Who were the first Indian Freemasons and their contributions?

Omdat-ul-Omrah, the eldest son of the Nawab of the Carnatic, was the first Indian Freemason 1. He was initiated in Trichinopoly in Lodge No. 355 by Terence Gahagan, a surgeon on the Madras establishment 1. His initiation was formally reported and registered at the Grand Lodge in London in 1776, from which an apron was dispatched to him in token of brotherly regard 1. The Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India confirms his place as the first Indian admitted into the Craft.

As the fraternity expanded across the subcontinent, members from other communities entered Craft lodges, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India. M. Bandeh Ali Khan was the second Indian Freemason, initiated in Marine Lodge, Calcutta, in 1812. Admission later extended to other faiths: Ranganath Sastry became the first Hindu admitted into Freemasonry when he was initiated in Lodge Perfect Unanimity No. 233, Madras, in 1857, and Maharaja Duleep Singh became the earliest Sikh made a Freemason in Lodge Star in the East in 1861.

Beyond recording their entry into Craft lodges, the available historical sources do not detail the specific individual lodge contributions or later Masonic careers of these early initiates.