Dossabhoy Muncherji Raja

Dossabhoy Muncherji Raja
Khan Sahib, Dossabhoy Muncherji Raja
Born	Bombay(Mumbai), India
Known for	Being the first native Indian to be appointed 'Principal Appraiser' for the Indian Customs office of the Bombay Presidency
Title	Khan Sahib
Religion	Parsi, Zoroastrian
Children	Minocher DM Raja

Dossabhoy Muncherji Raja (1873 – 1947) was the first native Indian to be appointed 'Principal Appraiser' of precious stones for the customs office of the Bombay Presidency, which was then a province of British India.

The title of Khan Sahib was conferred upon Dossabhoy Raja on January 2, 1933 by the (then) Viceroy and Governor General of India, Lord Willingdon, in recognition of his role in the apprehension of a gang of smugglers. Raja had surreptitiously visited Jamnagar on the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, which was then under a Nawab's rule and outside British Imperial jurisdiction. Clad in a dhoti and posing as a Gujarati trader, Raja had then risked his life to collect information on smugglers operating on the northern borders of the Presidency. The information Raja collected led to the arrest of the gang.

Dossabhoy Muncherji Raja was a Parsi-Zoroastrian and a resident of Bombay's (today Mumbai) Dadar Parsi Colony. The Citation (Sanad) of the Khan Sahib title and the coveted Khan Sahib medal are today in the possession of Raja's descendants in Mumbai.

The medal of Khan Sahib awarded to Dossabhoy Muncherji Raja on 2nd January 1933

The back of the medal awarded to Dossabhoy Muncherji Raja showing his name and date of award engraved

The Sanad / Citation of Khan Sahib awarded to Dossabhoy Muncherji Raja by Lord Willingdon

Persondata
Name	Raja, Dossabhoy Muncherji
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1873
Place of birth	Bombay(Mumbai), India
Date of death	1947
Place of death