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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2015}}
'''Sir Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad''' [[Order of the Indian Empire|KCIE]] (July 1864<ref name ="Setalvad_bio"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiarightsonline.com/Sabrang/relipolcom11.nsf/5e7647d942f529c9e5256c3100376e2e/2abffcde709bc5f4e5256cce0038bbc3?OpenDocument |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-04-15 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126055224/http://www.indiarightsonline.com/Sabrang/relipolcom11.nsf/5e7647d942f529c9e5256c3100376e2e/2abffcde709bc5f4e5256cce0038bbc3?OpenDocument |archive-date=26 January 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> – 10 December 1947) was an eminent [[India]]n [[barrister]] and [[jurist]] who practiced in the [[Bombay High Court]] in the early 20th century.

==Life and background==
Chimanlal was born in July 1864 at [[Bharuch]], [[Bharuch district]], then in the [[Bombay Presidency]] of [[British India]] and now part of the state of [[Gujarat]]. The eldest of four brothers, he was born into an aristocratic ''[[Brahmakshatriya]]'' family which had achieved distinction in the law for the preceding two generations.<ref name ="Setalvad_bio">{{cite book|last1=Jeejeebhoy|first1=J.R.B.|title=Dr. Sir Chimanlal H. Setalvad|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.526493|date=1939|edition=1st}}</ref> The surname ''Setalvad'' derives from the family's origins in the Punjab, where their surname was ''Talvad''. Some Talvads who were leaders of their community became known as ''Seth – Talvads'' ("Chiefs of the Talvads") which over time become "Setalvad". In the 18th century, some Setalvads migrated to present-day Gujarat and settled around [[Surat]], serving as paymasters in the imperial Mughal armies.<ref name ="Setalvad_bio"/>

Chimanlal's grandfather, Ambashankar Brijrai Setalvad (1782–1853) worked for the [[East India Company]] in the early 19th century, initially as a ''sreshtadar'' (registrar) in the ''[[Sadr Diwani Adalat]]'', the Supreme Civil Claims Court. He was subsequently appointed ''Sadr Amin'', or subordinate judge, for [[Ahmedabad district]]. Soon becoming renowned for his legal acumen, he eventually rose to Principal ''Sadr Amin'', the highest judicial post then open to non-Europeans, and held the post at the time of his death.<ref name ="Setalvad_bio"/><ref name="kala_bhavan_baroda">{{cite web | url =http://insa.nic.in/writereaddata/UpLoadedFiles/IJHS/Vol27_2_3_MMehta.pdf | title = Science versus Technology: the early years of the Kala Bhavan, Baroda | access-date =27 July 2017 | year =1992 | publisher = Indian Journal of the History of Science}}</ref> Chimanlal's father, ''[[Rao Sahib]]'' Harilal Ambashankar Setalvad (1821–1899), also served as ''Sadr Amin'' of Ahmedabad and was awarded the title of ''Rao Sahib'' by the British government upon his retirement in 1877. He subsequently served as ''[[dewan]]'' of the [[salute state]] of [[Limbdi State|Limbdi]].<ref name ="Setalvad_bio"/><ref name="kala_bhavan_baroda"/>

==Career==
An alumnus of [[Elphinstone College]], Mumbai,<ref>{{cite web |title=List of alumni of the college |url=http://www.elphinstonecollege.in/alumni.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100730104331/http://www.elphinstonecollege.in/alumni.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 July 2010 |publisher=[[Elphinstone College]] }}</ref> he served as one of the members of the [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre#Hunter Commission|Hunter Commission]] of Inquiry following the [[Jallianwala Bagh Massacre]] in 1919, and also served as Vice-Chancellor of [[Bombay University]] and as a member of the [[Governor of Bombay]]'s Executive Council. He also was founding President of [[Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha]], established by [[B.R. Ambedkar]] in 1924.

Chimanlal was recognized by [[Gandhi]] as an impartial advocate of great integrity. While in favour of independence from Britain, Chimanlal was opposed to [[Partition of India|Partition]]; sadly, he lived to see Partition and its accompanying horrors become a reality before his death on 10 December 1947, aged 83.<ref>[Who's Who, 1948]</ref>

==Honours==
Setalvad was knighted in the [[1919 New Year Honours]] List.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=31099 |date=31 December 1918 |page=106 |supp=y |nolink=y}}</ref> He was further appointed a Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] (KCIE) in the [[1924 Birthday Honours]] list.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=32941 |date=30 May 1924 |page=4411 |supp=y |nolink=y}}</ref>

==Family==
He was the father of [[M.C. Setalvad]], later [[Attorney General of India]] from 1950 to 1963. His great-granddaughter is [[Teesta Setalvad]], a noted journalist and civil rights activist.

==Works==
* ''Recollections & reflections, an autobiography'', Padma Publications, 1946.

==In popular culture==
In the film ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi (1982)]]'', Chimanlal Setalvad is portrayed by [[Habib Tanvir]] as a member of the Hunter Commission, in which role he cross-examines [[Reginald Dyer|General Dyer]] (credited in movie as Indian Barrister).<ref name=IMDB>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0849872/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t101|title=Habib Tanvir|website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp79148/sir-chimanlal-harilal-setalvad Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad] at the [[National Portrait Gallery, London]]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Setlavad, Chimanlal Harilal}}
[[Category:19th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:1864 births]]
[[Category:1947 deaths]]
[[Category:Scholars from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Elphinstone College alumni]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:Gujarati people]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:Members of the Bombay Legislative Council]]

Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad - Revision history

UpdateBot at 08:49, 26 June 2022