Sharada Behn Mehta
Sharada Behn Mehta, 1882-1970, social and political worker. Born in a well known family of Gujarat, both her father, Gopilal Manilal Dhruv, and her mother, Balaben, were eminent reformers of the day. She got good education, and she and her sister, Vidyaben, were the first two lady graduates of Gujarat (1901). In 1898 she was married to Sumant Misra, and both husband and wife played a remarkable role in the social and political life of Gujarat, since 1921. She worked particularly in the field of women welfare, abolition of caste and untouchability, and against exploitation of woman and child labour. She established the Jyoti Sangh in Ahemdabad in 1934, to look after the welfare of women. She was also active in the national movement. In 1919 she helped in editing Mahatma Gandhi’s paper Navjivan and co-operated with Whitley Commission in studying the condition of the mill workers of Ahmedabad, in 1929. She is also the author of many Gujrati books.
