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Herabai Tata (1879–1941) was an Indian people women's rights activist and suffragist. Married in 1895, Tata's husband was progressive and supported the education of his wife and daughter, hiring tutors to help her with her schooling. In 1909, Tata, who was Parsis, developed an interest in Theosophy and within a few years made the acquaintance of Annie Besant. Around the same time, in 1911, she met Sophia Duleep Singh, a British suffragist with Indian heritage, who influenced her development as a suffragist. A founding member and the general secretary of the Women's Indian Association, she became one of the women who petitioned for enfranchisement before the Montagu-Chelmsford investigation in 1917.
When the reforms which were proposed failed to include women's suffrage, Tata and other feminists began protesting and publishing articles on the need for the vote. Referred to the Southborough Franchise Committee to develop the electoral regulations for implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms, she wrote an article for The Times of India arguing that as some municipalities already allowed women to vote, extending the right was justified. Nonetheless, the Southborough Committee also rejected the inclusion of enfranchisement for women and sent their recommendations to the Joint Select Committee of the House of Lords and Commons. Tata was chosen by the Bombay Suffrage Committee to travel to England to present the case in favor of suffrage to the Joint Committee.
Compiling a report to substantiate the claim for suffrage, Tata and her daughter Mithan made two presentations to the government and traveled throughout the country to try to gain support for their cause. She published articles in various journals and spoke, inspiring individuals and organizations to flood the India Office with endorsements. Though unable to influence the reform act to include complete suffrage for women, the final bill did allow provisions for Indian provinces to enfranchise women if they chose to do so. Once in England, Tata and her daughter enrolled in courses at London School of Economics and remained until 1924. She continued to work for voting rights and legislation protecting children until her husband was injured in an accident and required her care. Tata died in 1941 and is remembered as one of the prominent suffragists in the early struggle for the vote in India.
In 1917, Margaret Cousins founded the Women's Indian Association in Adyar to create a vehicle for women to influence government policy. Besant and Tata were both founding members, along with other women. Besant served as the president and Tata was named as the general secretary of the organization. Cousins secured an audience with Montagu to present the political demands of women. On 15 December 1917, Sarojini Naidu led a deputation of 14 leading women from throughout India to present the call to include women's suffrage in the new Franchise Bill under development by the Government of India. As part of the delegation, Tata made an impassioned plea for women to be included as "people" and not prohibited from voting as if they were foreigners, children or lunatics.
Despite their efforts, when the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms were introduced in 1918 no recommendation was made for women's enfranchisement. Suffragists prepared petitions and submitted them to legislatures and conferences and published updates about the struggle in Stri Dharma, urging support for women's political empowerment as a part of the Anti-imperialism movement against Britain. As the next step of the process, the Southborough Franchise Committee was formed to develop the electoral regulations for implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. Their report issued in April 1919 also rejected including women's suffrage, as they felt the conservative society would be against it. Tata published her rationale for women's enfranchisement in The Times of India in June, arguing that as women already could vote in Bombay municipal elections, extending the vote was not a novel idea. In July women in Bombay organized a protest meeting at which Tata spoke. When Lord Southborough sent his report to the Joint Select Committee of the House of Lords and Commons, the Bombay Committee on Women's Suffrage decided to send Tata and her daughter Mithan to give evidence along with Sir Sankaran Nair.
Initially planning to stay through the end of the year, Tata and her daughter decided to remain in England when Mithan was accepted for post graduate studies at the London School of Economics. Tata also enrolled at the school and though she did not obtain a degree, she took courses between 1919 and 1922 in administration, economics, and social science. During her time in England, Tata worked actively to develop support for women's political identity. She published articles in various journals, like The Vote and United India. These activities were not always appreciated in India, as she drew criticism from Young India, when an article published in 1920 alleged that she was not fighting British colonialism, but rather seeking help from their colonizers. That year, she participated in the 8th Congress of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) held in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1923, she was a delegates to the 9th IWSA Congress in Rome. Though not elected, Tata was proposed as a member of the international board, which was the first time Indian women could qualify for administrative positions in the organization.
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