Mohan Singh Mehta (1895-1986)
Dr. Mohan Sinha Mehta Trust
/ref> was founder of Vidya Bhavan group of institutions and Seva Mandir
Seva may refer to:
* Seva (Indian religions), volunteer work offered to God (in Indian religions)
* Seva (Puerto Rico), a fictional town described in the novel ''Seva'' by Luis López Nieves
* "Seva" (short story), by Puerto Rican author Luis Ló ...
in Udaipur
Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
, India.
Life
Mohan Singh Mehta was born in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, on 20 April 1895 to Jeewan Singh Mehta. His wife’s name was Hulas Kumari Mehta and he had one son, Jagat Singh Mehta
Jagat Singh Mehta (17 July 1922 – 6 March 2014) was an Indian politician and diplomat who was Foreign Secretary of India from 1976 to 1979. His daughter, known as Rani Vijay, is married to the Raja Sahib of Mahmudabad, son of Mohammad Ali ...
, who became Foreign Secretary in the Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
.
Mehta held a B.A. degree from Agra College
Agra College is an government aided college, which is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in India. Pandit Gangadhar Shastri, a noted Sanskrit scholar, founded the college in 1823, long before the first university in India was es ...
, Agra (1916), an M.A. (Economics) from Allahabad University
, mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees"
, established =
, type = Public
, chancellor = Ashish Chauhan
, vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava
, head_label ...
(1918), and both L.L.B. (1919) and Ph.D. degrees awarded by the London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
(1927). He was admitted as a Barrister-at-Law
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...
by the Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
in 1927.
Lecturer, Agra College, Agra – 1918-19. Government College, Ajmer – 1919-20, Headquarters Commissioner, Seva Samiti Boy Scout Association, 1920-22.
Revenue Officer, Mewar State Administration – 1922-28; Chief Revenue Officer 1928-36; Chief Minister, Banswara State 1937-40; Revenue and Education Minister, Mewar – 1940-44; Chief Minister, Banswara State 1944-46; Finance and Education Minister, Mewar 1946-48; Member, Constituent Assembly of India 1946-47.
Ambassador of India in Netherlands (1949–51); High Commissioner of India in Pakistan (1951–55); Ambassador of India in Switzerland, Austria and Vatican (1955–58); Member, Indian Delegation, UN General Assembly (1959).
Vice Chancellor, Rajasthan University (1960–66).
Non-Official International Conferences:
II World Congress on Settlements, Paris (1926); International Conference of World Student Christian Movement in Yugoslavia (1926); National Conference on Education of Canada (1962).
Other work
Social and Educational Institutions Established:
Founder President of Vidya Bhawan – a progressive co-education complex; Founder President of Seva Mandir, a Centre for Social Service and Rural Development.
Association with Seva Mandir
During the pre-independence period from 1900 to 1947, Udaipur was witness to an increasing awareness among educationists and liberal thinkers of the particular backwardness and political stagnation of Rajasthan. This provoked a movement towards change and inspired certain individuals, who had imbibed the concept of voluntarism, to seize the initiative. The late Dr. Mohan Sinha Mehta, founder of Seva Mandir, a social worker and an educationist, was one such individual. Dr. Mehta conceived of Seva Mandir in the twenties itself but activated it only in the late sixties when he returned to Udaipur after a long career including a decade as India’s Ambassador and six years as Vice Chancellor of the Rajasthan University. He was influenced by the national movement, especially by Madan Mohan Malviya and Dr. H.N. Kunzru, and attracted by the Servants of India Society. During his working life, he had been a sort of guide to social and educational activism in Mewar. Even as he served as Revenue Officer and later as Education Minister in Mewar State, and in between, as Diwan in Banswara, his abiding interest was in issues of citizenship. He made a start by establishing the Seva Samiti Boy Scout Troop, from where originated the idea of starting Vidya Bhawan School in 1931. At the school, the ideals of character formation, social obligation and a sensitivity to nature and the rural surroundings were focused upon, a spirit of adventure was inculcated and a sense of determination was stimulated to make youth responsible citizens. To Dr Mehta, Seva Mandir was an extension of these very concerns and the ideas of citizenship into the arena of rural development. This organization now has turned into a museum of social work in India.
Publications
Mehta wrote ''Lord Hastings and the Indian States'', published in 1929.
Recognition
Award and titles for distinguished service to Mewar State Government (1940 and 1945); National Award Padma Vibhushan (1969); William Trolley Award Syracuse University, U.S. (1969); Award of Indian National Federation of UNESCO Associations (1979); Special Award of the Asian and South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (1972); G.D. Parikh Memorial Award (1980); Honoured by the Indian University Association for Continuing Education, New Delhi (1985).
Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa), University of Udaipur (1976); Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) University of Rajasthan (1982).
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Mohan Sinha
Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in civil service
Alumni of the London School of Economics
University of Rajasthan faculty
High Commissioners of India to Pakistan
Members of the Constituent Assembly of India
People from Udaipur
1895 births
1986 deaths
20th-century Indian educational theorists
Ambassadors of India to the Netherlands
Ambassadors of India to the Holy See