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

Gujarati language Gujarati (; gu, ગુજરાતી, Gujarātī, translit-std=ISO, label= Gujarati script, ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old ...

author and social reformer. He is known for ''

Karan Ghelo ''Karan Ghelo: Gujarat's Last Rajput King'' ( gu, કરણ ઘેલો: ગુજરાતનો છેલ્લો રજપૂત રાજા) is a Gujarati historical novel by Nandshankar Mehta. It was published in 1866 and was the first ...

'', the first original novel in Gujarati.

Life

Nandshankar Mehta was born on 21 April 1835 at Surat to Nagar Brahmin 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 rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

. He joined the Revenue Department as a Mamlatdar of

Ankleshwar Ankleshwar (sometimes written Ankaleshwar) is a city and a municipality in Bharuch district in the state of Gujarat, India. The city is located 14 kilometres from Bharuch. Ankleshwar Industrial Association (AIA) is the largest organisation of t ...

. 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 e ...

Cutch State Cutch, 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 day K ...

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 dependi ...

in 1883. He was awarded

Rao Bahadur __NOTOC__ Rao may refer to: Geography * Rao, West Sumatra, one of the districts of West Sumatra, Indonesia * Råö, a locality in Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland County, Sweden Transport * Dr. Leite Lopes–Ribeirão Preto State Airport , ...

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 again ...

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 — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

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 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 July 1868 to Nandshankar Mehta ...

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

Works

He wrote his only novel ''

'' 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 Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative ...

in 1298. He translated

R. G. Bhandarkar Sir Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar ( mr, रामकृष्ण गोपाळ भांडारकर) (6 July 1837 – 24 August 1925) was an Indian scholar, orientalist, and social reformer. Early life Ramakrishna Bhandarkar was b ...

’s ''Sanskrit Margopadeshika'' and an English textbook on

trigonometry Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies ...

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 Indian male novelists Novelists from Gujarat 19th-century Indian novelists 19th-century Indian male writers Mehta family

Life

Works

See also

References

External links