Nationalist leader of India during British rule (1848-1925). Autograph letter signed. Ranchi. 4to (225 x 180 mm). 4 pp.
$ 5,191 / 4.500 €
(105141/BN66527)
Written to K. C. Roy at a crucial moment during the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms negotiations, which Banerjee supported, in contrast to most leaders of the Indian National Congress. The tension between Banerjee and the party is evident: "I fear I cannot agree with you in thinking that we should attend the special session of the Congress [...]". - Only a few months after this letter was written, Banerjee, known as Rashtraguru ("Teacher of the Nation"), left Congress and founded a new organisation, the Indian National Liberation Federation.
Roy, his addressee, is better known as the creator of the Associated Press of India (API, after Independence the Press Trust of India), often called the first Indian news agency. Banerjee insists on them meeting for discussion: "I have so many things to talk over with you [...]"..
Nationalist leader of India during British rule (1848-1925). Autograph letter signed. Barrackpore. 8vo (125 x 202 mm). 2 pp.
$ 2,884 / 2.500 €
(105142/BN66542)
Presenting the young Dilip Kumar Ray (1897-1980), who in time became an influential musician, poet and musicologist: "May I introduce to you Mr. Dilip K Ray. He is late Mr. D. L. Roy's son and as you remember his daughter is married to Sanker". - The playwright and musician D. L. Roy had passed away in 1913, and his daughter Maya Devi was married to Bhava Shankar, Moderate political leader Banerjee's only son. 1919 is the year of Dilip Kumar's visit to Cambridge, where he passed a tripos and studied Western music before embarking in a three-year journey across various European countries, studying the local languages and musical traditions.
It is possible, therefore, that the journalist K. C. Roy, the addressee of the letter and founder of the first Indian news agency, was at the moment in the United Kingdom and in a position to assist the newly arrived Dilip Kumar..