Bhogilal Pandya (1904-1981) was a freedom fighter and social worker from

Dungarpur Dungarpur is a city in the southernmost part of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Dungarpur District. It is the fastest developing town in the southern part of Rajasthan, alongside Aspur ''tehsil''. History Dungarpu ...

in the Indian state of

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 ...

. On 3 April 1976, 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 ...

awarded him the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

for his social services. The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, given for distinguished service to the nation. For his championing of education and rights for the poor and underprivileged, he is referred by the people of Rajasthan as "Gandhi of Vahgad". His home is in the Gandhi aashram area of Dungarpur. In 1938, Pandya was elected President of Seva-sangh, an organisation that engages in community service in the Dungarpur,

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 ...

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

and Jaisalmar regions of Rajasthan. Through this organisation, Pandya provided community leadership and championed the cause for education of poor village students and gaining rights for and improving the lives of the depressed tribal

Bhil Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India. Bhils are listed as tribal people of the s ...

people. After India gained its independence in 1948, Pandya was appointed to ministerial positions in the State government. Between 1948 and 1956 he was industrial minister and minister of temples. Between 1969 and 1977, he held the post of Chairman of Khadi Board of Rajasthan.Joshi, Sumanesh – "Freedom Fighters from Rajasthan", Jaipur, Granthaagar, May 1973, pp 341-350 (Hindi Language Text) Bohgilal Pandya was born in

Simalwara Simalwara is a census town in Dungarpur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the administrative headquarters for Simalwara Tehsil. Geography Simalwara is located at . It has an average elevation of 244 metres (800 feet) ...

village of

Dungarpur district Dungarpur District is a district of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan in western India. The town of Dungarpur is the district headquarters. History The area of Dungarpur district was occupied by the Bhil people perhaps as ...

, Rajasthan on 13 November 1904. His father's name was Pitamber Pandya and his mother's name was Nathibai Pandya. Pandya was married to Maniben in 1920 in Nanawada village of Malpur district of Sabarkantha in

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 ...

. The couple had three sons and two daughters. Bohgilal Pandya died on 31 March 1981 at the age 77. The

Government of Rajasthan The Government of Rajasthan is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Rajasthan, a judiciary and a legislative. Jaipur is the capital of Raja ...

named Dungarpur government college as Bhogilal Pandya Government College in his memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandya, Bhogilal Indian independence activists from Rajasthan Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work Rajasthani people People from Dungarpur district 1904 births 1981 deaths Social workers 20th-century Indian educational theorists Social workers from Rajasthan India MPs 1957–1962 Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan People from Banswara district