Samaldas Arts College or Samaldas College is a college in

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state befo ...

, Gujarat, India. It was founded in 1885 by

Takhtsinhji Maharaja Raol Sir Takhtsinhji Jaswantsinhji KIH (6 January 185829 January 1896), was Maharaja of Bhavnagar, a Rajput chief of the Gohil clan, and ruler of Bhavnagar state in Kathiawar. He succeeded to the throne of Bhavnagar upon the death of ...

, the Maharaja of

Bhavnagar State Bhavnagar State was a princely state with 13 Gun Salutes during the British Raj. It was part of Kathiawar Agency in Saurashtra. The State of Bhavnagar covered an area of 2,961 sq. miles and had a population of 618,429 in 1941. Its ruler ...

in memory of his Diwan (minister) Samaldas Paramananddas Mehta. It is one of the oldest colleges in western India. It is affiliated to

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University, formerly Bhavnagar University is a state university located in Bhavnagar city in the state of Gujarat in India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South A ...

History

Shamaldas College old building - Bhavnagar

Samaldas College was established by Takhtsinhji, the Maharaja of Bhavnagar State in memory of his Diwan Samaldas Paramananddas Mehta. The college was affiliated to University of Bombay and the classes were opened in January 1885 in Majiraj Girls High School building. Shamaldas College Bhavnagar

The foundation stone of the building opposite Peel Garden was laid on 25 November 1884 by James Furgusson, Governor of Bombay. The building was opened on 17 December 1886 by

Lord Reay Lord Reay, of Reay in the County of Caithness, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Lord Reay (pronounced "ray") is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Mackay, whose lands in Strathnaver and northwest Sutherland were known as the Reay Country. T ...

, Governor Bombay. The building was occupied in 1893. The building was constructed by R. Proctor Sims, the Public Works Councillor. The building is now used as the Sheth J. P. Ayurveda College. In 1932, Krishnakumarsinhji, Maharaja of Bhavnagar, built a new building for the college on Vaghawadi Road. The building is used as the P. P. Institute of Science since June 1963. On 1 November 1955,

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 2 ...

, the first Prime Minister of India, laid the foundation of the present building of the college. The college is now affiliated to

Principals

The principal were as follows: * R. H. Gunion (1885―1890) * J. N. Unwalla (1890―1905) * K. J. Sanjana (1905―1906) * B. A. Enti (1906) * K. J. Sanjana (1907―1923) * T. K. Shahani (1923―1948) * J. B. Sendil (1952―62) * B. C. Desai (1962―66) * S. M. Shah (1967―70) * A. S. Prabhudesai (1975―77) * A. A. Shaikh (1994―)

Notable alumni

* Mahatma Gandhi (January 1888 ― June 1888), Indian independence leader *

Nautam Bhatt Nautam Bhagwanlal Bhatt (10 April 1909 – 6 July 2005) was an Indian physicist born in Jamnagar, Gujarat. He was the founding Director Solid State Physics Laboratory, Delhi. Nautam was a recipient of Padma Shri Award for his contributions to " ...

, physicist * H. J. Kania, the first Chief Justice of India *

Anantrai Raval Anantrai Manishankar Raval (1 January 1912 – 18 November 1988) was a Gujarati critic and editor from India. Born and studied in Amreli, he worked briefly with a daily. He taught at several colleges before joining government as a director of lan ...

, critic and editor * Yashwant Trivedi, poet, essayist and critic *

Harivallabh Bhayani Harivallabh Chunilal Bhayani (26 May 1917 – 11 November 2000) was a linguist, researcher, critic and translator from India. Biography Bhayani was born on 26 May 1917 in Mahuva to Dasa Shrimali Jain Sthanakvasi family of Chunilal. His paren ...

, linguist, researcher, critic and translator *

Kundanika Kapadia Kundanika Kapadia (11 January 1927 – 30 April 2020) was an Indian novelist, story writer and essayist from Gujarat. Biography Kundanika Kapadia was born on 11 January 1927 in Limbdi (now in Surendranagar district, Gujarat) to Narottamdas Kapa ...

, novelist, story writer, essayist *

Nanabhai Bhatt Nanabhai Bhatt (12 June 1915 – 24 April 1999) was an Indian film director and producer who worked in Hindi and Gujarati cinema. He is known for making over a hundred fantasy and mythological films, including ''Mr. X'' (1957), ''Zimbo Comes ...

, educationist *

Amrutlal Yagnik Amrutlal Bhagwanji Yagnik was Gujarati critic, biographer, essayist, editor and translator. Life Amrutlal was born on 8 August 1913 at Dhrangadhra. He completed his education until matriculation from Dhrangadhra. He completed B. A. in 1936 and Mast ...

, critic, biographer, essayist, editor and translator *

Sanat Mehta Sanat Mehta (18 or 19 April 1925 – 19 August 2015) was an Indian politician and social activist from Gujarat, India. He was associated with Indian National Congress. He served as labour and finance minister of the state. Mehta was elected t ...

, politician and social activist *

Hardwar Goswami Hardwar Goswami ( Gujarati: હરદ્વાર ગોસ્વામી) is a Gujarati language poet, writer, and playwright from Gujarat, India. He wrote the poetry collection ''Hawa Ne Kinare'' (2005), and his poems have been published in seve ...

, poet, writer, and playwright *

Mansukhlal Jhaveri Mansukhlal Maganlal Jhaveri (1907–1981) was a Gujarati language poet, critic, and literary historian of the Gandhian era. He was deeply interested in classical Sanskrit poetry and authored ''History of Gujarati Literature'' (1978). Jhaveri had ...

, poet, critic, and literary historian * Harindra Dave, poet, journalist, playwright and novelist *

Krishnalal Jhaveri Diwan Bahadur Krishnalal Mohanlal Jhaveri (30December 186815June 1957) was an Indian people, Indian writer, scholar, literary historian, translator, and judge from Gujarat, India. His works have been published in Gujarati language, Gujarati, Engli ...

, writer, scholar, literary historian, translator, and judge * Ramnarayan V. Pathak, poet, writer

Notable faculty

Manilal Dwivedi Manilal Nabhubhai Dwivedi (; 26 September 1858 – 1 October 1898) was a Gujarati-language writer, philosopher, and social thinker from British India, commonly referred to as Manilal in literary circles. He was an influential figure in 19th- ...

, writer and philosopher *

Kantilal Vyas Kantilal Baldevram Vyas (21 November 1910 – 23 March 1991) was a Gujarati linguist, critic and editor from Gujarat, India. He published several works in the field of linguistics including ''Bhasha Vijnan'', ''Bhasha, Vrutt ane Kavyalankar'', ' ...

, linguist, critic and editor

References

External links

* {{official website Education in Bhavnagar Universities and colleges in Gujarat Arts colleges in India Schools in Colonial India Educational institutions established in 1885 1885 establishments in British India British colonial architecture in India