Vidyagauri Nilkanth Biography 
Vidyagauri Nilkanth was a Gujarati writer, social reformer and educationist, who lived during the period, 1 June 1876 - 7 December 1958. She was the wife of Ramanbhai Nilkanth, a Gujarati novelist, essayist and politician. The couple had one daughter - Vinodini Nilkanth who was a writer and academic. Thus her family had many prolific writers of 20th century. She along with her sister, Sharda Mehta became the first two women graduates in Gujarat. She was a founder member of the All India Women's Conference in Ahmedabad. Her name is associated with the uplift of women.
Vidyagauri Nilkanth was born on 1 June 1876 in Ahmedabad, present-day Ahmedabad. Her father was a judicial officer, whose name was Gopilal Dhruva. Balaben was her mother. She completed her matriculation and graduation only after marriage, and received good support from her husband. She graduated from Gujarat College with a Bachelor of Arts in 1901, where she majored moral philosophy and logic. At that time higher studies were restricted for women in India’s conservative society. Vidyagauri Nilkanth, along with her sister Sharda created history by becoming the first two women graduates in Gujarat.
Since young she was involved in social work, and was interested most in women empowerment. She dedicated her life for the uplift of women. She started tailoring classes for poor Muslim women, and arranged adult educational classes and also various activities for the War Relief Fund during World War I. It was Nilkanth who started the Ahmedabad branch of the All India Women's Conference. She was also the founder of Lalshanker Umia Shanker Mahila Pathshala. She also contributed columns to women magazines.
Published: January 10, 2019
Updated: January 10, 2019
