Hansa Mehta was born on 3rd July, 1897 in Surat. Manubhai Mehta, father of Hansa Mehta were Deewan of Baroda State. Smt. Hansa Mehta did her graduation in Philosophy from Baroda College (now MSU) and studied Journalism and Sociology later from England. Upon her return from England, she served as the President of the ‘Bhagini Samaj’ and played a crucial role during the campaign against Simon Commission and went to jail twice. She also came into close contact with Sarojini Naidu & Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, whom with she joined national movement.
In 1924, she married to Dr. Jivraj Mehta, who were the then Gujarat’s 1st Chief Minister. She organized picketing of shops selling foreign clothes, liquor and participated in other freedom movement activities as per the advice of Mahatma Gandhi. When she managed to spread the message of women freedom in Gujarat, she was sent to jail in 1930 & 1932. She served as a member of Bombay Legislative Council in 1931, where she was the first women to be elected in the council.
Hansa Mehta was vice-chancellor of MSU from 1949 to 1958. In 1958, she became member of Executive Board at UNESCO. She researched and wrote several books on the problems of women and children. She translated some of the Shakespeare’s plays and parts of Valmiki’s Ramayana into Gujarati. She also loved literature & wrote 20 books. In 1958/59, she was also awarded Padma Bhusan.
At the age of 98, Hansa Mehta passed away in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 4th April 1995.
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