Nandshankar Tuljashankar Mehta (21 April 1835 – 17 July 1905) was an Indian

Gujarati language Gujarati ( ; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Western Rājasthāni, Old Gujarati (). In India, it is one of the 22 Languages with ...

author and social reformer. He is known for '' Karan Ghelo'', the first original novel in Gujarati.

Life

Nandshankar Mehta was born on 21 April 1835 at

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

Nagar Brahmin Nagar Brahmin is a Brahmin subcaste from the Indian state of Gujarat. Author T. Sasaki writes, amongst Brahmins of Gujarat, Nagar Brahmins were the most prominent subdivision in the political, economic and social relation, social activities o ...

family of Gangalaxmi and Tuljashankar Mehta. He started his studies in English medium school at the age of ten. After marriage to Nandagauri in 1855, he joined the same school as an assistant master. In 1858, he became the first Indian headmaster of the school. Later he was appointed the principal of the Teachers’ Training College in Surat where he served till 1867. Sir Theodore Hope, a member of Government Textbooks’ Committee who had joined the Surat Municipality convinced Mehta to join

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

. He joined the Revenue Department as a Mamlatdar of

Ankleshwar Ankleshwar (sometimes written Ankaleshwar; ISO: ''Aṁkalēśvara'') is a city in the Bharuch district in the state of Gujarat, India. The city is located 14 kilometres from Bharuch. The village of Adadara is in Ankleshwar division. Industr ...

. He also served as the

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

Cutch State Cutch State, also spelled Kutch or Kachchh and also historically known as the Kingdom of Kutch, was a kingdom in the Kutch region from 1147 to 1819 and a princely state under British rule from 1819 to 1947. Its territories covered the present ...

in 1880 and the Assistant Political Agent at

Godhra Godhra () is a municipality in Panchmahal district in Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Panchmahal district. Originally the name came from ''gou'' which means "cow" and "dhara"- which have two meanings depend ...

in 1883. He was awarded

Rao Bahadur Rai Bahadur (in North India) and Rao Bahadur (in South India), R.B., was a title of honour bestowed during British Raj, British rule in India to individuals for outstanding service or acts of public welfare to the British Empire, Empire. From ...

in 1877. He was a social and religious reformer who was educated in western academics. He was closely associated with several social organisations which were involved in education of women; widow remarriage; abolishing caste ban on foreign travel; opposition of

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

, superstitions and supernatural. He, along with other reformers like Durgaram Mehta,

Dalpatram Dalpatram Dahyabhai Travadi (21 January 1820 – 25 March 1898) was a Gujarati language poet during 19th century in India. He was the father of Nanalal Dalpatram Kavi, a poet. He led social reform movements in Ahmedabad, and wrote articles aga ...

and two other colleagues; established the Manav Dharma Sabha dedicated to social and religious reforms. He was also a member of the Buddhivardhak Sabha which was established in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

in 1851. After retirement in 1890, he worked with several organisations. He died on 17 July 1905 in Surat. He was the father of

Manubhai Mehta Sir Manubhai Nandshankar Mehta CSI (22 July 1868 – 14 October 1946) was an Indian politician. He was the dewan of Baroda state from 9 May 1916 to 1927. From 1927 to 1934, he was the prime minister of Bikaner state. Life He was born on 22 J ...

and the grandfather of Hansa Mehta. He was also maternal grandfather of Sumant Mehta.

Works

He wrote his only novel '' Karan Ghelo'' which he started in 1863 and completed in 1866. The novel depicts Karan Vaghela, the last Rajput ruler of Gujarat (c.1296 - 1304) who was defeated by the Turkish forces of

Alauddin Khilji Alauddin Khalji (; ), born Ali Gurshasp, was a ruler from the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative changes in the Delhi Sultanate, related to revenue ...

in 1298. He translated R. G. Bhandarkar’s ''Sanskrit Margopadeshika'' and an English textbook on

trigonometry Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics concerned with relationships between angles and side lengths of triangles. In particular, the trigonometric functions relate the angles of a right triangle with ratios of its side lengths. The fiel ...

into Gujarati. He had written several articles in newspapers. His son, Vinayak Mehta, had written his biography.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Nandshankar Gujarati-language writers 1835 births People from Surat 1905 deaths Indian reformers Rai Bahadurs Indian historical novelists Novelists from British India People from Bombay Presidency Indian male novelists Novelists from Gujarat 19th-century Indian novelists 19th-century Indian male writers Mehta family

Life

Works

See also

References

External links