Meyer I. David

Meyer (Michael) I. David, "a member of a prominent Baghdadi family from Bombay, was notable among Baghdadi Jews in India for taking an active political interest in Indian independence. He promoted the idea of dominion status as a means for India to achieve self-governance. He met with Gandhi and discussed his idea to establish a Welfare of India League (also referred to as the Good Will Movement and the Progressive League). The league played a critical role in negotiating a compromise after Gandhi was arrested in 1932 and began a hunger strike in protest of British authorities' decision to award the Dalits (the "untouchable" castes) separate electoral representation. Meyer David also addressed Dalit social welfare--considered by Gandhi to be critical in his vision of an independent India--in other contexts. In 1932, David proposed a scheme to start a scholarship fund for Dalit students. He envisioned that higher-caste Hindus would financially support Dalit students; the amount of 500 rupees could cover the higher education of one Dalit student for five years, while half of that could cover high-school education. The idea won Gandhi's approval in addition to that of the All-India Depressed Classes Association, which represented Dalits. The David Scheme, as it came to be known, continued for a few years but ultimately folded when funds could not be successfully solicited from other donors." (from Elizabeth Imber's "A Late Imperial Elite Jewish Politics: Baghdadi Jews in British India and the Political Horizons of Empire and Nation") Later, in 1944 with co-author Dr. Christian Richard, David wrote an anti-fascist "Declaration of Interdependence" which won the interest and attention of the historian, Will Durant and was ultimately read into the Congressional Record.