GordonCoulston at 06:16, 30 March 2026

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{{short description|Indian philanthropist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dhunbai Cowasji Jehangir
| image = DhunbaiCowasjiJehangir1940.png
| alt = A middle-aged South Asian woman with greying hair, wearing a dark scarf over her head and a strand of pearls
| caption = Dhunbai Cowasji Jehangir, from a portrait by Bassano Ltd, published with her front-page obituary in ''The Bombay Chronicle'' in 1940
| other_names =
| birth_name = Dhunbai Ardeshir Wadia
| birth_date = 1860
| birth_place = Bombay
| death_date = 15 July 1940
| death_place =
| occupation = Philanthropist
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse(s) = [[Jehangir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney]]
| children = [[Sir Cowasji Jehangir, 2nd Baronet]]
| relatives = [[Jehangir Sabavala]] (grandson), [[Wadia family]]
}}

'''Dhunbai Cowasji Jehangir''' (1860 – 15 July 1940) was an Indian philanthropist and leader of women's organizations, based in [[Mumbai|Bombay]].

== Early life ==
Dhunbai Wadia was born in Bombay, the daughter of Ardeshir Hormusjee Wadia, a member of the [[Wadia family]]. Her family were [[Parsis]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Kabadi Waman P.|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.523178|title=Indian Who's Who 1937-38|date=1937|pages=181–182|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Relia|first=Anil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-wmqDwAAQBAJ&dq=Dhunbai+Wadia&pg=PT60|title=The Indian Portrait - 9: A Parsi delight - Paintings, Photographs, Prints & Collectibles|date=2018-12-04|publisher=Archer Art Gallery|isbn=978-81-931718-2-0|pages=figure 119|language=en}}</ref> She was presented to [[Queen Victoria]] in 1885, on her first visit to England.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=16 July 1940|title=Bombay Loses a Pioneer|page=1|work=The Bombay Chronicle|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.9967/mode/2up?q=Dhunbai+Jehangir|access-date=27 November 2021|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

== Career ==
Jehangir was a co-founder and secretary of the Princess Mary Victoria [[Gymkhana]], a women's social and educational club in Bombay. In 1907, she presided over the All-India Women's Conference at Ahmedabad. She was vice-president of the Bombay chapter of the Indian Women's Council for many years.<ref name=":1" /> As a leader of the Bombay branch of the National Baby and Health Week Association in the 1920s, she founded Bombay Baby Week, a week of lectures, demonstrations, and films on child health topics.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Narayanswamy|first=Shruti|date=2021|title=Sanitizing Cinema: Women at Work in 1920s Bombay|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/filmhistory.33.1.04|journal=Film History|volume=33|issue=1|pages=122–123|doi=10.2979/filmhistory.33.1.04|jstor=10.2979/filmhistory.33.1.04|s2cid=234772329|url-access=subscription}}</ref> She represented India in 1924, at the Wembley Empire Exhibition in London. In 1927, she was one of the first women [[Justice of the peace|Justices of the Peace]] in Bombay. She received the gold [[Kaisar-i-Hind Medal]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1935 she was president of the Women's Branch of the [[Indian National Association]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=26 February 1935|title=Under the auspices of the Women's Branch|page=7|work=The Bombay Chronicle|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.9013/page/6/mode/2up?q=Dhunbai+Jehangir|access-date=27 November 2021|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> She raised funds for women's health, famine relief, and other causes.<ref name=":1" /> "There was hardly a movement intended to secure the educational and social progress of women with which the late Dowager Lady Cowasji Jehangir was not actively associated," noted one tribute in 1940.<ref>{{Cite news|date=17 July 1940|title=A Pioneer|page=6|work=The Bombay Chronicle|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.9968/page/6/mode/2up?q=Dhunbai+Jehangir|access-date=27 November 2021|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

The Lady Dhunbai Jehangir Home for the Destitute opened in 1938.<ref>{{Cite news|date=31 March 1938|title=Problem of Helpless Beggars in City|page=10|work=The Bombay Chronicle|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.12468/page/10/mode/2up?q=Dhunbai+Jehangir|access-date=27 November 2021|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> It was the largest private institution of its kind in Bombay in the 1950s and 1960s.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Maharashtra. India. Bombay. Home Department|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.granth.112520|title=Annual Administration Report on the Working of the Bombay Bggars Act, 1945; for the year 1955-56|date=1956|publisher=Government of Bombay (Poona)|pages=8-9, 13-14|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bombay Prevention of Begging Act|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.granth.117721|title=Annual Administration Report, 1960-61: The Working of the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act|date=1964|publisher=Government of Maharashtra (Bombay)|pages=12|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

== Personal life and legacy ==
In 1876, Dhunbai Wadia married banker and industrialist [[Jehangir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney]].<ref name=":0" /> They had three children, all born before 1880, including two daughters, Cooverbai (who died as a young woman) and Bapsey Sabavala, and their son [[Sir Cowasji Jehangir, 2nd Baronet]]. Her husband died in 1934, and she died in 1940, aged 79 years.<ref name=":1" /> Her [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] funeral was attended by thousands of mourners.<ref>{{Cite news|date=17 July 1940|title=Late Dowager Lady Cowasji Jehangir|page=7|work=The Bombay Chronicle|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.9968/page/6/mode/2up?q=Dhunbai+Jehangir|access-date=27 November 2021|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

The [[Fire temple|Sorabji Ratanji Patel Agiary]] in [[Pune]] includes a hall named for Lady Dhunbai Cowasjee Jehangir.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kabra|first=Harsh|date=4 August 2009|title=Temple of subdued grandeur|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/temple-of-subdued-grandeur/articleshow/4854264.cms|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-27|website=The Times of India|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107071532/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Temple-of-subdued-grandeur/articleshow/4854264.cms |archive-date=2015-11-07 }}</ref> A portrait of Lady Jehangir is prominent at the entrance of the [[Cowasji Jehangir Hall]] in Mumbai.<ref>{{cite web | last=Mehotra | first=Rahul | date=2002 | url=https://jehangirartgallery.com/public/uploads/blogs/pdf-18.pdf | title=An Art Centre in the City the Landmark Gallery | publisher=Jehangir Art Gallery | accessdate=23 June 2022}}</ref>

One of Jehangir's grandchildren was the artist [[Jehangir Sabavala]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Devidayal|first=Namita|date=3 September 2011|title=Jehangir Sabavala: A painter & gentleman bows out|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jehangir-sabavala-a-painter-gentleman-bows-out/articleshow/9844062.cms|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-27|website=The Times of India|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903095742/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Jehangir-Sabavala-A-painter-gentleman-bows-out/articleshow/9844062.cms |archive-date=2011-09-03 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hoskote|first1=Ranjit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R97qAAAAMAAJ&q=Dhunbai+Jehangir|title=The Crucible of Painting: The Art of Jehangir Sabavala|last2=Sabavala|first2=Jehangir|date=2005|publisher=Eminence Designs Pvt. Limited|isbn=978-81-902170-9-5|pages=42|language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp130088/dhunbai-nee-wadia-lady-jehangir Dhunbai (née Wadia), Lady Jehangir], is the subject of two portraits in the collection of the [[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]]

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowasji Jehangir, Dhunbai}}
[[Category:1860 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Indian philanthropists]]
[[Category:Parsi people]]
[[Category:People from Bombay Presidency]]

Dhunbai Cowasji Jehangir - Revision history

GordonCoulston at 06:16, 30 March 2026