Prabhashankar Pattani

Sir Prabhashankar Dalpatram Pattani
Sir Prabhashankar Pattani in 1923, Made by Bassano. Taken from National Portrait Gallery, London
Born	(1862-04-15)15 April 1862 Morbi, Morvi State, Kathiawar Agency, British Raj (now Morbi, Gujarat, India)
Died	16 February 1938(1938-02-16) (aged 75) Bhavnagar, Bhavnagar State, Western India States Agency, British Raj (now Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India)
Alma mater	Kathiawar High School, Rajkot
Known for	Prime minister of Bhavnagar State
Spouse(s)	Kunki, Rama

Sir Prabhashankar Dalpatram Pattani KCIE (Gujarati: સર પ્રભાશંકર પટ્ટણી) (15 April 1862 – 16 February 1938) was the Prime Minister or Diwan of Bhavnagar State in Gujarat. He was born in a Nagar Brahmin family in 1862 in Morbi. He was known for his forthrightness, diplomacy, and noble character. He was also a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi.

Prabhashankar completed Gujarati 7 standards and went to Rajkot to complete his study. He was ranked first in the entire Kathiavar peninsula. He married the daughter of Ayurveda Doctor Zandu Bhatt. Once, one of Prabhashankar's in-laws criticized his financial situation and said he did not deserve to use the Bhatt family name due to his low comparatively income. Prabhashankar then changed his surname from Bhatt to Pattani to show self-respect.

Prabhashankar joined a medical college in Mumbai to become a doctor. However, his health deteriorated and he had to leave the study and come back to Gujarat. After doing a few small jobs, he secured a tutoring job in Rajkumar College, Rajkot. During Prabhashankar's time of study, Bhavnagar's prince Bhavsinhji II was also studying at Rajkumar College. Prabhashankar was appointed the designated tutor for Bhavsinhji II. They both shared a very good relationship during their stay. Prabhashankar not only helped the prince financially whenever he required some extra money, he also nurtured his nature and helped him overcome his anger. Once Bhavsinghji became king of Bhavangar state, he requested Prabhashankar to become prime minister of the state. However, Prabhashankar didn't want to oust the incumbent prime minister and joined the state as secretary of the king. He became prime minister in 1903. He remained on various posts in Bhavnagar state until his death in 1938.

Prabhashankar valued good education and helped many students from Bhavnagar state and other states with scholarships to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.