{{Short description|Indian physician and independence activist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}} {{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}} {{Infobox person |name = Sumant Mehta |image = |image_size = 180px |caption = |birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1877|7|1}} |birth_place = Surat |death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1968|12|15|1877|7|1}} |death_place = |other_names = |spouse = {{marriage |Sharda Mehta |1898|1968|end=}} |children = Premlila Mehta, Sarla Mehta, Ramesh Sumant Mehta, Asoka Mehta, Indira Bhatt, Siddharth Mehta |occupation = Social worker, physician, independence activist |awards = |relatives = |education = MBChB
|alma_mater = Victoria University of Manchester }} '''Sumant Mehta''' (1 July 1877 – 15 December 1968) was a physician, independence activist and social worker from 20th-century India. Educated in London, he served as a personal physician of the Gaekwad rulers of Baroda State before entering public life in 1921. Along with his wife Sharda Mehta, he was involved in social and political activities.
== Early life and education == Sumant Mehta was born in Surat on 1 July 1877 in a Vadnagara Nagar Brahmin family.<ref name=":GVK">{{Cite book|title=ગુજરાતી વિશ્વકોશ|last=Shukla|first=Jayeshkumar R.|publisher=Gujarat Vishvakosh Trust|editor-last=Thaker|editor-first=Dhirubhai|editor-link=Dhirubhai Thaker|edition=1st|volume=XV|location=Ahmedabad|publication-date=January 2002|pages=539–540|language=gu|trans-title=Gujarati Encyclopedia|oclc=248968453}}</ref> His father Batukram Shobharam Mehta was a personal physician of the Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda State and had studied in England.<ref name=":GVK" /><ref name="Chavda1972">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dps5AQAAIAAJ|title=Sayaji Rao Gaekwad, III|author=V. K. Chavda|publisher=National Book Trust, India|year=1972|page=1903}}</ref> His mother Dahigauri belonged to Surat.<ref name=":GVK" /> He was a maternal grandson of Gujarati novelist Nandshankar Mehta.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.divyabhaskar.co.in/news/MGUJ-VAD-HMU-MAT-latest-vadodara-news-040502-2092817-NOR.html|title=૨૦મા સૈકાના ગુજરાતનો અરીસો : ડો.સુમંત મહેતા (1877-1968)|last=Vaghela|first=Arun|date=2018-07-01|website=Divya Bhaskar|language=gu|trans-title=The Mirror 20th Century Gujarat: Dr. Sumant Mehta (1877-1968)|access-date=2019-02-21}}</ref>
He had his school education in Baroda and Bombay (now Mumbai).<ref name=":GVK" /> He studied at a medical college in Bombay for three years.<ref name=":GVK" />
In 1898, he married Sharda Mehta.<ref name="ChananaLibrary1988">{{cite book |author1=Karuna Chanana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7U8qAAAAYAAJ |title=Socialisation, education, and women: explorations in gender identity |author2=Nehru Memorial Museum and Library |publisher=Orient Longman |year=1988 |isbn=9780861318292 |pages=89–91}}</ref> He was a medical student at the time of their marriage and was four years older than her. After getting married he later, left for Manchester, England for further studies.<ref name=":GVK" /><ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last=Sujata |first=Menon |year=2013 |editor-last=Sarkar |editor-first=Siddhartha |title=An Historical Analysis of the Economic Impact on the Political Empowerment of Women In British India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DeaVBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |journal=International Journal of Afro-Asian Studies |publisher=Universal-Publishers |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=17–18 |isbn=978-1-61233-709-8 |issn=0974-3537}}</ref> He completed his medical education and received MBChB from Victoria University of Manchester in 1901.<ref name=":GVK" /><ref name=":0" />
== Career == When his father died in 1903, he joined as a personal physician of Gaekwad. He also served as a Sanitary Commissioner of the Baroda State.<ref name=":GVK" /><ref name="Chavda1972" /><ref name=":0" /> He served as a medical officer in Baroda and Navsari.<ref name=":0" /> Along with Gaekwad, he travelled to China, Japan, Germany, France, England, US and Canada in 1910–11 which broadened his perspectives. He was influenced by the religious texts and works of Ramkrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda and Omar Khayyam. He was also influenced by Maharani of Baroda Chimnabai II. He attended the Indian National Congress in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1906. Influenced by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, he joined the Servants of India Society and decided to spend the rest of his life in public service in 1915.<ref name=":GVK" /><ref name=":0" /> He left his services to the Gaekwads and entered public life in 1921 with his wife.<ref name=":GVK" /><ref name=":0" />
In 1923, he also served as the president of Gujarat Kisan Sabha held at Sojitra.<ref name=":GVK" /> He participated in the relief work of the flood in Gujarat in 1927.<ref name=":GVK" /> He was in charge of the Sarbhon camp with his wife during the 1928 Bardoli Satyagraha.<ref name=":GVK" /><ref name="Chatterjee1942">{{cite journal|last=Chatterjee|first=Ramananda|year=1942|title=The Modern Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mvwEAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Prabasi Press Private Limited|volume=72|page=118}}</ref> He organised a youth conference in 1929.<ref name=":GVK" /> Under his presidency, the 8th and 13th conferences of the Baroda Praja Mandal (Baroda People's Association) were held in 1930 in Navsari, and in May 1936 in Kathor village near Navsari respectively.<ref name=":GVK" /><ref name="PinkNoblit2017">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gXLbDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA390|title=Second International Handbook of Urban Education|author1=William T. Pink|author2=George W. Noblit|date=6 January 2017|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-40317-5|pages=390–391}}</ref><ref name="Sanghvi1996">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zDRwAAAAMAAJ|title=Gujarat: A Political Analysis|author=Nagindas Sanghvi|publisher=Centre for Social Studies|year=1996|page=126}}</ref> He established an Ashram in Shertha village near Kalol in 1936.<ref name=":GVK" />
He worked for the welfare of farmers, labourers and tribal people. With Indulal Yagnik, he organised a rally of farmers during the Indian National Congress in Haripura in 1938.<ref name=":GVK" />
During his Europe trip, he had met Indian revolutionaries like Madam Cama, Shyamji Krishna Verma and Virendranath Chattopadhyaya. He was arrested and imprisoned in Jalalpore Jail for his participation in the civil disobedience movement. He spent five years in the jails of Sabarmati, Visapur and Nashik for his participation in the independence movement.<ref name=":GVK" />
He wrote an autobiography titled ''Atmakatha'' which was posthumously published in 1971.<ref name="Chavda1982">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIluAAAAMAAJ|title=Modern Gujarat|last=Chavda|first=V. K.|publisher=New Order Book Company|year=1982|pages=52, 62}}</ref><ref name="ThornerPatel2002">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9PsAAAAIAAJ|title=Thinking Social Science in India: Essays in Honour of Alice Thorner|last1=Thorner|first1=Alice|last2=Patel|first2=Sujata|last3=Bagchi|first3=Jasodhara|last4=Raj|first4=Krishna|date=23 May 2002|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-0-7619-9600-2|page=316}}</ref> His other works include ''Samajdarpan'' and ''Hali: Jameenna Gulamo''.<ref name=":0" /> He had described Hali, a form of slavery of the tribals in the latter. He has referred to tribal people as {{Transliteration|gu|Raniparaj}} ({{literal translation|people of the forest}}) in his works.<ref name="ChatterjiGopal1999">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=33sMAQAAMAAJ|title=Towards freedom: documents on the movement for independence in India, 1938|author1=Basudev Chatterji|author2=Sarvepalli Gopal|author3=Indian Council of Historical Research|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0-19-564449-4|page=416}}</ref>
== Death == He died on 15 December 1968.<ref name=":0" />
== See also ==
* List of Gujarati-language writers
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{ Gbooks-author|Sumant B. Mehta}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Sumant}} Category:1877 births Category:1968 deaths Category:19th-century Indian male writers Category:19th-century Indian writers Category:Indian social reformers Category:20th-century Indian male writers Category:20th-century Indian writers Category:Writers from Ahmedabad Category:Indian social workers Category:Indian autobiographers Category:Indian independence activists from Gujarat Category:Gandhians Category:20th-century Indian medical doctors Category:Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester Category:People from Surat Sumant Category:Medical doctors from British India