Progressive 19th-century lawyer's papers donated to archive, 'researchers can globally access documents on NAI portal'
Telegraph | 23 February 2026
Descendants of Baboo Unnoda Persaud Banerjee (1818–1902), the eminent 19th-century Bengali lawyer of Calcutta, have donated his private papers, certificates, will and court-related legal documents to the National Archives of India (NAI) in New Delhi.
Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding, over 30 files were formally handed over to NAI director-general Sanjay Rastogi for conservation, accession, segregation, categorisation and listing last Tuesday.
The documents were presented by his great-granddaughters Sohini Mukerji, Baisakhi Banerjee and Rajasree Bhattacharyya.
The collection, to be titled “Private Papers of Unnoda Persaud Banerjee”, will be digitised and made accessible to researchers worldwide through Abhilekh Patal, the archives’ online portal.
“It was our family treasure. But a personality like Unnoda Persaud Banerjee, a contemporary of iconic lawyer Sambhunath Pandit, revolutionist journalist Harish Mukherjee and Nobel-winning polymath Rabindranath Tagore needed to be known to the younger generation. That’s why we decided to make his papers public for research and awareness. His personal items speak so much about contemporary history, society and the legal situation, which are important documents for studies,” Mukerji, a former lecturer in political science, told The Telegraph.
Banerjee joined the Sudder Diwani Adalat Bar as a pleader in 1853 and later practised at Calcutta High Court.
In 1865, he and Babu Dwarkanath Mitra fought the landmark Great Rent Case, securing a verdict in favour of native litigants. In 1870, he became Senior Government Pleader and ex-officio President of the Calcutta High Court Bar Association, serving for two decades until his retirement in 1890—the longest tenure in that office.
During his stewardship, the High Court Bar was rechristened the Bar Association in 1873.
A symbol of quiet defiance, Banerjee never donned the black European gown, instead appearing in court in traditional attire and a white chadar as a native vakil. Though listed in Thacker’s Directory of 1871 among the Principal Uncovenanted Servants of the Government of Bengal with the title of Rai Bahadur, he chose to prefix “Baboo” to his name, disregarding the colonial honour.
Appointed municipal commissioner of suburban Calcutta in 1867, he served six years in civic administration. He was named to the first committee for legal education in 1873 and became a Fellow of Calcutta University’s Faculty of Laws in 1875, a position he held till death. He also founded the South Suburban School in Bhawanipore in 1876 and remained its secretary until 1890. A steadfast supporter of Vidyasagar’s reformist causes, he endorsed the Brahmo Marriage Bill in 1871, advocating provision for divorce, and through his will ensured inheritance rights and pensions for his daughters. He later settled in Varanasi, where he died in 1902.
A progressive man, on 1848, he authored Prashna Chotustoy, advocating inter-caste marriage with scriptural justification.
In 1851, along with Sambhunath Pandit and Harish Chandra Mukherjee, he founded the “Gyana Prakashika Sabha”, which later culminated in the establishment of the Bhowanipore Brahmo Samaj, where Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, Shivnath Shastri and Keshab Chandra Sen were regular upasakas. Banerjee served as vice-president of the Samaj until 1894, when he handed over charge to Rabindranath Tagore.
As a mark of tribute, Calcutta Corporation named a lane after him in Bhawanipore ward 70. Bhatpara Municipality also honoured him by naming a road after him.
Born into a poor family in near Bhatpara in the 24-Parganas, Banerjee received his early education in Bengali and Sanskrit at a traditional chatuspathi before enrolling at Hooghly College, Chinsurah, in 1836, where he studied Arabic and Persian alongside Islamic texts. He moved to Calcutta in 1837 and studied at the London Missionary College here, where Thomas Baaz, L.L.D., the pastor of the Union Chapel, regarded him as the “Dux (Latin for leader) of his Class”.