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A. J. Pandya Papers

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 5 Sep 2019

Biographical History

A.J. (Anantprasad, or Anant Prasad, Jagganath) Pandya was an Indian attorney, author, and political reformer who spent much of his career in Kenya. Educated in London, he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1935 and called to the bar in 1943. He served as Advocate on the Supreme Court of India and as Principal of the Law College at Unjha, Gujarat, and was the author of several books on Indian law. He was involved in African nationalist endeavors and participated in the Kenya Constitutional Conference of 1962 (Oscar Gakuo Mwangi, "Democracy and Party Dominance in Kenya and South Africa: A Comparative Study of the Kenya African National Union and the African National Congress," p. 289). Pandya was a managing director of Pandya and Company Ltd., which he launched on his own. In 1926, he established the Pandya Printing Works Ltd. in Mombasa, and printed the first Indian newspaper of East Africa, in both English and Gujarati with a weekly edition, "Kenya Daily Mail". The company has closed in 1964. He was active in the local business community, serving as the president of the Indian Merchants' Chamber at Mombasa. He founded the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Eastern Africa and was its first president. He also served on the Mombasa District Committee from 1920 to 1925, and he was elected president of the Indian Members of the Kenya Legislative Council from which he resigned in 1927 in obedience to a Congressional mandate.

[Sources: Library of Congress Authorities, "Pandya, A. J." ; Renu Paul and Mitra Sharifi, "South Asian Law Students at the Inns of Court: Lincoln's Inn, 1864-1947", p. 145; Shirraz Durani, Makhan Singh: A Revolutionary Kenyan Trade Unionist, p. 147.]

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The A. J. Pandya Papers consists of committee and conference materials, correspondence-subject files, memorabilia, photographs, printed material, and writings.

Committee and conference materials contains minutes, notes, and reports of various committee meetings.

Correspondence-subject files consist of letters, and other documents. Some materials were foldered and labeled by Pandya and remains in original order with folder titles.

Memorabilia consists of certificates, C.V.s, news articles, and scrapbooks.

Photographs consist of personal and committee photographs

Printed materials includes bills, clippings, and speeches by Pandya and others. There are also several volumes of Little Lenin Library.

Writings consist of speeches and notes by Pandya, and drafts of a book, Indians in Kenya, which may or may not be by him.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection is in alphabetical and chronological order.

Subject Headings

Persons

Pandya, A. J.

Subjects

Communism -- Africa
Communists -- Africa
East Indians -- Kenya.
Lawyers -- India.
Lawyers -- Kenya.
Legislation
Nationalism -- Africa.
Political activists -- Africa.

Places

Kenya -- Politics and government.

Genres and Forms

Annual reports.
Books.
Certificates.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Congressional committee reports.
Correspondence.
Historical maps.
Invitations.
Newspapers.
Photographs.
Reports.
Scrapbooks.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

A. J. Pandya Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Theresa Gregory, 2017.

Table of Contents

Committees and conferences

Correspondence subject files

Memorabilia

Photographs

Printed material

Writings

Inventory