Professor William Coelho's manuscript delves into India’s constitutional history

Of late the Constitution of India has become the subject of grave and intense scrutiny Rights liberties freedommdashall values enshrined in the Preamblemdashare being evoked now more than ever to challenge undemocratic challengesNot many however can claim to know the Constitution to the tee For late Professor William Coelho who had a small and undocumented role in its making this was a lifelong pursuitProfessor William Coelhorsquos handwritten manuscript from over 50 years ago PicsAshish RajeCoelhorsquos daughters Serena DrsquoSa Anita Pinto and Manetta Ingarfield have been holding on to a thick pile of a brittle yellowed handwritten manuscript by him It has been in their safekeep since his death in 1972 ldquoThis was his lifersquos work He had put in long hours and visits to the Mumbai University and libraries to compile it When he had taken ill he requested me to type it all outrdquo shares Serena when we meet at her Bandra West residenceHer father began working on the book somewhere in the 1900s when he was with the history department of St Xavierrsquos College The idea was to document the genesis of Constitution writing in India Though India adopted the Constitution three years after independence in 1950 Coelho highlighted how its seeds were first sown during the reign of the East India Company between 1765 and 1773 by the British ParliamentmdashThe Regulating Act 1773 of Warren Hastings was perhaps the first draft towards Constitution writing and The Reforms of 1781 and Pitts India Act 1784 were the precursors of a Constitutional government ldquoHe had already written the first book before his passingrdquo shares Serena The second book in the series never saw the light of day ldquoIt was only after my fatherrsquos 50th death anniversary that it hit me I had to get it done before it was too laterdquo says Serena adding that her daughter Samatha Francis also a history graduate encouraged her to revisit her fatherrsquos manuscript Around this time Serenarsquos sister Anita came in touch with Qurate Books which suggested that since Part One was ready contents and bibliography included they should go ahead and print it The family members put their heads together with Serenarsquos husband Sal DrsquoSa and sister Manetta proofing the final text before sending it to the printer The resultmdasha justreleased title Foundation and History of the Indian Constitution 16001793 William Coelho bottom extreme left with his parents and siblings The family hailed from Puttur MangaloreldquoMy fatherrsquos book is a masterpiece in historical research but when we as a family were going through it we were delighted to learn that not only research scholars would benefit from it even laymen would find it easy to read and digest His research was deep and insightful but his writing was simplerdquo While the book was released last week at Coelhorsquos alma mater St Xavierrsquos College it has once again turned the spotlight on the life of the late noted scholar and constitutional expert who influenced and inspired several after him including renowned urban historian and Australian scholar Dr Jim MasselosBorn in Puttur Mangalore in 1905 Coelho who graduated with a BA in Mathematics from St Aloysius College followed his brothers to then Bombay to pursue a Masterrsquos degree in the subject at St Xavierrsquos College Here he got acquainted with renowned scholar Father Henry Heras who convinced him to study history instead ldquoHe was so captivated by Fr Heras that hersquod also join him to his archaeological excavations and studies up Northrdquo says Serena Coelho completed his MA by thesis in 1929 mastering the methodology of historical research and producing The Hoysala Vamsa a scholarly text made possible due to his knowledge of Kannada which enabled him to scour through ancient historical material Itrsquos still referred to by students and researchers alike for its insight into the Hoysala dynasty of Mysore Next Coelho took up the study of law but returned to St Xavierrsquos after the college offered him a position in the history department in 1931 He remained associated with it for the next 35 years says his daughter ldquoAfter Fr Heras passed away he took over the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture the library and museum established by Fr Heras in 1926 as assistant director and was instrumental in starting the Heras memorial lectures and later the research journal Indicardquo shares Serena adding that Dr Joan Dias present director of the Heras Institute helped piece together tributes and other archival material that were later published in the book Coelho with his wife Nurbanoo Fazul Pics courtesySerena DrsquoSaDuring his lifetime Coelho took on multiple roles heading the history department at St Xavierrsquos serving as member of the governing board for Sophia College writing columns for a leading daily and mentoring students as a PG teacher and research guide at the Bombay University including Masselos and Maharaja of Bikaner Dr Karni SinghHis interest in constitutional history began early on Octogenarian Dr MD David a noted academic who studied the constitutional history of England under him says that Coelho made ldquoa difficult and a rather dry subjectrdquo easy and interesting to understand ldquoHis lectures were illuminatinghellip it became one of my favourite subjects Later when I became a lecturer I could teach Indian constitutional history with great successrdquo he tells midday Another of his former students at St Xavierrsquos Jocquim Mascarenhas who read his book shared ldquoHis prose is exact almost mathematical The canvas he covers is wide but he brings sharp focus on the flow of key events characters and outcomesrdquoNot known to many the late academic was also consulted during the drafting of Indiarsquos Constitution ldquoHe once told us about a senior leader calling him on a few occasions and seeking clarifications on the Constitutionrdquo Serena says adding that she only fully understood the legacy of her father when she was pursuing her MA dissertation at the University of Mumbai ldquoMy father had been very ill during that time and his student and our family friend Dr A Cherian was my guide Though he was frail and bedridden he became my unofficial research guide I remember once when I needed some clarification he asked me to refer to a particular volume at the University libraryrdquo Not only did he give her the exact location of the book in the vast maze of the libraryrsquos shelves he also identified the chapter and page where shersquod find the information ldquoWhen I opened the page the markings in his handwriting were still thererdquo