Virchand Gandhi
| Virchand Gandhi | |
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Virchand Gandhi
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| Native name | વીરચંદ રાઘવ ગાંધી |
| Born |
25 August 1864 Mahuva, Gujarat |
| Died | 7 August 1901 (aged 36) Mahuwar, near Mumbai, India |
| Education | B.A.(Law) |
| Alma mater | University of Bombay |
| Occupation | Lawyer, scholar on Jainism |
| Known for | Representing Jainism at the first World Parliament of Religions, Chicago 1893 |
| Children | Mohandas Gandhi |
| Parent(s) | Raghav Tejpal Gandhi |
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Virachand Raghavji Gandhi (Gujarati: વીરચંદ ગાંધી; Hindi: वीरचंद गाँधी) (25 August 1864 – 7 August 1901) was a Jain scholar who represented Jainism at the first World Parliament of Religions in 1893. A barrister by profession, he worked to defend the rights of Jains, and wrote and lectured extensively on Jainism, other religions, and philosophy.
Gandhi was born on 25 August 1864 in Mahuva near Bhavnagar (now in Gujarat, India), to Mahuva Nagar Sheth and Raghavji Tejpalji Gandhi. His father, Raghavji, was a businessman. After completing primary and secondary school in Mahuva, Gandhi was sent to Bhavnagar for further studies. In 1879, Gandhi married Jiviben. At the age of sixteen, upon placing first on the Bhavanagar matriculation examination, he was awarded the ‘Shri Jaswant Singhji’ scholarship. Gandhi continued his education at Elphinstone College, of the University of Bombay. He graduated with honors in 1884, having earned a bachelor's degree in law. Gandhi was a polyglot who spoke fourteen languages, including Gujarati, Hindi, Bengali, English, Prakrit, Sanskrit, and French. Gandhi was a friend of Mahatma Gandhi, and joined Mahatma in his "experiments in dietetics" (vegetarianism). Virchand helped Mahatma in the latter's struggle to establish a legal practice.
In 1885, at the age of 21, he became the first honorary secretary of the Jain Association of India. During his term, he fought against a tax being levied by the ruler of Princely State of Palitana on pilgrims visiting Mount Shatrunjaya, Palitana. During the course of this fight Gandhi met Lord Reay, the British colonial governor of Bombay, and Colonel John Watson of the Kathiawar Agency. With the help of these two individuals, he ultimately negotiated an annual fixed payment of Rs. 15000, rather than an individual tax on each pilgrim. Gandhi also fought to close a pig slaughterhouse that had been started in 1891 close to Mount Shikharji, a holy place of Jain pilgrimage. Gandhi spent six months in Calcutta learning Bengali and preparing his case against the slaughterhouse. He was eventually successful in getting the slaughterhouse closed.
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