Merchant charity and public identity formation in colonial India: The case of Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy

This article examines the place of public philanthropy in enhancing the role of the Indian merchant in Bombay, India, during the first half of the 19th century. It supplements works that have stressed the indigenous elite’s attempts to contest and negotiate a significant place within the public culture of colonial India. Specifically, it emphasizes the opportunities and difficulties associated with Indian attempts to shape a colonial civic culture conducive to Indian requirements, by example of the establishment of the Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Hospital in Bombay