Charles Freer Andrews: A Biography

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An English missionary and social reformer, Charles Andrews Freer (also known as C. F. Andrews) had a fascination for everything Indian. Born in 1871 in England, He taught at St. Stephens College in Delhi. A close confidante of Mahatma Gandhi, he maintained close association with Gopal Krishna Gokhle, Rabindranath Tagore, and other Indian freedom fighters. He spent time with Gandhi at the Phoenix ashram in South Africa and worked hard to improve the lot of Indians living in African countries, West Indies, Fiji, etc.

A veteran trade union activist, Charles Freer Andrews was president of the Trade Union Congress two times (1925 and 1927). He also actively participated in the movements for the eradication of untouchability. Andrews took active participation in the famous Vaikom Satyagraha in 1925. Vaikom Satyagraha was a movement in Travancore in Kerala against removal of deep-rooted malaise of untouchability in Hindu society. Working closely with Dr.B R Ambedkar he formulated the Dalit (Harijan) demands in 1933. His love for the poor earned the title of Dinabandhu from Mahatma Gandhi.

Charles Freer Andrews died in Calcutta in 1940. 

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