Badruddin Tyabji Marg: On 26/11, seven cops died on this road

Street named after first Indian barrister and third president of Congress party

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The street was earlier known as the Mahapalika Marg. (Express)

Badruddin Tyabji Marg is located at Dhobhi Talao, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Area, Fort. It was named in 1879 after Badruddin Tyabji, who was the first Indian barrister and third president of the Indian National Congress.
The stretch begins from St Xavier’s College and St Xavier’s High School ground and ends at Dr Dadabhai Naoroji Road near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. The lane is at least 1 km long. There are many important buildings along the road, such as the Crime Branch office, new Mantralaya building, JJ Institute of Art and Anjuman Islam School.

Born on October 10, 1844, in Mumbai, Badruddin was the son of Mullah Tyab Ali Bhai Mian, a member of Sulaimani Bohra community and a scion of an old Cambay emigrant Arab family. Rajan Jayakar, city historian and solicitor, says, “Badruddin went to Europe for further studies and later returned to India in 1867. He became the first solicitor, then the first Indian barrister on April 1867. He then accepted a judgeship of the Bombay High Court in 1895.”

He added, “In 1902, he became the first Indian to hold the post of chief justice of the Bombay High Court. He made a mark as a very able and forceful advocate. He helped in the foundation of the Bombay Presidency Association in 1885. Tyabji was active in women’s emancipation and worked to weaken the Zenana system. He held a campaign against the purdah system. He was considered among the moderate Muslims during the freedom movement of India.”

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Later, his health started deteriorating and he moved to England in 1906 where he took his last breath on August 19, 1906. Deepak Rao, a historian, said “Badruddin Tyabji along with Pherozshah Mehta and others formed the Bombay Presidency Association in 1885 and Tyabji was the third president of Indian National Congress. This street was earlier known as the Mahapalika Marg. Later, in the 1970s, the street was renamed as Badruddin Tyabji Marg. The exact reason for naming the road is not known. Rang Bhavan in this street was a gymnasium long ago. The building of Mumbai Office of Special Branch CID was built in 1938. In this same building, there is the Foreign Registration Office.”

While the road has been usually very peaceful, it was also the same lane where three police officers and four constables lost their lives during the 26/11 terrorist attack. “Hemant Karkare — Joint Commissioner of Police and the chief of Anti-Terrorism Squad, Ashok Kamte — Additional Commissioner of Police and Vijay Salaskar, Inspector and encounter specialist, and four constables were killed by terrorists on 26/11 on this street. The terrorists attacked CST station and the areas around it. Ashok Kamte studied in St Xavier’s College and he died in front of the college gate,” said Deepak Rao.

Govind Surve from the Electrical Department, CPO, said, “There is the new Mantralaya building, the old building had caught fire so half of the employees have been shifted to this building. Near Mantralaya, there is the police quarters. In this lane, police officers lost their lives during the 26/11 attack. On 26/11, the terrorists came from the other end where the Times of India building is located and they hid near the Corporation Bank ATM. They attacked and shot the police officers in front of the ATM.”

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