Diwan-Ballubhai School

Divan Ballubhai School
Guru Dakhshina Bhavan in Divan Ballubhai School, Kankaria.
Location
Maninagar Ahmedabad, Gujarat India
Coordinates	23°00′41″N 72°36′00″E / 23.011358°N 72.600111°E / 23.011358; 72.600111
Information
Motto	तमसोमा ज्योतिर् गमया (From darkness lead me to light)
Founded	6 January 1908
Founder	Shri Jivanlal Diwan, Shri Balvantray Thakore
Affiliations	Gujarat State Education Board and Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board
Website	http://www.divanballubhai.edu.in

Divan-Ballubhai School is a school in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Established in 1908 with 102 students on the roll it is one of the oldest schools in the city. Divan Ballubhai school has two campuses in the Maninagar and Paldi areas of Ahmedabad. Divan Ballubhai school offers education from Nursery to 12th Standard. The school celebrated its 100th anniversary on 6 January 2008.

The founders of Proprietary High School (renamed Divan-Ballubhai Madhyamik Shala in 1952) Shree Jivanlal Divan and Shree Balvantrai P. Thakore (better known as Ballubhai) felt hurt when their wards were denied admissions in a government school, even though both of them were working as teachers in the same school. So they resigned from the service and decided to start a school of their own. As they would not accept any aid from the government, they named the school “Proprietary High School”, which started functioning on 6 January 1908 with 102 students. The school was housed in a building in Maskati Market. With the increasing number of students, the building was found to be too small so the school was shifted to a more spacious building near Three Gates in 1912. With the persistent demand for more rent by the owner, Shree Divan and Shree Ballubhai decided to have a building of their own and in 1938 the school was shifted to its present site in Kankaria area.

With the passing of the Rowlett Act in 1918, Mahatma Gandhiji started a non-cooperation movement and both Shree Divan and Shree Ballubhai joined the movement. So they cut all relations with Bombay University and sought affiliation with Gujarat Vidhapith, a national university founded by Mahatma Gandhi. As this university was not a statutory university, the number of students in the school decreased day by day. Even the senior teachers of the school resigned and started rival institution. Feeling nervous, they consulted Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on whose advice they again affiliated the school with Bombay University.

In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi started Salt Satyagraha and marched the Dandi to break the law. Both Shree Divan and Shree Ballubhai joined the Satyagraha and courted jail Lest their property be attached by way of fine imposed on them, they decided to give up their ownership rights of the school to a public trust named The Proprietary High School Trust in 1931. Shree Ballubhai handed over the trust deed to Gandhiji in a public meeting on the banks of river Sabarmati. Since then all the schools are managed by this trust.

In 1939, Shree Ballubhai Thakore died and the demise of his lifelong friend was too hard a blow to Shree Divan to bear. As a result of which he suffered from stroke. The management of the school asked Shree Thakorbhai S. Thakore, a senior teacher to help Shree Divan to look after the management of the school. Shree Divan, despite his delicate health continued to attend the school till his death in 1952. To perpetuate the memory of both the founders, the Trustees of the school renamed it “ Divan Ballubhai Madhyamik Shala.”