Manbhai Bhatt
MANBHAI BHATT–THE EXCELLENT EDUCATIONALIST OF BHAVNAGAR CITY
EARLY PRE-INDEPENDENCE SCENARIO OF EDUCATION IN BHAVNAGAR-STATE IN 19th CENTURY
Increase in political stability among the states of Kathiawad, followed by a sense of security among its people can be traced back, when the East India Company acquired the rights to rule Kathiawad (Saurashtra), from Peshwa & Gaikwad rulers, in 1882. The growing environment of peace among the public had enabled the seed of Art & Culture to sprout once again. Thereafter, under the shelter of the popular kings & ministers of Rajkot & Vadhavan (Surendranagar) camps, the priority for public welfare activities became evident and prominent. Thus, a new age began for the cultural development of the people of Kathiawad. In the beginning of the 19th Century, twelve Gujarati primary schools in the villages were established, through the efforts of the former minister of Bhavnagar-state Shri Gaurishankar Oza. Due to the initiative taken by Bhavnagar-state in the field of education, the British Officer Mr. William Lenge noted in the book 'History of Saurashtra' that, "The Sun of Education has risen from Bhavnagar state the same way as the Sun rises in the East". Before the dawn of the Independence of India blossomed, the evolution of girls' education in Bhavnagar-state was at its peak. The sixty-two clusters of villages had compulsory education and every town & village had libraries. Also, there was law and order in the sub-divisions. Also, any disobedience to these norms by the public was a punishable offense. Therefore, in Bhavnagar-state alone : 497 Primary Schools, 7 Sanskrit Schools, 41 Girls' Schools and 41 Night Schools were established. In 1872, Alfred School (Secondary) was established and in 1885 A. V. School (Secondary) in the Bhavnagar city was established, which was the Capital of the Gohilwad Dynasty. Moreover, when the noble minister of Bhavnagar state Shri Shamaldas Mehta expired, the Maharaja of Bhavnagar established Shamaldas College in his memory, in the year 1885.
LATER PRE-INDEPENDENCE SCENARIO OF EDUCATION IN BHAVNAGAR STATE IN 20th CENTURY
Shri Gijubhai Badheka introduced the Montessori system of education in Bhavnagar state. In 1915, he assisted in the establishment of Dakshinamurti (Bala-Bhavan). Shri Nanabhai Bhatt started the Gram Dakshinamurti School in Bhavnagar, in 1930. It was inspired by the thought-patterns (philosophy) of Mahatma Gandhi. This idea of a novel education model, which was different from the conventional education system, became the new base of character-building. It became the treasure of public welfare. On the other hand, through Ghar-Shala School founded in 1939, Shri Harbhai Trivedi implemented the freedom of thoughts in exchange of knowledge, based on the Dart on method. Shri Manbhai Bhatt established the importance of integrated life education from Shishuvihar School, which was started in 1939. He incorporated Gandhian principles in child education. He was tremendously concerned about the under privileged group of people. These four great visionaries turned Bhavnagar into an education hub, enabling millions of students of the region to attain an integrated life- education for the development of their career & life. They can best be regarded as the SOCIAL CHAMPIONS !
Early Life of Shri Manbhai:
Shri Manshankar Bhatt was born in 1908 to Shri Menkba and Shri Narbheshankar Bhatt, who was a Police Officer in the Bhavnagar state. He studied up to 4th standard and later was employed at Bhavnagar Port, where he received daily wages of 25 paise for breaking the coal. During his early childhood days, he lost the shelter of his mother Manekba and was brought up by his grandfather Shri Ambashankar Bhatt. His father Shri Narbheshankar was a radical poet. He used to write poems about British Rule, lavish lifestyle of Indian Kings, blind faith prevalent among the public and duties of a woman. He used to sing these poems under the light of a lantern near the Rupam Chowk of Bhavnagar.
Shri Manbhai in Action:
Manshankar Bhatt had strong conviction about skill-training, since his early childhood days. Therefore in the later years, he gave special importance to skill-training as part of life-education. Thus, in Bhavnagar, a new dimension was added in the area of child education. Due to this admirable addition, the students who were trained by Shishuvihar grew up physically strong and mentally service-oriented. In 1932 Shri Manbhai Bhatt got married to Hiraben at the age of 24 years and also joined the freedom fighting movement while he was working at the Bhavnagar Port. Shri Manbhai had organized more than 50 life-education training camps for 15 days between 1940 and 1960, in which the students were trained in various skills like: hand-pump repairing, changing of the washer of the water tap, stitching of the cloth, tree plantation, masonry work, swimming, cycling, first-aid for accidents and so on.
Saintly Life style of Shri Manbhai:
Shri Manbhai's yard-stick of measuring the life-education through this new dimension enabled the reputation of Bhavnagar to grow as the center of education and social service. Brain-based learning is conventional education, whereas mindful learning is value-education. He distinguished and nurtured these two types of education system and envisioned a brighter life for all. He was popularly called the “Gandhi of Bhavnagar”. He proceeded to the Heavenly Abode in 2002, at the age of 96 years. The famous Ramayan Kathakar, Pujya Shri Morari Bapu, who visits Shishuvihar[1] quite often says that, the social service projects started by Shri Manbhai and his value-based education system at Shishuvihar can be regarded as the SHANTI-NIKETAN of Western India. During his life in Bhavnagar, he promoted projects like Blood Donation, Eye Donation, Body Donation, Red Cross and Saint John Ambulance services. He also established Bharat Scout & Guide Training as well as the Divine Life Society for character-building of the youth. Air-conditioned Burns Ward & Blood Bank which was “the need of the hour” at that time was also set-up by Shri Manbhai. He gave importance to the idea of self-help and so he proposed and dedicated a medium sized organization to develop technical skills, arts & expertise. His lifestyle included wearing simple Khadi clothes with a pair of slippers, traveling by bicycle and having a one-time meal, while he worked tirelessly for Shishuvihar and Bhavnagar. He was a freedom-fighter, but never accepted any pension from the Indian Government. He also established a 29,000 square yards huge playground, for children of different age-groups, without any State Government Aid. An Alumni of Shishuvihar, Shri Mukesh bhai Doshi residing in Mumbai, India calls Manbhai as a Coconut, Hard from the outside and soft on the Inside. Shri Manubhai Pancholi, the famous head of the Lok-Bharati Organization in Gujarat, appreciated Shri Manbhai, saying that, 'There is no other Manbhai in Gujarat. His service to society is matchless'.
References
- ↑ "Welcome to Shishuvihar Trust" (Web page). shishuvihar.org. Shishuvihar Sanstha. 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
This article "Manbhai Bhatt" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Manbhai Bhatt. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
