National Indian Association

• The National Indian Association in Aid of Social Progress in India was formed by Mary Carpenter in 1870 in Bristol.
• Its first objective was to improve education for Indian women.
• Carpenter was particularly concerned by the lack of female teachers to educate Hindu girls.
• Indian Girls' Scholarship Fund, a fund set up by the Association to grant annual scholarships for Indian girls in government inspected schools.
• The association went into a decline in the 1920s but it did not formally end operations until 1966.
• The organisation had merged with the East India Association after India left the British Empire and it eventually became part of the Royal Society for India, Pakistan and Ceylon.

British Indian Association

• It was formed in 1851 by the merger of Bengal British India Society and the Landholders’ Society.
• It was established to convey Indian grievances to the British Govt.
• It suggested various reform in Company’s upcoming charter like Need for the establishment of a separate legislature, separation of judicial functions from executive functions, salaries of higher officers to be reduced, abolition of abkari, salt duty and stamp duties.
• Some of the recommendations of the association were accepted when the Charter Act of 1853 provided addition of six members to the governor general’s council for legislative purposes.

Bombay Association (1852)

• It was formed by Jagannath Shankarsheth.
• Bombay Association was founded with the object of ‘reminding from time to time the government authorities in India or in England for the removal of existing evils.
• The Bombay Association sent a petition to the British Parliament urging the formation of new legislative council to which Indians should also be represented.
• It also condemned the policy of exclusion of Indians from all higher services, lavish expenditure on posts given to the Europeans. However, this Association didn’t survive for long.

East India Association

• In the year 1866, East India Association was founded by Dadabhai Naoroji in London.
• East India association started its branches in Bombay, Kolkata and Madras in 1869.
• The objective of East India Association was to discuss the problem and questions related to India and to influence the British leaders towards the development of India.
• Later, Dadabhai Naoroji also opened its branch in various important Indian cities.

Strachey Commission

• It was set up in 1878 under the chairmanship of Sir Richard Strachey.
• The commission recommended state interference in food trade in the event of famine.
• It was the first Famine commission and was constituted during the period of Lord Lytton.