The British Viceroy of India, Lord Reading, Writes the Maharaja of Gondal to Discuss Funding the First Leprosy Research Facility in the World

Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, was a British politician and judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England, Viceroy of India, and Foreign Secretary. He was also the British ambassador to the United States during World War I. Reading was the second Jew to be a member of the British cabinet, the first Jew to be Lord Chief Justice, and the only Jew to serve as Viceroy of India. Reading was considered by many the greatest British Jew in public service since Disraeli. When he visited Palestine in 1932 he was given a reception at Tel Aviv which was described as the most triumphal ever given any visitor to that date, except for Lord Balfour, author of the Jewish homeland proclamation.

Taking office as Viceroy in 1921, Reading was faced with an organized non-cooperation movement that sought Indian independence, and led by Mohandas Gandhi. Reading preferred a conciliatory policy and was determined to implement the provisions of the Government of India Act, which was passed by Parliament to expand participation of Indians in the government of India. He personally received both Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and visited Amritsar as a gesture of reconciliation. He also sought to cultivate good relations with the Indian princes, and maintained a correspondence with them.

Reading called a roundtable conference in 1921, and at that conference he stated that the British government would concede full provisional autonomy and that discussions would take place as to what power should be transferred from the British central government to the Indian people’s representatives. But this gesture came to naught, and in 1922, when Gandhi published some articles demanding freedom for India, he was arrested on charges of sedition – “bringing or attempting to excite disaffection towards the British Government established by law in British India”. This trial caught the attention of the nation and managed to incite people to resist colonial rule.

Thakor Shri Sir Bhagwant Singhji Sagramji Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Gondal, assumed the throne of Gondal in 1869 at the age of four and reigned until 1944, a span of 75 years. In 1911 he attended the coronation of King George V in London, in elegant dress: “On top of his ceremonial robes, the Thakor wears a Gujurati-style turban. Around his waist is tied a length of fine silk woven with gold stripes. His robe is profusely decorated with sequins and raised gold embroidery.”

Leprosy was a problem in India, and the Leprosy Relief Fund was established to raise funds to seek a cure. In 1925, it was determined to establish a Central Research Institute for leprosy and to fund it through the the Leprosy Relief Fund. Maharaja Thakor sent a contribution to the fund which would be used to establish such an institute, which was the first full time leprosy research facility in the world.

Typed letter signed, on Viceroy’s letterhead, October 20, 1925, to Maharaja Thakor. “I am obliged for Your Highness’s letter dated 12th October about the disposal of your contribution to the Leprosy Relief Fund. I feel sure that the money could not be devoted to a better purpose than the development of the Central Research Institute.”

This is our first letter of Reading, and was obtained by us in India. It is also uncommon to find letters from British viceroys to reigning Maharajas.