Bhai Pratap () (April 14, 1908 – August 30, 1967), was an Indian businessman, philanthropist and freedom fighter, best remembered as the founder of the city of

Gandhidham Gandhidham, initially known as Sardarganj, located in the eastern part of Kutch district, in the state of Gujarat. It is the largest and most populous city in (Kachchh) Kutch District, Gujarat, India. It was created in the early 1950s for the res ...

to resettle refugees from

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

after the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan in August 1947. Pratap Moolchand Dialdas was born in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, Bombay Presidency, British India on 14 April 1908 into an affluent family. Bhai Pratap was widely travelled and had established his businesses in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

as well as internationally. His ethnic as well as international taste is reflected amply in Pratab Mahal, which also had a huge library with books from around the world. After the partition of India, he left along with his family for Bombay, India, and established a city for the displaced

Sindhi Hindus Sindhi Hindus are ethnic Sindhis who practice Hinduism and are native to the Sindh region of the Indian subcontinent. They are spread across modern-day Sindh, Pakistan and India. After the partition of India in 1947, many Sindhi Hindus were am ...

. Actually it was two twin cities that he founded one next to the other by the names of

and

Adipur Adipur is a town in Gandhidham Municipal Corporation of Kutch District in the state of Gujarat, India. The town is situated approximately from Gandhidham. History Adipur was initially founded as a refugee camp after the partition of India, ...

, as well as the

Kandla Port Kandla Port, officially known as Deendayal Port, is a seaport in Kutch district of Gujarat, India. The port is situated in the Kandla Creek and is 90 km from the mouth of Gulf of Kutch, it is one of India's major ports on the west coast. It i ...

, in Kutch. Bhai Pratap died at the age of 59 in London on August 30, 1967. His body was brought to Adipur and cremated in the Nat Mandir compound where his samadhi was built adjacent to the Gandhi Samadhi.

Gallery

File:Bhai Pratap with Prince George, Jan 1931.jpg, File:Bhai Pratap. Commemmorative Brochure in Sindhi. 8th Anniversary.jpg, File:Bhai Pratap, Commemmorative Brochure in Hindi. 8th Anniversary.jpg, File:Bhai Pratap with Gandhiji.jpg, File:Bhai Pratap. Caricature Drawing.jpg, File:Bhai Pratap took this picture of HRH the Prince of Wales.jpg, File:Maitri Bhavan, Bhai Pratap ´s home in Hyderabad, Sindh.jpg, File:Bhai Pratap. Brochure of M.Dialdas branch in Gibraltar. page 1.jpg, File:Bhai Pratap. Brochure of M.Dialdas branch in Gibraltar. page 2 and 3.jpg, File:Bhai Pratap. Brochure of M.Dialdas branch in Gibraltar. page 4.jpg, File:Bhai Pratap. Cotton Khadi Movement.jpg, File:Bhai Pratap. Visiting card of the Port Said (Egypt) branch of M. Dialdas & Sons.jpg,

References

Sindhu Resettlement Corporation, about Bhai Pratap
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1908 births 1967 deaths People from Hyderabad, Sindh Indian Sindhi people Businesspeople from Gujarat 20th-century Indian philanthropists Sindhi Hindus {{Philanthropist-stub