Nanji Kalidas Mehta,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(17 November 1887 – 25 August 1969) was an industrialist and philanthropist from

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 founded the

Mehta Group The Mehta Group of Companies, commonly referred to as the Mehta Group, is an Indian conglomerate based in Mumbai and headquartered in Gandhinagar, with subsidiaries in the United States, Canada, Kenya and Uganda. The group employs in excess of ...

of Industries in

British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Britai ...

, now having its head office in India. His son Mahendra Mehta, daughter in-law Sunayana Mehta and grandson

Jay Mehta Jay Mehta (born 18 January 1961) is an Indian businessman and entrepreneur. He is the son of Mahendra Mehta and Sunayana Mehta and grandson of Nanji Kalidas Mehta, who own the Mehta Group which is spread over Africa, India, Canada and United St ...

are the current owners of the

Personal life

Mehta was born on 17 November 1887 in Gorana village, near

Porbandar Porbandar is a city in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It is the administrative center of the Porbandar District and it was the former capi ...

in the Princely State of Porbandar, British India. He was born in a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

family of

Lohana Lohana, also referred to as Loharana, Thakkar and Lohrana, are an Indian trading or mercantile ''jāti''. Lohanas claim to be descendants of the Lava, son of Rama, and to descend from the Raghuvanshi dynasty.Lachaier, Pierre. "Cérémonies D'hom ...

caste. He left for East Africa at the age of thirteen in 1900. He married Santoshben Mehta.

Shekhar Mehta Chandra Shekhar Mehta (20 June 1945 – 12 April 2006) was a Kenyan rally driver. He was born in Uganda and won the Safari Rally a record five times (1973, 1979–82), including four consecutively, and in 1981 finished fifth in the World Rally ...

, the sports car driver, and

, the businessman, are his grandsons. Mehta was a follower of the Hindu reform sect of

Arya Samaj Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the sanny ...

. As an active member of the sect, he was instrumental in starting many Arya samaj affiliated schools, colleges, and temples in East africa as well as India.

Business career

He started his career as a trader and ventured into growing vegetable, cotton and then sugarcane in British East Africa. Later he ventured in to sugar manufacturing, tea and coffee plantations in that region. He in his later life also started a Cement plant, ginneries, a textile unit and oil mills in India. He thus founded the

conglomerate, which is now spread across the globe. He was contemporary of some other Gujarati businessmen and philanthropists of East Africa such as Meghji Pethraj Shah,

Muljibhai Madhvani Mulji Prabhudas Madhvani (1894–1958), commonly referred to as Muljibhai Madhvani was an Indian-born Ugandan businessman, entrepreneur, industrialist and philanthropist. Born in India, he migrated to Uganda when he was only 14 years old. In 191 ...

and others. On the original building of Muljibhai Madhvani's office in Jinja, Nanjibhai's name still appears as ''DUKA YA KALIDASI'', a mark of their friendship. He established the present day Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited under the name Uganda Sugar Factory in 1924 at

Lugazi Lugazi is a town in the Buikwe District of the Central Region of Uganda. The town is also called "Kawolo", and the two names are interchangeably used by the local inhabitants. Location The town is on the Kampala-Jinja Highway, approximately ...

. He was one of the first exporters of Uganda's cotton to Japan and other places which greatly helped in the establishment of the cotton industry in Uganda. In 1932, he established a cotton mill named Maharana Mills in Porbandar, the land for which was given at a measly sum by Maharana Natwarsinhji of Porbandar. The company employed 2500 workers at time of Indian independence in 1947. Nanjibhai was an

Arya Samaji Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the san ...

and was instrumental in giving

Scheduled Caste The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

the jobs in spite of protests by

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

s.''Journeys to freedom: Dalit narratives''
Fernando Franco, Jyotsna Macwan, Suguna Ramanathan. Again it was for breaking the strike in this Maharana Mills, Nanjibhai is said to have employed services of Devu and Karsan Vagher in late 1960s. In 1956 he established Saurashtra Cement Limited in Gujarat.

Later life and death

In 1966, he published his Autobiography named ''Dreams half expressed'', where he mentions He died on 25 August 1969 at

in India.

Honours

Nanji Kalidas Mehta Marg - Junagadh - Gujarat - DSC0001

Mehta was awarded an

M.B.E. Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

by Britain for his work in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. He was also given the title of

Raj Ratna Raj Ratna (also Raj Ratan or Rajya Ratna; literally ''Gem of the Raj'') was a title of high honour, a civilian award, which was prevalent in the princely states of India during the British Raj. History ''Raj Ratna'' awards were given by rulers ...

Porbandar State Porbandar State was a princely state during the British Raj ruled by Jethwa dynasty. It was one of the few princely states with a coastline. The capital of state was the harbour town of Porbandar. Some other important towns of this state wer ...

by H.H. Maharana Sri Natwarsinhji and a title of Dhrama Ratna (defender of faith) by the poet,

Kaka Kalelkar Dattatreya Balkrishna Kalelkar (1 December 1885 – 21 August 1981), popularly known as Kaka Kalelkar, was an Indian independence activist, social reformer, journalist and an eminent follower of the philosophy and methods of Mahatma Gandhi. B ...

. In Uganda, upon his death, the flag flew at half mast.

Philanthropist

India

* Kirti Mandir at

, which houses the ancestral house of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and a memorial/temple built in memory of Mahatma Gandhi and

Kasturba Kasturbai Mohandas Gandhi (, born Kasturbai Gokuldas Kapadia; 11 April 1869 – 22 February 1944) was an Indian political activist. She married Mohandas Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, in 1883. With her husband and her eldest s ...

, was mainly built due to efforts and money donated by Nanji Kalidas Mehta. He convinced Gandhiji to sell his ancestral house to a trust created by him, so that they can preserve it as a memorial. ''The rise and fall of philanthropy in East Africa: the Asian contribution''
Robert G. Gregory. * Arya Kanya Gurukul, a Girls Resident School was started by him in 1936. *In 1954, he donated a plot of land at

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the righ ...

for Gujarati Dharamshala of which he also was a trustee. *Arya Samaj Girls School and College / Gurukul Women's College of Arts and Commerce was started by him in 1956 at Porbandar. * He built the Maharshi Dayanand Science College and donated it to the Education Society of Porbandar and named it after

Swami Dayanand Saraswati Dayanand Saraswati () (born Mool Shankar Tiwari; 2 February 1824 – 30 October 1883) also known as Maharshi Dayanand is an Indian philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement. His Magnum Opus is the book ...

, to keep people alive the memory of the founder of Arya samaj. *Jawahralal Nehru Planetarium also called ''Tara Mandir'' was started by him in Porbandar, being the first in Western India. The planetarium has a gallery dedicated to

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

. *The Bharat Mandir at Porbandar is a unique edifice housing the cultural history and heritage of the country in paintings and in quotes on the surrounding walls and pillars and with a relief map of India in the centre. *In 2006 the Shri Santokba Vidyamandir was inaugurated in memory of Santokba, the wife of Nanjibhai, under the auspices of the Arya Kanya Vidyalaya Trust at Porbandar. * N.K. Mehta Hospital in Probandar. * N.K. Mehta Science College in Probandar. * ''Rokadiya

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

Temple'' at Probandar, which is now a tourist attraction of town. *At

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- ...

, the N. K. Mehta International House, a building built by Brihad Bharatiya Samaj, a non-political society designed for educational, social and economical interest of Indians abroad was built with a major donation from Nanji Kalidas Mehta. The building houses a library, research wing, auditorium and hostel. *Rest Houses and

Dharamshalas A dharamshala, also written as dharmashala is a public resthouse or shelter in the Indian subcontinent. Just as sarai are for travellers and caravans, dharamshalas are built for religious travellers at pilgrimage sites. In Nepal there are dhara ...

Junagadh Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literally t ...

Girnar Girnar is an ancient hill in Junagadh, Gujarat, India. Geology Mount Girnar is a major igneous plutonic complex which intruded into the basalts towards the close of the Deccan Trap period. The rock types identified in this complex are gab ...

After his demise, the following institutions have been named as his memorials:- *Nanji Kalidas DAV Public School at

is named after him. *Nanji Kalidas DAV Public School at

Veraval Veraval also known as Somnath is a municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is also known for the hub of fishing industries in India. Geography Veraval is located at . It has an average elev ...

is also named after him. *Recently, Jai Mehta, grandson of Nanji Kalidas and husband of

Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla (born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress, film producer and entrepreneur. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and v ...

along with

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

, who together are co-owners of

Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are a franchise cricket team representing the city of Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and her spouse Jay Mehta. The Knight Riders p ...

have decided to take over existing ground named Duleep cricket ground at

and develop it into a world class cricket stadium, which will be named Nanji Kalidas Mehta Stadium.

Uganda

*The

founded by him runs a hospital at

and various dispensaries and runs 2 Nursery Schools, 13 Primary Schools and 1 Secondary School to provide education for more than 6,000 children in various cities like

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, Jinja, Lugazi, etc. *Arya Girls School at

. *Town Hall, Mehta Library and Jubilee Park at Kampala. *The opening of ''The Desai Memorial Hall'' built with donations dedicated to Manilal Ambalal Desai was done by Nanji Kalidas Mehta in 1934. The foundation stone of it was laid with hands of

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (''née'' Chattopadhyay; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist, feminist and poet. A proponent of civil rights, women's emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important person in Indi ...

in 1929.

Kenya

*He started the very first nursery school in East Africa at

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, which was founded in 1934. The school was named Santokben Nanji Kalidas Mehta Nursery School. In 2006 the Mehta Group completely renovated, refurbished the school. *Arya Girls School at

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Tanzania

*Arya Samaj

Mandir A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

Dar-es-Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over ...

*Women's Association Hall at Dar-es-Salaam.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Nanji Kalidas 1887 births 1969 deaths Businesspeople in agriculture Ugandan people of Indian descent Ugandan businesspeople Gujarati people People from Porbandar district Arya Samajis Founders of Indian schools and colleges Indian autobiographers Indian businesspeople in cement Indian Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Kenyan businesspeople Indian businesspeople in textiles Businesspeople in the sugar industry Ugandan philanthropists Indian industrialists 20th-century Indian philanthropists