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{{short description|Indian activist, educator, and writer (1897–1995)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Hansa Jivraj Mehta
| name = Hansa Jivraj Mehta
| image = HansaJivrajMehtaPic.jpg
| image = HansaJivrajMehtaPic.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1897|07|03|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1897|07|03|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| birth_place = [[Baroda state]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1995|04|04|1897|07|03|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1995|04|04|1897|07|03|df=y}}
| death_place =
| death_place =
| nationality =
| nationality = Indian
| other_names =
| other_names =
| occupation =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| years_active =
| known_for =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| notable_works =
| father = [[Manubhai Mehta]]
| father = [[Manubhai Mehta]]
| spouse = [[Jivraj Narayan Mehta]]
| spouse = [[Jivraj Narayan Mehta]]
}}
}}
'''Hansa Jivraj Mehta''' (3 July 1897 – 4 April 1995)<ref name="Gujarati Vishwakosh">{{cite book |last=Trivedi |first=Shraddha |title=Gujarati Vishwakosh (Gujarati Encyclopedia) |volume=Vol. 15 |year=2002 |location=Ahmedabad |publisher=[[Gujarati Vishwakosh|Gujarati Vishwakosh Trust]] |page=540 |oclc=248968453}}</ref> was a reformist, social activist, educator, independence activist, feminist and writer from [[India]].<ref name=c>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/gandhispassionli00wolp|url-access=registration|title=Gandhi's Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi|first=Stanley|last=Wolpert|page=[https://archive.org/details/gandhispassionli00wolp/page/149 149]|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=5 April 2001|isbn=9780199923922}}</ref><ref name=a>{{cite book|title=Women Role Models: Some Eminent Women of Contemporary India|first=Gouri|last=Srivastava|year=2006|pages=14–16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kfs4Cns3nJIC|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788180693366}}</ref>
'''Hansa Jivraj Mehta''' (3 July 1897 – 4 April 1995)<ref name="Gujarati Vishwakosh">{{cite book |last=Trivedi |first=Shraddha |title=Gujarati Vishwakosh (Gujarati Encyclopedia) |volume=15 |year=2002 |location=Ahmedabad |publisher=[[Gujarati Vishwakosh|Gujarati Vishwakosh Trust]] |page=540 |oclc=248968453}}</ref> was a reformist, social activist, educator, independence activist, feminist and writer from [[India]].<ref name=c>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/gandhispassionli00wolp|url-access=registration|title=Gandhi's Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi|first=Stanley|last=Wolpert|page=[https://archive.org/details/gandhispassionli00wolp/page/149 149]|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=5 April 2001|isbn=9780199923922}}</ref><ref name=a>{{cite book|title=Women Role Models: Some Eminent Women of Contemporary India|first=Gouri|last=Srivastava|year=2006|pages=14–16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kfs4Cns3nJIC|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788180693366}}</ref> She was one of only two women delegates working alongside [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] in the UN [[Human rights commission|Human Rights Commission]] 1946-48 ensuring the wording "all human beings" instead of "all men" in the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adami |first1=Rebecca |title=Women and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York & London |isbn=9780429437939 |pages=63–73 |url=https://www.routledge.com/Women-and-the-Universal-Declaration-of-Human-Rights/Adami/p/book/9780367622787}}</ref>


== Early life ==
== 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]]''.<ref name="Gujarati Vishwakosh"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/gender/hansa-jivraj-mehta-freedom-fighter-reformer-india-has-a-lot-to-thank-her-for-5034322/|title=Hansa Jivraj Mehta: Freedom fighter, reformer; India has a lot to thank her for|date=2018-01-22|work=The Indian Express|access-date=2018-08-23|language=en-US}}</ref>
Hansa Mehta was born in a [[Nagar Brahmin]] family on 3 July 1897 in [[Surat]], now [[Gujarat]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Vatsal |first=Radha |date=2024-05-31 |title=Overlooked No More: Hansa Mehta, Who Fought for Women’s Equality in India and Beyond |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/obituaries/hansa-mehta-overlooked.html |access-date=2024-06-01 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> She was a daughter of [[Manubhai Mehta]], philosophy professor at Baroda College (now [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]])<ref name=":2" /> and later [[Dewan]] of [[Baroda State]], and the granddaughter of [[Nandshankar Mehta]], a headmaster of an English-language school, civil servant, and the author of the first Gujarati novel ''[[Karan Ghelo]]''.<ref name="Gujarati Vishwakosh"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/gender/hansa-jivraj-mehta-freedom-fighter-reformer-india-has-a-lot-to-thank-her-for-5034322/|title=Hansa Jivraj Mehta: Freedom fighter, reformer; India has a lot to thank her for|date=2018-01-22|work=The Indian Express|access-date=2018-08-23|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Her mother was Harshadagauri Mehta.<ref name=":2" />


She graduated with Philosophy in 1918. She studied journalism and sociology in England. In 1918, she met [[Sarojini Naidu]] and later [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in 1922.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
Mehta studied at an all-girls high school at a time when, she estimated, only 2 percent of Indian women were literate.<ref name=":2" /> She graduated with Philosophy in 1918. She studied journalism and sociology in England. In 1918, she met [[Sarojini Naidu]] during her education in England. Naidu would act as a mentor and brought her to the 1920 [[International Alliance of Women|International Woman Suffrage Alliance]] conference in [[Geneva]].<ref name=":2" /> She met [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in 1922 while he was in jail in India.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> In 1923, Mehta came to the [[United States]] to visit institutions for higher education where she learned about women's education in America.<ref name=":2" /> In 1930, she encountered Gandhi again when he called for women to join the freedom movement.<ref name=":2" />


She was married to [[Jivraj Narayan Mehta]], an eminent [[physician]] and [[Administrator of the Government|administrator]].
She was married to [[Jivraj Narayan Mehta]], an eminent [[physician]] and [[Administrator of the Government|administrator]] who was the first [[Chief Minister of Gujarat]] and eventually the Indian high commissioner to the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name=":2" />

She was expelled from the Nagar Brahmin caste for her marriage to Jivraj Mehta.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adami |first=Rebecca |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Women_and_the_Universal_Declaration_of_H/dnd0DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=hansa+jivraj+mehta+excommunicated+caste&pg=PT104&printsec=frontcover |title=Women and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2018}}</ref>


== Career ==
== Career ==


=== Politics, education and activism ===
=== 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 [[Mahatma Gandhi]]. She was even arrested and sent to jail by the [[British Raj|British]] along with her husband in 1932. Later she was elected to [[Bombay Legislative Council]].<ref name="c" />
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 Gandhi. For this she was jailed three times.<ref name=":2" /> Later She established Desh Sevika Dal in 1930. She was even arrested and sent to jail by the [[British Raj|British]] along with her husband in 1932. she was elected to [[Bombay Legislative Council]].<ref name="c" />


After independence, she was among the 15 women who were part of the [[Constituent Assembly of India|constituent assembly]] that drafted the [[Indian Constitution]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/dLi6ZIdW6CgswZCGdOA9VM/The-women-who-helped-draft-our-constitution.html|title=The women who helped draft our constitution|last=Ravichandran|first=Priyadarshini|date=13 March 2016|work=Mint|access-date=November 6, 2017}}</ref> She was a member of the Advisory Committee and Sub Committee on Fundamental Rights.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cadindia.clpr.org.in/constituent_assembly_members/hansa_jivraj_mehta|title=CADIndia|website=cadindia.clpr.org.in|access-date=2018-01-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331155544/http://cadindia.clpr.org.in/constituent_assembly_members/hansa_jivraj_mehta|archive-date=31 March 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> She advocated for equality and justice for women in India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cadindia.clpr.org.in/search|title=CADIndia|website=cadindia.clpr.org.in|access-date=2018-01-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425030845/https://cadindia.clpr.org.in/search|archive-date=25 April 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/denial-of-rights/article8523523.ece|title=Denial of rights|last=RAJU|first=M. P.|website=Frontline|language=en|access-date=2019-12-14}}</ref>
After independence, she was among the 15 women who were part of the [[Constituent Assembly of India|constituent assembly]] that drafted the [[Indian Constitution]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/dLi6ZIdW6CgswZCGdOA9VM/The-women-who-helped-draft-our-constitution.html|title=The women who helped draft our constitution|last=Ravichandran|first=Priyadarshini|date=13 March 2016|work=Mint|access-date=November 6, 2017}}</ref> She lobbied for civil code that would lead to gender equality, meant to eventually supercede religious laws.<ref name=":2" /> She was a member of the Advisory Committee and Sub Committee on Fundamental Rights.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cadindia.clpr.org.in/constituent_assembly_members/hansa_jivraj_mehta|title=CADIndia|website=cadindia.clpr.org.in|access-date=2018-01-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331155544/http://cadindia.clpr.org.in/constituent_assembly_members/hansa_jivraj_mehta|archive-date=31 March 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> She advocated for equality and justice for women in India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cadindia.clpr.org.in/search|title=CADIndia|website=cadindia.clpr.org.in|access-date=2018-01-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425030845/https://cadindia.clpr.org.in/search|archive-date=25 April 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/denial-of-rights/article8523523.ece|title=Denial of rights|last=RAJU|first=M. P.|website=Frontline|date=27 April 2016 |language=en|access-date=2019-12-14}}</ref>


Hansa was elected to Bombay Schools Committee in 1926 and became president of [[All India Women's Conference]] in 1945–46. In her presidential address at the All India Women's Conference convention held in [[Hyderabad]], 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]], member of All India Secondary Board of Education, president of Inter University Board of India and vice-chancellor of [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]],<ref name=":1" /> among others.
Mehta was elected to Bombay Schools Committee in 1926 and founded,<ref name=":2" /> and later became president of [[All India Women's Conference]] in 1945–46. In her presidential address at the All India Women's Conference convention held in [[Hyderabad]], she proposed a Charter of Women's Rights, where she linked the struggle for Indian independence with the one for women's rights.<ref name=":2" /> As one of three women who drafted the charter, she included the affirmation that women have equal rights in areas such as access to education, suffrage, pay, and property. She also rejected special quotas, instead advocating for an even playing field betwen women and men.<ref name=":2" /> In 1946, the panel eventually became the U.N Commission on the Status of Women.<ref name=":2" /> She held different posts in India from 1945 to 1960 - the vice-chancellor of [[SNDT Women's University]], member of All India Secondary Board of Education, president of Inter University Board of India and vice-chancellor of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,<ref name=":1" /> 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]] in 1947–48, she was responsible for changing the language of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] from "[[all men are created equal]]" ([[Eleanor Roosevelt|Eleanor Roosevelt’s]] preferred phrase) to "all human beings",<ref>{{cite book|last=Jain|first=Devaki|title=Women, Development and the UN|url=https://archive.org/details/womendevelopment00jain|url-access=limited|year=2005|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington|page=[https://archive.org/details/womendevelopment00jain/page/n46 20]}}</ref> highlighting the need for [[gender equality]].<ref>http://www.un.int/india/india%20&%20un/humanrights.pdf {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112084212/http://www.un.int/india/india%20%26%20un/humanrights.pdf |date=12 January 2014 }}</ref> Hansa later went on to become the vice chairman of the [[Human Rights Commission of the United Nations]] in 1950. She was also a member of the Executive Board of [[UNESCO]].<ref name=a/><ref>{{cite book|title=Contemporary art in Baroda|year=1997|page=267|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jL6fAAAAMAAJ|first=Belinder|last=Dhanoa|publisher=Tulika|isbn=9788185229041}}</ref>
Mehta represented India on the Nuclear Sub-Committee on the status of women in 1946. As the Indian delegate on the [[UN Human Rights Commission]] in 1947–48, she was responsible for changing the language of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] from "all men are born free and equal" to "all human beings are born free and equal",<ref>{{cite book|last=Jain|first=Devaki|title=Women, Development and the UN|url=https://archive.org/details/womendevelopment00jain|url-access=limited|year=2005|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington|page=[https://archive.org/details/womendevelopment00jain/page/n46 20]}}</ref> highlighting the need for [[gender equality]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.un.int/india/india%20&%20un/humanrights.pdf |title= |website=www.un.int |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112084212/http://www.un.int/india/india%20%26%20un/humanrights.pdf |archive-date=12 January 2014}}</ref> While Roosevelt asserted that the use of the word "men" was “generally accepted to include all human beings,” Mehta insisted that the lanugage should be changed.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vatsal |first=Radha |date=2024-05-31 |title=Overlooked No More: Hansa Mehta, Who Fought for Women’s Equality in India and Beyond |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/obituaries/hansa-mehta-overlooked.html |access-date=2024-07-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Mehta later went on to become the vice chairman of the [[Human Rights Commission of the United Nations]] in 1950. She was also a member of the executive board of [[UNESCO]].<ref name=a/><ref>{{cite book|title=Contemporary art in Baroda|year=1997|page=267|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jL6fAAAAMAAJ|first=Belinder|last=Dhanoa|publisher=Tulika|isbn=9788185229041}}</ref>

From 1946 to 1948, Mehta served as the vice chancellor of the [[SNDT Women's University|Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University]], and from 1949 to 1958 as the vice chancellor of the University of Baroda, making her the first woman to act in that role at an Indian co-educational university.<ref name=":2" /> The U.N. holds a discussion series in her name, the Dr. Hansa Mehta Dialogue. The first installement took place in 2021 and centered on women's economic empowerment following the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. The series aims to raise global awareness and conversation about gender equality, women's, and human rights.<ref name=":2" />


=== Literary career ===
=== Literary career ===
She wrote several children's books in [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] including ''Arunnu Adbhut Swapna'' (1934), ''Bablana Parakramo'' (1929), ''Balvartavali'' Part 1-2 (1926, 1929). She translated some books of ''[[Valmiki]] [[Ramayana]]'': [[Araṇya-Kāṇḍa|Aranyakanda]], [[Balakanda]] and [[Sundara Kanda|Sundarakanda]]. She translated many English stories, including ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]''. She had also adapted some plays of [[Shakespeare]]. Her essays were collected and published as ''Ketlak Lekho'' (1978).<ref name="c" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=વીસમી સદીનું ગુજરાતી નારીલેખન|last=|first=|publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]]|year=2005|isbn=8126020350|editor-last=Chaudhari|editor-first=Raghuveer|editor-link=Raghuveer Chaudhari|edition=1st|location=New Delhi|pages=350|language=gu|trans-title=20 Century Women's Writing's in Gujarati|chapter=લેખિકા-પરિચય|trans-chapter=Introduction of Women Writers|oclc=70200087|editor-last2=Dalal|editor-first2=Anila|editor-link2=Anila Dalal}}</ref>
Mehta wrote several children's books in [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] including ''Arunnu Adbhut Swapna'' (1934), ''Bablana Parakramo'' (1929), ''Balvartavali'' Part 1-2 (1926, 1929). She translated some books of ''[[Valmiki]] [[Ramayana]]'': [[Araṇya-Kāṇḍa|Aranyakanda]], [[Balakanda]] and [[Sundara Kanda|Sundarakanda]]. She translated many English stories, including ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]''. She had also adapted some plays of [[Shakespeare]]. Her essays were collected and published as ''Ketlak Lekho'' (1978).<ref name="c" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=વીસમી સદીનું ગુજરાતી નારીલેખન|publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]]|year=2005|isbn=8126020350|editor-last=Chaudhari|editor-first=Raghuveer|editor-link=Raghuveer Chaudhari|edition=1st|location=New Delhi|pages=350|language=gu|trans-title=20 Century Women's Writing's in Gujarati|chapter=લેખિકા-પરિચય|trans-chapter=Introduction of Women Writers|oclc=70200087|editor-last2=Dalal|editor-first2=Anila|editor-link2=Anila Dalal}}</ref>


== Bibliography ==
== Bibliography ==
Line 49: Line 54:


* ''Traṇa nāṭako''. (1926). Mumbaī : Haṃsā Mhetā {{oclc|41051797}}
* ''Traṇa nāṭako''. (1926). Mumbaī : Haṃsā Mhetā {{oclc|41051797}}
* Mehta, Hansa ; Swift, Jonathan. ''Goḷībāranī musāpharī''. Vaḍodarā : Bālajīvana Kāryālaya (1931) {{oclc|38143737}}
* Mehta, Hansa; Swift, Jonathan. ''Goḷībāranī musāpharī''. Vaḍodarā : Bālajīvana Kāryālaya (1931) {{oclc|38143737}}
* ''Rukmiṇī''. (1933). Vaḍodarā : Ārya Sudhāraka Presa {{oclc|38146975}} {{in lang|gu}}
* ''Rukmiṇī''. (1933). Vaḍodarā : Ārya Sudhāraka Presa {{oclc|38146975}} {{in lang|gu}}
* ''Aruṇanuṃ adbhuta svapna''. (1934). Mumbaī : Haṃsā Mahetā {{oclc|34302217}}
* ''Aruṇanuṃ adbhuta svapna''. (1934). Mumbaī : Haṃsā Mahetā {{oclc|34302217}}
Line 56: Line 61:
* ''Himālaya svarūpa ane bījaṃ nāṭako''. Śishṭa.
* ''Himālaya svarūpa ane bījaṃ nāṭako''. Śishṭa.
* Mehta, Hansa. ''Trana natako ane bijam'' [Three plays and so on]. (1956). {{oclc|83589713}}
* Mehta, Hansa. ''Trana natako ane bijam'' [Three plays and so on]. (1956). {{oclc|83589713}}
* Mehta, Hansa ; Cimanalāla, Candravadana ; Sitāṃśu, Yaśaścandra. ''Keṭalāka lekha''. Mumbaī : Phārbasa Gujarātī Sabhā (1977) {{oclc|40562864}}
* Mehta, Hansa; Cimanalāla, Candravadana; Sitāṃśu, Yaśaścandra. ''Keṭalāka lekha''. Mumbaī : Phārbasa Gujarātī Sabhā (1977) {{oclc|40562864}}
* Mehta, Hansa ; Collodi, Carlo. ''Bavlana prakramo'' [Brave feats] Rajkot : Pravin Rajkot (1993) {{oclc|59900007}}
* Mehta, Hansa; Collodi, Carlo. ''Bavlana prakramo'' [Brave feats] Rajkot : Pravin Rajkot (1993) {{oclc|59900007}}
* Mehta, Hansa. ''Ram Katha''. [The story of Ram] (1993). Delhi : National Book Trust. {{oclc|60101616}} {{in lang|hi}}
* Mehta, Hansa. ''Ram Katha''. [The story of Ram] (1993). Delhi : National Book Trust. {{oclc|60101616}} {{in lang|hi}}
* Mehta, Hansa. ''Ayotiyin iḷavarasan''. (2004). Delhi : National Book Trust. {{ISBN|978-81-237-4211-3}} {{oclc|226217889}} {{in lang|ta}}
* Mehta, Hansa. ''Ayotiyin iḷavarasan''. (2004). Delhi : National Book Trust. {{ISBN|978-81-237-4211-3}} {{oclc|226217889}} {{in lang|ta}}
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* ''Post-war educational reconstruction: with special reference to women's education in India''. (----) Bombay : Pratibha {{oclc|48328021}}
* ''Post-war educational reconstruction: with special reference to women's education in India''. (----) Bombay : Pratibha {{oclc|48328021}}
* ''The Woman under the Hindu Law of Marriage & Succession''. (1944). p.52, Bombay : Pratibha Publications. {{oclc|752614477}}
* ''The Woman under the Hindu Law of Marriage & Succession''. (1944). p.&nbsp;52, Bombay : Pratibha Publications. {{oclc|752614477}}
* Hansa, Mehta. (ed.) "Civil liberties". (1945). for the ''All-India Women's Conference'', Aundh : Aundh Pub. Trust, {{oclc|62614613}}
* Hansa, Mehta. (ed.) "Civil liberties". (1945). for the ''All-India Women's Conference'', Aundh : Aundh Pub. Trust, {{oclc|62614613}}
* ''Indian woman''. (1981). New Delhi : Butala {{oclc|987877729}} {{in lang|en}}
* ''Indian woman''. (1981). New Delhi : Butala {{oclc|987877729}} {{in lang|en}}
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'''into English'''
'''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. {{oclc|503783112}}
* 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. {{oclc|503783112}}
** Mehta, Hansa ; Shukla, V. K. ''Adventures of King Vikrama''. (1954) London : Oxford Univ. Press, {{oclc|551829319}}
** Mehta, Hansa; Shukla, V. K. ''Adventures of King Vikrama''. (1954) London : Oxford Univ. Press, {{oclc|551829319}}
* Sarma, D.S. ; Mehta, Hansa. ''The prince of Ayodhya''. New Delhi : National Book Trust, India : Chief stockists in India, Thomson Press (India) (1974). {{oclc|7609419}} {{in lang|en}}
* Sarma, D.S.; Mehta, Hansa. ''The prince of Ayodhya''. New Delhi : National Book Trust, India : Chief stockists in India, Thomson Press (India) (1974). {{oclc|7609419}} {{in lang|en}}

* ''Une femme d'aujourd'hui: roman''. (1966). Paris : Albin Michel. {{oclc|58992586}} {{in lang|fr}}
* ''Une femme d'aujourd'hui: roman''. (1966). Paris : Albin Michel. {{oclc|58992586}} {{in lang|fr}}


==Awards==
==Awards==
Hansa Mehta was awarded the [[Padma Bhushan]] in 1959.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.indianautographs.com/productdetail-125454.html | title=Hansa Jivraj Mehta | publisher=Praful Thakkar's Thematic Gallery of Indian Autographs | accessdate=19 June 2016 }}</ref>
Hansa Mehta was awarded the [[Padma Bhushan]] in 1959.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.indianautographs.com/productdetail-125454.html | title=Hansa Jivraj Mehta | publisher=Praful Thakkar's Thematic Gallery of Indian Autographs | access-date=19 June 2016 }}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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Revision as of 08:55, 19 July 2024

Hansa Jivraj Mehta
Born(1897-07-03)3 July 1897
Baroda state
Died4 April 1995(1995-04-04) (aged 97)
NationalityIndian
SpouseJivraj Narayan Mehta
FatherManubhai Mehta

Hansa Jivraj Mehta (3 July 1897 – 4 April 1995)[1] was a reformist, social activist, educator, independence activist, feminist and writer from India.[2][3] She was one of only two women delegates working alongside Eleanor Roosevelt in the UN Human Rights Commission 1946-48 ensuring the wording "all human beings" instead of "all men" in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[4]

Early life

Hansa Mehta was born in a Nagar Brahmin family on 3 July 1897 in Surat, now Gujarat.[5] She was a daughter of Manubhai Mehta, philosophy professor at Baroda College (now Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda)[5] and later Dewan of Baroda State, and the granddaughter of Nandshankar Mehta, a headmaster of an English-language school, civil servant, and the author of the first Gujarati novel Karan Ghelo.[1][6][5] Her mother was Harshadagauri Mehta.[5]

Mehta studied at an all-girls high school at a time when, she estimated, only 2 percent of Indian women were literate.[5] She graduated with Philosophy in 1918. She studied journalism and sociology in England. In 1918, she met Sarojini Naidu during her education in England. Naidu would act as a mentor and brought her to the 1920 International Woman Suffrage Alliance conference in Geneva.[5] She met Mahatma Gandhi in 1922 while he was in jail in India.[6][7][5] In 1923, Mehta came to the United States to visit institutions for higher education where she learned about women's education in America.[5] In 1930, she encountered Gandhi again when he called for women to join the freedom movement.[5]

She was married to Jivraj Narayan Mehta, an eminent physician and administrator who was the first Chief Minister of Gujarat and eventually the Indian high commissioner to the United Kingdom.[5]

She was expelled from the Nagar Brahmin caste for her marriage to Jivraj Mehta.[8]

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 Gandhi. For this she was jailed three times.[5] Later She established Desh Sevika Dal in 1930. She was even arrested and sent to jail by the British along with her husband in 1932. she was elected to Bombay Legislative Council.[2]

After independence, she was among the 15 women who were part of the constituent assembly that drafted the Indian Constitution.[9] She lobbied for civil code that would lead to gender equality, meant to eventually supercede religious laws.[5] She was a member of the Advisory Committee and Sub Committee on Fundamental Rights.[10] She advocated for equality and justice for women in India.[11][6][12]

Mehta was elected to Bombay Schools Committee in 1926 and founded,[5] and later became president of All India Women's Conference in 1945–46. In her presidential address at the All India Women's Conference convention held in Hyderabad, she proposed a Charter of Women's Rights, where she linked the struggle for Indian independence with the one for women's rights.[5] As one of three women who drafted the charter, she included the affirmation that women have equal rights in areas such as access to education, suffrage, pay, and property. She also rejected special quotas, instead advocating for an even playing field betwen women and men.[5] In 1946, the panel eventually became the U.N Commission on the Status of Women.[5] She held different posts in India from 1945 to 1960 - the vice-chancellor of SNDT Women's University, member of All India Secondary Board of Education, president of Inter University Board of India and vice-chancellor of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,[7] among others.

Mehta represented India on the Nuclear Sub-Committee on the status of women in 1946. As the Indian delegate on the UN Human Rights Commission in 1947–48, she was responsible for changing the language of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from "all men are born free and equal" to "all human beings are born free and equal",[13] highlighting the need for gender equality.[14] While Roosevelt asserted that the use of the word "men" was “generally accepted to include all human beings,” Mehta insisted that the lanugage should be changed.[15] Mehta later went on to become the vice chairman of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations in 1950. She was also a member of the executive board of UNESCO.[3][16]

From 1946 to 1948, Mehta served as the vice chancellor of the Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University, and from 1949 to 1958 as the vice chancellor of the University of Baroda, making her the first woman to act in that role at an Indian co-educational university.[5] The U.N. holds a discussion series in her name, the Dr. Hansa Mehta Dialogue. The first installement took place in 2021 and centered on women's economic empowerment following the COVID-19 pandemic. The series aims to raise global awareness and conversation about gender equality, women's, and human rights.[5]

Literary career

Mehta wrote several children's books in Gujarati including Arunnu Adbhut Swapna (1934), Bablana Parakramo (1929), Balvartavali Part 1-2 (1926, 1929). She translated some books of Valmiki Ramayana: Aranyakanda, Balakanda and Sundarakanda. She translated many English stories, including Gulliver's Travels. She had also adapted some plays of Shakespeare. Her essays were collected and published as Ketlak Lekho (1978).[2][7]

Bibliography

In Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil

  • Traṇa nāṭako. (1926). Mumbaī : Haṃsā Mhetā OCLC 41051797
  • Mehta, Hansa; Swift, Jonathan. Goḷībāranī musāpharī. Vaḍodarā : Bālajīvana Kāryālaya (1931) OCLC 38143737
  • Rukmiṇī. (1933). Vaḍodarā : Ārya Sudhāraka Presa OCLC 38146975 (in Gujarati)
  • Aruṇanuṃ adbhuta svapna. (1934). Mumbaī : Haṃsā Mahetā OCLC 34302217
    • Mehta, S. Haṅsa. (1950). Arunnanu adbhuta svapṅa. Ahmedabad, India : Gujar Granth Ratna Karyalaya OCLC 798280350
  • Bāḷavārtāvali [Bacchanal]. (1939). Mumbaī : Sola ejaṇṭa, Śishṭa Sāhitya Bhaṇḍāra OCLC 37520092
  • Himālaya svarūpa ane bījaṃ nāṭako. Śishṭa.
  • Mehta, Hansa. Trana natako ane bijam [Three plays and so on]. (1956). OCLC 83589713
  • Mehta, Hansa; Cimanalāla, Candravadana; Sitāṃśu, Yaśaścandra. Keṭalāka lekha. Mumbaī : Phārbasa Gujarātī Sabhā (1977) OCLC 40562864
  • Mehta, Hansa; Collodi, Carlo. Bavlana prakramo [Brave feats] Rajkot : Pravin Rajkot (1993) OCLC 59900007
  • Mehta, Hansa. Ram Katha. [The story of Ram] (1993). Delhi : National Book Trust. OCLC 60101616 (in Hindi)
  • Mehta, Hansa. Ayotiyin iḷavarasan. (2004). Delhi : National Book Trust. ISBN 978-81-237-4211-3 OCLC 226217889 (in Tamil)

In English

  • Post-war educational reconstruction: with special reference to women's education in India. (----) Bombay : Pratibha OCLC 48328021
  • The Woman under the Hindu Law of Marriage & Succession. (1944). p. 52, Bombay : Pratibha Publications. OCLC 752614477
  • Hansa, Mehta. (ed.) "Civil liberties". (1945). for the All-India Women's Conference, Aundh : Aundh Pub. Trust, OCLC 62614613
  • Indian woman. (1981). New Delhi : Butala OCLC 987877729 (in English)

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. OCLC 503783112
    • Mehta, Hansa; Shukla, V. K. Adventures of King Vikrama. (1954) London : Oxford Univ. Press, OCLC 551829319
  • Sarma, D.S.; Mehta, Hansa. The prince of Ayodhya. New Delhi : National Book Trust, India : Chief stockists in India, Thomson Press (India) (1974). OCLC 7609419 (in English)
  • Une femme d'aujourd'hui: roman. (1966). Paris : Albin Michel. OCLC 58992586 (in French)

Awards

Hansa Mehta was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1959.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Trivedi, Shraddha (2002). Gujarati Vishwakosh (Gujarati Encyclopedia). Vol. 15. Ahmedabad: Gujarati Vishwakosh Trust. p. 540. OCLC 248968453.
  2. ^ a b c Wolpert, Stanley (5 April 2001). Gandhi's Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. Oxford University Press. p. 149. ISBN 9780199923922.
  3. ^ a b Srivastava, Gouri (2006). Women Role Models: Some Eminent Women of Contemporary India. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 14–16. ISBN 9788180693366.
  4. ^ Adami, Rebecca (2019). Women and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. New York & London: Routledge. pp. 63–73. ISBN 9780429437939.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Vatsal, Radha (31 May 2024). "Overlooked No More: Hansa Mehta, Who Fought for Women's Equality in India and Beyond". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Hansa Jivraj Mehta: Freedom fighter, reformer; India has a lot to thank her for". The Indian Express. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Chaudhari, Raghuveer; Dalal, Anila, eds. (2005). "લેખિકા-પરિચય" [Introduction of Women Writers]. વીસમી સદીનું ગુજરાતી નારીલેખન [20 Century Women's Writing's in Gujarati] (in Gujarati) (1st ed.). New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 350. ISBN 8126020350. OCLC 70200087.
  8. ^ Adami, Rebecca (2018). Women and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Taylor & Francis.
  9. ^ Ravichandran, Priyadarshini (13 March 2016). "The women who helped draft our constitution". Mint. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  10. ^ "CADIndia". cadindia.clpr.org.in. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  11. ^ "CADIndia". cadindia.clpr.org.in. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  12. ^ RAJU, M. P. (27 April 2016). "Denial of rights". Frontline. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  13. ^ Jain, Devaki (2005). Women, Development and the UN. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 20.
  14. ^ www.un.int https://web.archive.org/web/20140112084212/http://www.un.int/india/india%20%26%20un/humanrights.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ^ Vatsal, Radha (31 May 2024). "Overlooked No More: Hansa Mehta, Who Fought for Women's Equality in India and Beyond". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  16. ^ Dhanoa, Belinder (1997). Contemporary art in Baroda. Tulika. p. 267. ISBN 9788185229041.
  17. ^ "Hansa Jivraj Mehta". Praful Thakkar's Thematic Gallery of Indian Autographs. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
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