Alexander Meyrick Broadley

Alexander Meyrick Broadley (19 July 1847 – 16 April 1916), also known as Broadley Pasha, was a British barrister, author, company promoter and social figure. He is best known for being the defence lawyer for Ahmed 'Urabi after the failure of the Urabi Revolt.

Broadley was the son of the Rev. Alexander Broadley, vicar of Bradpole, in Dorset, England, and Frances Jane, daughter of Thomas Meyrick of Pembroke.

He entered Lincoln's Inn as a law student in 1866 and after taking the examination to enter the Indian Civil Service, went in 1869 to India, where he became Assistant Magistrate and Collector of Patna, Bengal. In 1872 he conducted a survey of the ruins of the Nálanda Monaseries at Burgà'on, Bihár, and formed a magnificent collection of sculptures from the region, going on to establish a museum for the collection. The colonial administrator and explorer Sir Harry H. Johnston noted that Broadley was "very orthodox on account of his father" and "was led into rude interruptions of any speech which traversed the belief that the Earth was only six or seven thousand years old".

In 1871 Broadley delivered a public lecture English Legislation for India. He also put forward the view that imprisonment for civil debts should be abolished.

In 1872 he spoke at a large meeting on education in Bengal, where he condemned the educational policy of the Indian Government. He was not punished, but later that year he spoke at a public meeting of the Dacca People's Association. His remarks on educational policy and on the Criminal Procedure Code, which were reported in newspapers and created angry discussions, were objected to by the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, Sir George Campbell and officially denied. Broadley applied for leave, which Campbell rejected, demanding an explanation.

In May 1872 it was reported that charges of a serious nature had been brought against Broadley: he was suspended and sent to Patna pending an investigation. The following month he was reported to have been posted to Noynabad, and ordered to remain there, having been invested with the power to try cases arising from riots of the Muslim Ferazi sect. In November the Calcutta Gazette reported him as being officially on leave and transferred to Chittagong by Campbell's order. When a warrant for his arrest for homosexual offences was issued, Broadley absconded. One report stated that "his reputation was known to every Englishman who ever lived in India", and his presence was taboo in European clubs in Malta and Egypt.

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