Vidyagauri Nilkanth
Vidyagauri Nilkanth, 1876-1958, social worker. Born in a. middle class Brahmin family of Ahmedabad, she was the daughter of Gopilal Manilal Dhru, a government servant. She was married at the age of 13 to Ramanbhai Nilkanth whose father was a well known social reformer. She continued her studies even after marriage, and graduated in 1901, being one of the first Gujarati woman graduates. She devoted almost all her life for the uplift and education of women, and was associated with almost every social, educational and cultural institutions of Ahmedabad. She started the Mahila Mandal in 1914 and was the president of All’ India Women’s Conference in 1932-33. She was also the founder-member of Lalshankar Umashankar College for Women. She was awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind medal by the British Government in 1926, which she returned in 1930. She was moderate in politics and was the author of numerous articles on problems of women.
