Nautamlal Bhagavanji Mehta, or the Nagar Sheth of Jetpur (2 September 1879 – 2 September 1968) was an Indian

independence activist Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the sta ...

and a supporter of

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

. He was also a prominent businessman and a pioneer of the Gandhian Movement in what is now

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 nin ...

. He is also believed to be the first to bestow the title "Mahatma" to Gandhi, not

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

, as many believe. Mehta wrote a manpatra using the term, which has been authenticated by the National Gandhi Museum in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

. However there is a Genuine claim that the Peethadhipati of the Bhuvaneshwari Peeth in Gondal (Also called the Gondal Peeth) in Gujarat was the first person to bestow the title of Mahatma to Late Shri Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, soon after he returned to India from South Africa. This can be verified from the present Pethadhipati of the Gondal Peeth.

References

Businesspeople in British India Indian independence activists from Gujarat People from Gujarat 1879 births 1968 deaths {{India-activist-stub