Ambalal Sakarlal Desai (25 March 1844 – 12 September 1914) was a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

writer, translator, lexicographer, and judge from

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Desai was born in Alina near

Nadiad Nadiad is a city in the state of Gujarat, India and the administrative centre of the Kheda district. It is known for the Santram Mandir, the Mai Mandir,

in Kheda district in a

Brahmakshatriya * In the Hindu varna system, Brahmakshatriya may refer to a ''Brahmin'' who pursues royalty, and hence concurrently adopts the ''Kshatriya'' varna. * Progeny of Brahmin father and Kshatriya mother. Brahmakshatriya dynasties * Sena Dynasty: The foun ...

family and was one of the first Gujarati students to graduate from

Bombay University University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

, receiving an MA and LLB (1870) after which he worked as a teacher. In 1876 he became a judge at Baroda and in his spare time he edited a periodical against

child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...

called ''Bal-Lagna Nishedh Patrika''. In 1889 he became chief justice and was decorated

Diwan Bahadur Dewan Bahadur or Diwan Bahadur was a title of honour awarded during British rule in India. It was awarded to individuals who had performed faithful service or acts of public welfare to the nation. From 1911 the title was accompanied by a special ...

in 1900. He worked for Indian industrialists, supporting the

Swadeshi movement The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public i ...

, and supported women's education. He wrote what has been considered as the first original Gujarati short story ''Shantidas'' (1900). Ambalal was a

. He was involved in the

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) was established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act (1949), is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Ahmedabad. History On 21 April 1831, the collec ...

Gujarat Vernacular Society Gujarat Vidya Sabha, originally called Gujarat Vernacular Society, is a literary institution for the promotion of vernacular Gujarati literature and education, and for the collection of manuscripts and printed books; located in the city of Ahmedab ...

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

, and

Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Gujarati Sahitya Parishad () is a literary organisation for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of society and ...

References

External links

*
Arthashastra
(1875, translated by Desai)
Shantidas
(1900, in Gujarati) {{DEFAULTSORT:Desai, Ambalal Sakarlal 1844 births 1914 deaths Writers from British India People from Bombay Presidency Gujarati-language writers University of Mumbai alumni Indian lexicographers 19th-century lexicographers Presidents of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad

See also

References

Further reading

External links