged Britain with bleeding India's wealth.
- Religion
- Zoroastrian (Parsi)
- Affiliations
- Indian National Congress; British Parliament
Dadabhai Naoroji was a pioneering Indian nationalist and the first Indian elected to the British Parliament. His drain theory argued that British rule systematically transferred India's wealth to Britain, keeping the colony poor. His work is an early ancestor of later dependency and underdevelopment arguments.