District Grand Lodge Of Bombay
District Grand Lodge of Bombay operates in the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), headquartered at Freemasons’ Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, LondonWC2B 5AZ, UK.
It was established in 1861, and is headquartered at Freemasons’ Hall, Damodardas Sukhadwala Marg, Fort, Mumbai 400001, India. A brief account of the establishment of the District prior to 1861 is given here.
District Grand Lodge of Bombay has considerable geographical extent. Its members are spread over 23 Craft Lodges located in Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Nagpur, Jabalpur, Bilaspur, as well as in smaller cities like Ahmednagar, Deolali, Bhusaval and Khadki. A list of all the Lodges in the District, alongwith their relevant particulars, is given here.
The current membership of the District stands at 700+ and there has been a noticeable increase over the last five years. The younger generation is increasingly seen to show a keen interest and appreciation of what Masonry has to offer, and this has altered the age profile towards a lower median, which today is about 54. With about half the membership below 54, and the trend of younger men being taken in, the District is assured of vibrancy and zest for some decades to come.
Lodge membership varies from 15 to well over 80, depending upon the Lodge location. About 15% of the District members hold dual/multiplemembership across two or more Lodges.
The governing body of the District is the District Board of General Purposes, which oversees all aspects of governance, as well as sets the timetable for the year’s events, and decides on the District’s social outreach programs.
The District interacts closely with its Lodges both by correspondence as well as by participation in their noteworthy events through personal visits by the District Grand Master or his representative. Each Lodge has an appointed Visiting Officer, through whose reports the District keeps its finger firmly on the Lodge’s pulse to enable timely course-correction action to be taken should the need arise.
The District’s charity activity encompasses financial help to Masons and their families to cover their medical, educational and other needs. On a restricted basis, non-Mason individuals are also provided financial assistance. Financial contributions to non-Masonic institutions has long been part of the District’s charity program.
All charity work is carried out under the umbrella of the Bombay Masonic Benevolent Fund (BMBF), with the District Board of Benevolence as the managing body overseeing charity disbursements.
In response to several enquiries from non-Masons, the District held its first Open House in June 2013, when Freemasons’ Hall in Mumbai was opened to Masons’ wives and family members as well as the general public. Senior Masons gave the visitors a conducted tour of the premises, and expounded on various aspects of Masonry for their edification. The initiative proved to be a great success, and is now an annual publicised and well-attended feature in the District’s calendar.
The District maintains very cordial ties with the other English sister Districts of Bengal, Madras and Northern India, as well as the sister Constitutions, viz. Scottish, Irish and Indian. Very cordial relations continue to exist with sister English Masonic Districts in Asia, Africa and New Zealand. The flames of friendship and support are kept alive through regular reciprocal visitations to and from them.
Establishment of DGL Bombay
Little is known of the progress of that Provincial Grand Lodge till the early 1800’s, when Lodge Benevolent was formed in Poona (now Pune) in 1822. Lodge Benevolent recommended the formation of another Lodge in Poona, Lodge Orion in the West. This Lodge was consecrated under a Warrant issued by the Provincial Grand Lodge of the Coast of Coramandel. However, Grand Lodge declared this Warrant to have been issued illegally, and a fresh Warrant was issued in 1833 –a decade after the Lodge was consecrated.
Many other Lodges were also consecrated during this period, but most did not survive long. In fact,the first half of the 19th century, was a period of stagnation for EnglishFreemasonry in Western India.
District Grand Lodge Of Bombay
Name: District Grand Lodge of Bombay
Address: Freemasons’ Hall, Damodardas Sukhadwala Marg, Fort, Mumbai 400001, India
Tel.: +912222072889, +912222072395
Email: dglbom@gmail.com
Website: www.dglbombay.in
Contact: District Grand Secretary
Jurisdiction of: The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE)
Established: 16 July 1861
No. of Lodges: 23
Geographical spread: Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh
Membership strength: 700 (approx.)
Median age: 54
Governing Body: District Board of General Purposes
Charity Management: District Board of Benevolence
District Charities:
- Bombay Masonic Benevolent Fund (BMBF)
- Bombay District EC Grand Charity (ECGC)
- Associated Body: Bombay Masonic Association (BMA)
