Sir Manubhai Nandshankar Mehta CSI (22 July 1868 – 14 October 1946) was 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 ...

Baroda state Baroda State was a state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India in 1949. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its ...

from 9 May 1916 to 1927. From 1927 to 1934, he was the prime minister of

Bikaner state Bikaner State was a princely state in the Rajputana from 1465 to 1947. The founder of the state, Rao Bika, was the eldest son of Rao Jodha, ruler of Jodhpur. Rao Bika chose to build his own kingdom instead of inheriting his father' ...

Life

He was born on 22 July 1868 to

Nandshankar Mehta Nandshankar Tuljashankar Mehta (21 April 1835 – 17 July 1905) was an Indian Gujarati language author and social reformer. He is known for ''Karan Ghelo'', the first original novel in Gujarati. Life Nandshankar Mehta was born on 21 April 1835 ...

. He was educated at

Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1823, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the ed ...

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. He was Professor of Logic and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

and a lecturer in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Baroda College 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 ...

in 1891-1899. He was the private secretary to HH Maharaja

Gaekwad Gaekwad (also spelt Gaikwar and Gaikwad; mr, Gāyǎkǎvāḍǎ) is a surname native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The surname is found among the Marathas, Kolis and in Scheduled castes. It is also a common surname among Bharadis, Dhor, an ...

of Baroda state from 1899 to 1906 and revenue minister and first councillor from 1914 to 1916. He was also dewan of Baroda state from 9 May 1916 to 1927. Then

Maharaja Ganga Singh General Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh, (13 October 1880 – 2 February 1943), was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Bikaner (in present-day Rajasthan, India) from 1888 to 1943. As a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, he was present ...

brought Manu Bhai Mehta from the Baroda state and made him the first prime minister and chief councillor of the Bikaner state in 1927. He worked there until 1934 and, until 1940, continued as councillor of Bikaner. He fixed the retirement age at 58 years for the employees of the Bikaner state from 55 years. He was a delegate on behalf of the Indian States to the three

Round Table Conference The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in Dec ...

s in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Mehta acted as a substitute in the absence of the Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner. Similarly, he attended the World Hygiene Conference in 1933 and was in the Indian States' delegation to the Joint Parliamentary Committee in 1933. He was appointed home minister of

Gwalior state Gwalior state was a semi-autonomous Maratha state. It was centred in modern-day Madhya Pradesh, arising due to the rise of the Maratha Empire and fragmentation of the Mughal Empire. It was ruled by the Scindia, House of Scindia (anglicized fro ...

in 1937. He was considered one of the major architects of Baroda's reforms. He led an effort to proselytize constitutional, democratic reforms throughout princely

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

through the organ of the Chamber of Princes beginning in the 1920s. This was called as "Mehta strategy" by Copland. By the late 1940s, virtually all major states had adopted some measure of reform including Bikaner, Kotah,

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known a ...

Alwar Alwar (Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km north of Jaipur. ...

Dholpur Dholpur is a city in the Dholpur district in Rajasthan state of India. It is situated on the left bank of the famous Chambal river. The city is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur pri ...

and

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

. Mehta died on 14 October 1946. He was the father of Hansa Mehta.

References

External links

Princely States of India A-J

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Manubhai People from Gujarat 1868 births 1946 deaths University of Mumbai alumni Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda faculty History of Vadodara Diwans of Baroda Indian Knights Bachelor History of Bikaner Companions of the Order of the Star of India Knights Bachelor Administrators in the princely states of India Gujarati people