Sumant Mehta (1 July 1877 – 15 December 1968) was a physician, independence activist and social worker from 20th-century India. Educated in London, he served as a personal physician of the Gaekwad rulers of

Baroda State Baroda State was a kingdom within the Maratha Confederacy and later a princely state in present-day Gujarat. It was ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India. With th ...

before entering public life in 1921. Along with his wife Sharda Mehta, he was involved in social and political activities.

Early life

Sumant Mehta was born in

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 ...

on 1 July 1877 in a Vadnagara

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. His father Batukram Shobharam Mehta was a personal physician of the

Sayajirao Gaekwad III Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born as Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal G ...

and had studied in England. His mother Dahigauri belonged to

. He was a maternal grandson of Gujarati novelist

Nandshankar Mehta Nandshankar Tuljashankar Mehta (21 April 1835 – 17 July 1905) was an Indian Gujarati language author and social reformer. He is known for '' Karan Ghelo'', the first original novel in Gujarati. Life Nandshankar Mehta was born on 21 April 183 ...

. He had his school education in Baroda and Bombay (now Mumbai). He studied at a medical college in Bombay for three years. In 1898, he married Sharda Mehta. He was a medical student then and four years older than her. Later, he left for

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England for further studies. He completed his medical education and received

MBChB A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

from

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. A ...

in 1901.

Career

When his father died in 1903, he joined as a personal physician of Gaekwad. He also served as a Sanitary Commissioner of the Baroda State. He served as a medical officer in Baroda and Navsari. Along with Gaekwad, he travelled to China, Japan, Germany, France, England, US and Canada in 1910–11 which broadened his perspectives. He was influenced by the religious texts and works of Ramkrishna Paramhansa,

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda () (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindus, Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figu ...

and

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...

. He was also influenced by Maharani of Baroda Chimnabai II. He attended the

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 ...

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

(now Kolkata) in 1906. Influenced by

Gopal Krishna Gokhale Gopal Krishna Gokhale ( International Phonetic Alphabet, �ɡoːpaːl ˈkrɪʂɳə ˈɡoːkʰleː9 May 1866 – 19 February 1915) was an Indian political leader and a social reformer during the Indian independence movement, and political me ...

, he joined the

Servants of India Society The Servants of India Society is a social reform organisation that was formed in Pune, Maharashtra, on June 12, 1905 by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who left the Deccan Education Society to form this association. Along with him were a small group of ...

and decided to spend the rest of his life in public service in 1915. He left his services to the Gaekwads and entered public life in 1921 with his wife. In 1923, he also served as the president of Gujarat Kisan Sabha held at Sojitra. He participated in the relief work of the flood in Gujarat in 1927. He was in charge of the Sarbhon camp with his wife during the 1928

Bardoli Satyagraha The Bardoli Satyagraha, was a farmers' agitation and nationalist movement in India against the increased taxation of farmers by the colonial government. It demanded a cancellation of the 22% tax hike being levied in Bombay Presidency. The move ...

. He organised a youth conference in 1929. Under his presidency, the 8th and 13th conferences of the Baroda Praja Mandal (Baroda People's Association) were held in 1930 in Navsari, and in May 1936 in Kathor village near Navsari respectively. He established an

Ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Kalol in 1936. He worked for the welfare of farmers, labourers and tribal people. With

Indulal Yagnik Indulal Kanaiyalal Yagnik (22 February 1892 – 17 July 1972) was an Indian independence activist and a Member of Parliament from 1957 to 1972. He was a leader of the All India Kisan Sabha and one who led the Mahagujarat Movement, which spearhe ...

, he organised a rally of farmers during the Indian National Congress in

Haripura Haripura is a village located near Kadod town in the Surat district of Gujarat, India. It is around 13 kilometres north east of Bardoli. During the Indian independence movement, it was the venue of annual session of the Indian National Congr ...

in 1938. During his Europe trip, he had met Indian revolutionaries like

Madam Cama Bhikhaiji Rustom CamaBhi''ai''- (with aspirated ''-kh-'') is the name as it appears in the biographies. Another common form is Bhi''ai''- (with unaspirated ''-k-''), as it appears on the postage stamp. The name is also frequently misspelled 'Bh ...

, Shyamji Krishna Verma and

Virendranath Chattopadhyaya Virendranath Chattopadhyaya (31 October 1880 – 2 September 1937), also known by his pseudonym Chatto, was a prominent Indian revolutionary who worked to overthrow the British Raj in India using armed force. He created alliances with the German ...

. He was arrested and imprisoned in Jalalpore Jail for his participation in the

civil disobedience movement Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". ...

. He spent five years in the jails of Sabarmati,

Visapur Visapur is a small village near the town of Dapoli, in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra state in Western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of western states of India, Republic of India. The Ministry of Home ...

and

Nashik Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh ...

for his participation in the

independence movement Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a ...

. He wrote an autobiography titled ''Atmakatha'' which was posthumously published in 1971. His other works include ''Samajdarpan'' and ''Hali: Jameenna Gulamo''. He had described Hali, a form of slavery of the tribals in the latter. He has referred to tribal people as () in his works. He died on 15 December 1968.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Sumant 1877 births 1968 deaths 19th-century Indian male writers 19th-century Indian writers Indian social reformers 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian writers Writers from Ahmedabad Indian social workers Indian autobiographers Indian independence activists from Gujarat Gandhians 20th-century Indian medical doctors Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester People from Surat Mehta family Medical doctors from British India

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links