Gopaldas Ambaidas Desai (1887–1951) also called
Darbar Gopaldas Desai was a prince who ascended the throne of the State of
Dhasa in
Saurashtra and a noted
Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians.
Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...
political and social activist. He is remembered as the first prince in India who gave up his principality to become a freedom fighter against the British Raj.
Early life
Gopaldas was born at
Vaso in the present day
Kheda district
Kheda District is one of the thirty-three districts of Gujarat state in western India. Its central city, Kheda, is the administrative headquarters of the district.
History
Formerly known as Kaira district, it was divided in two with the sou ...
of
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
. He was an
''inamdar'' or feudatory to the
Baroda State, the ruler of the Dhasa State and a ''
jagirdar'' of the
Rai and Sankhli villages. He was a
Vaishnavite
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
and a
Patidar
Patidar ( Gujarati: ) is an Indian landlord and agrarian caste found mostly in Gujarat but also in at least 22 other states of India. The community comprises at multiple subcastes, most prominently the Levas and Kadvas. They form one of the ...
by caste and a
Desai
Desai (Hindi: देसाई) () is an Indian administrative, princely or honorary title and surname.
Etymology
The word is derived from the Sanskrit ''deśa'' (country) and ''svāmī'' (lord).
Desai as a title
Desai was a title given to feud ...
and
Amin by title. He became the ruler of Dhasa succeeding his maternal grandfather Ambaidas who adopted him as heir to the throne. Gopaldas had been a supporter of
Mohandas Gandhi and the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
and often gave them financial support. He was a progressive ruler and provided free education to his subjects. Impressed by the ideas of Madam Montessori, he started first Montessori school in
Vaso in 1915 with the help of his mentor, Motibhai Amin. It was the first Montessori School in Gujarat, and perhaps in entire India.
Indian Independence movement
By 1921, Gopaldas had become active in the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
. That year he became the president of the
Kheda
Kheda, also known as Kaira, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was former administrative capital of Kheda district. India's First Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel Was Born In Kheda District of Gujarat State ...
District Congress Committee.
The following year, his
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
was confiscated and was deposed as ruler by the British after he disobeyed the
British Resident General's warnings against his involvement in the national movement and extending financial support to Gandhi. Gopaldas and his wife Bhakti Lakshmi, better known as Bhaktiba became active freedom fighters from 1922. After his removal, the British proposed Gopaldas' eldest son Suryakant as the new ruler. He however rejected the offer arguing that he held the same political views as his father. The British later approached Gopaldas' other three sons as they approached the age of majority. They all rejected the offer, following the footsteps of their father.
Following the confiscation of his estates, Gopaldas relocated to
Borsad from where he participated in both the Borsad and
Bardoli Satyagraha
The Bardoli Satyagraha, in the state of bardoli, India during the British Raj, was a major phase of civil disobedience and revolt in the Indian Independence Movement on 12 June 1928. The movement was eventually led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a ...
s.
During the 1930
Civil Disobedience Movement
The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a ...
, the entire Desai family was imprisoned including Gopaldas, his wife Bhaktiba, the two elder sons Mahendra and Suryakant, and their wives and even their newborn son, a mere six-month-old, Barindra. Thus, Barindra must have been the youngest freedom fighter. Bhaktiba was obliged to take the infant to Sabarmati jail in 1930 because he was too young to be left with anyone. The Desais were also active participants in the
Quit India Movement. Bhaktiba became a renowned social worker and Gandhian political activist in her own right while Yog Sunder went on to become a renowned dancer and choreographer and the founder of the Indian Revival Group.
Social activism
Gopaldas and Bhaktiba worked for the Gandhian causes of eradication 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 ...
and for women's education. They were the pioneers in advancing female literacy in Gujarat and Saurashtra, especially the residential schools for girls. They founded Vitthal Kanya Vidyalaya in
Nadiad
Nadiad is a city in the state of Gujarat, India and the administrative centre of the Kheda district. The city is managed by the Nadiad Municipality. It is known for the Santram Mandir, the Mai Mandir, in 1935 and later Vallabh Kanya Vidyalaya at
Rajkot in 1946, both of them residential schools for girls. Soon after independence, it was Darbar Gopaldas who was given the honour in 1947 to lay the foundation stone of
Kirti Mandir, the memorial for Mahatma Gandhi in his birthplace
Porbandar.
He was elected to the
Constituent Assembly of India
The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...
as a member from
Baroda
Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
. Gopaldas was reinstated as a ruler of his principality after India's independence. He is remembered as the first prince among about 550 princely states to voluntarily and unconditionally merge his principality with the Indian Union.
Rajmohan Gandhi
Rajmohan Gandhi (born 7 August 1935) is an Indian biographer, historian, and research professor at the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US. His paternal grandfather is Mahatma Gandhi, ...
has authored, ''The Prince of Gujarat'' (2014), a biography of Desai.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desai, Darbar Gopaldas
1887 births
1951 deaths
People from Kheda district
Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat
Indian independence activists from Gujarat
Members of the Constituent Assembly of India
Prisoners and detainees of British India
Gandhians
Indian royalty
Founders of Indian schools and colleges
Gujarati people
Maharajas of Gujarat