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Tuesday, December 2, 2025
HomeOpinionGujarat Giants

Gujarat Giants

Indulal Yajnik — beer-drinking ‘fakir’ & nationalist who started anti-Congress politics in Gujarat

Indulal Yajnik’s life was filled with dramatic twists and turns, from working with MK Gandhi to becoming one of the forerunners of anti-Congress politics in Gujarat.

Vithalbhai was supposed to be the nation-builder & Vallabhbhai the family provider

The two brothers developed an understanding: the elder Vithalbhai would devote his time to public service and Vallabhbhai would earn money to support both families.

Karsandas Mulji led & won the most famous fight against Gujarati Vaishnavite leaders in 1862

A Vaishnav himself, Karsandas showed how priests exploited women sexually. It led to the Maharaj Libel Case, the 'greatest trial of modern times since the trial of Warren Hastings'.

Gujarati botanist Jaykrishna Thakar gave plants Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit names. No Latin

Jaykrishna’s extensive collection of botanical samples was displayed to the Viceroy and other guests of the Kutch state and became a source of pride for Gujaratis.

Tribhuvandas K. Gajjar, the Gujarati chemist who cleaned Queen Victoria’s marble statue

Gandhi wrote in Navjivan that only Dr. P.C. Roy and Dr. J.C. Bose could be compared to Gajjar in terms of contributions. However, Gujarat did not remember him fondly.

Gujarati archaeologist Bhagvanlal with little English, lot of Sanskrit helped British read edicts

While this was a noteworthy achievement from an archaeological perspective, it was just a matter of passion for the Gujarati scholar who never thought of archaeology as a career.

Cocaine, Jinnah, films, azan call—Visami Sadi set benchmark for Gujarati photo magazines

Founded and headed by Haji Mohammed Allarakha Shivji, Visami Sadi was published monthly between 1916 and 1920. It's content and visuals remain unparalleled.

Gujarati poet Krishnalal Shridharani’s thesis was ‘gospel’ for American civil rights activists

Shridharani ‘took the mysticism out of Gandhianism and instead provided a Gandhi of pragmatic action or realpolitik.’

Soviet-inspired animal universe that charmed Gujaratis—Hariprasad Vyas’ Bakor Patel stories

Vyas' Bakor Patel stories had catchy Gujarati titles with special typography and drawings; the original black and white sketches bore the signature of Tansukh, an artist from Surat.

Gujarati Dalit Kanjibhai Rathod was Bollywood’s 1st professional director, made 50+ silent films

Kanjibhai Rathod’s film Bhakta Vidur echoed the atmosphere of the Non-cooperation and Khilafat movement in India under MK Gandhi’s leadership.

On Camera

Make Sanchar Saathi removable. Good intentions don’t excuse State overreach

Compulsion magnifies the risk of function creep. Future updates could quietly expand the app’s capabilities or enable background telemetry far beyond users’ expectations.

New cess on ‘pan masala’ to fund national security and healthcare programmes

The Health Security Se National Security Cess Bill, 2025, explained. Oppn has attacked the proposed cess as 'a new financial burden' on the citizens.

After Op Sindoor, India goes in for more Heron Mk IIs; Israel frontrunner for mega MALE drones deal

Order for 87 MALE drones will be split between 2 Indian firms in 64:36 ratio to ensure there are 2 independent manufacturing lines with at least 60% indigenous components.

Gaali cricket: Bavuma stands tall, India’s Test ego cut to size

The India-South Africa series-defining fact is the catastrophic decline of Indian red ball cricket where a visiting team can mock us with the 'grovel' word.