Hansa Jivraj Mehta (3 July 1897 – 4 April 1995) was a reformist, social activist, educator, independence activist, feminist and writer from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Early life

Hansa Mehta was born in a Nagar Brahmin family on 3 July 1897. She was a daughter of Manubhai Mehta, Dewan of Baroda State, and the granddaughter of Nandshankar Mehta, the author of the first Gujarati novel ''

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 ...

''. She graduated with Philosophy in 1918. She studied journalism and sociology in England. In 1918, she met

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 Ind ...

and later

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- ...

in 1922. She was married to

Jivraj Narayan Mehta Jivraj Narayan Mehta (29 August 1887 – 7 November 1978) was an Indian politician and the first Chief Minister of Gujarat. He also served as the first "Dewan" (Prime Minister) of the erstwhile Baroda state, and Indian high commissioner to the ...

, an eminent

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and administrator who was the first

Chief Minister of Gujarat The Chief Minister of Gujarat is the chief executive of the government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. The chief minister's ter ...

Career

Politics, education and activism

Hansa Mehta organized the picketing of shops selling foreign clothes and liquor, and participated in other freedom movement activities in line with the advice of

. Later She established Desh Sevika Dal in 1930. She was even arrested and sent to jail by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

along with her husband in 1932. she was elected to

Bombay Legislative Council Bombay Legislative Council was the legislature of the Bombay Province and later the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Bombay Province in British India and the Indian state of Bombay. History The Indian Councils Act 1861 set up the Bo ...

. After independence, she was among the 15 women who were part of the

constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

that drafted the

Indian Constitution The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

. She was a member of the Advisory Committee and Sub Committee on Fundamental Rights. She advocated for equality and justice for women in India. Hansa was elected to Bombay Schools Committee in 1926 and became president of

All India Women's Conference The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Delhi. It was founded in 1927 by Margaret Cousins in order to improve educational efforts for women and children and has expanded its scope to also tackle ...

in 1945–46. In her presidential address at the All India Women's Conference convention held in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, she proposed a Charter of Women's Rights. She held different posts in India from 1945 to 1960 - the vice-chancellor of

SNDT Women's University SNDT Women's University, also called by its full name Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University, is a women's university in the city of Mumbai, India. The university headquarters are at Churchgate in South Mumbai, while the ma ...

, member of All India Secondary Board of Education, president of Inter University Board of India and vice-chancellor of

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of ...

, among others. Hansa represented India on the Nuclear Sub-Committee on the status of women in 1946. As the Indian delegate on the

UN Human Rights Commission The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of t ...

in 1947–48, she was responsible for changing the language of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...

from "all men are born free and equal" to "all human beings are born free and equal", highlighting the need for

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

. Hansa later went on to become the vice chairman of the

Human Rights Commission of the United Nations The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of t ...

in 1950. She was also a member of the Executive Board of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Literary career

She wrote several children's books in

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 ...

including ''Arunnu Adbhut Swapna'' (1934), ''Bablana Parakramo'' (1929), ''Balvartavali'' Part 1-2 (1926, 1929). She translated some books of ''

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'': Aranyakanda,

Balakanda ''Bala Kanda'' ( sa, बालकाण्ड; IAST: ', ) is the first book of the Valmiki ''Ramayana'', which is one of the two great epics of India (the other being the ''Mahabharata''). There has been debate as to whether ''Bala Kanda'' was c ...

and Sundarakanda. She translated many English stories, including '' Gulliver's Travels''. She had also adapted some plays of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. Her essays were collected and published as ''Ketlak Lekho'' (1978).

Bibliography

In Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil * ''Traṇa nāṭako''. (1926). Mumbaī : Haṃsā Mhetā * Mehta, Hansa; Swift, Jonathan. ''Goḷībāranī musāpharī''. Vaḍodarā : Bālajīvana Kāryālaya (1931) * ''Rukmiṇī''. (1933). Vaḍodarā : Ārya Sudhāraka Presa * ''Aruṇanuṃ adbhuta svapna''. (1934). Mumbaī : Haṃsā Mahetā ** Mehta, S. Haṅsa. (1950). ''Arunnanu adbhuta svapṅa''. Ahmedabad, India : Gujar Granth Ratna Karyalaya * ''Bāḷavārtāvali'' acchanal (1939). Mumbaī : Sola ejaṇṭa, Śishṭa Sāhitya Bhaṇḍāra * ''Himālaya svarūpa ane bījaṃ nāṭako''. Śishṭa. * Mehta, Hansa. ''Trana natako ane bijam'' hree plays and so on (1956). * Mehta, Hansa; Cimanalāla, Candravadana; Sitāṃśu, Yaśaścandra. ''Keṭalāka lekha''. Mumbaī : Phārbasa Gujarātī Sabhā (1977) * Mehta, Hansa; Collodi, Carlo. ''Bavlana prakramo'' rave featsRajkot : Pravin Rajkot (1993) * Mehta, Hansa. ''Ram Katha''.

he story of Ram He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

(1993). Delhi : National Book Trust. * Mehta, Hansa. ''Ayotiyin iḷavarasan''. (2004). Delhi : National Book Trust. In English * ''Post-war educational reconstruction: with special reference to women's education in India''. (----) Bombay : Pratibha * ''The Woman under the Hindu Law of Marriage & Succession''. (1944). p. 52, Bombay : Pratibha Publications. * Hansa, Mehta. (ed.) "Civil liberties". (1945). for the ''All-India Women's Conference'', Aundh : Aundh Pub. Trust, * ''Indian woman''. (1981). New Delhi : Butala

Translation

into English * King of Ujjainī; VIKRAMĀDITYA Haṃsā; Mehta, Hansa. ''The Adventures of King Vikrama''. (Selections from Ṣāmala Bhaṭa's Gujarati version of Siṃhāsana-batrīsī. With plates.) (1948). Bombay : Oxford University Press, pp.vii, 150. ** Mehta, Hansa; Shukla, V. K. ''Adventures of King Vikrama''. (1954) London : Oxford Univ. Press, * Sarma, D.S.; Mehta, Hansa. ''The prince of Ayodhya''. New Delhi : National Book Trust, India : Chief stockists in India, Thomson Press (India) (1974). * ''Une femme d'aujourd'hui: roman''. (1966). Paris : Albin Michel.

Awards

Hansa Mehta was awarded 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 ...

in 1959.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Hansa Jivraj Indian independence activists from Gujarat Indian women educational theorists 1897 births 1995 deaths Gujarati-language writers Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work Prisoners and detainees of British India People from Vadodara Indian women's rights activists Gujarati people Gandhians 20th-century Indian educational theorists Scientists from Gujarat 20th-century Indian women scientists Activists from Gujarat Women educators from Chandigarh Women Indian independence activists 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians 19th-century Indian women 19th-century Indian people Women educators from Gujarat Indian feminists Educators from Gujarat Educators from Chandigarh Indian translators Indian children's writers 20th-century translators 20th-century women educators