Selected Speeches of V R Gandhi

Author(s): Virchand R Gandhi
Publisher: Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi Godiji Jain Derasar Mumbai

Page 112

A LIFE SKETCH OF
SHRI VIRCHAND RAGHAVJI GANDHI
by
SHRI H. H. DALAL, B.A., BAR-AT-LAW
A great soul, a great patriot and a great exponent of the Jaina religion in the West, Shri Virchand Raghavji Gandhi, was born in Mahuva, a small town, near Bhavnagar in Saurashtra on the 25th August 1864 A.D. His father was a well-to-do gentleman of the town and though not endowed with wealth, was known for his honesty, integrity and religious-mindedness. He was a reformer and a man of great practical sense. He had fought against social evils and had succeeded in eradicating some.
Shri Virchand was sent to a school in the town for his primary education at an early age. He was a brilliant and a promising boy. He was then sent to Bhavnagar for further studies. He passed his Matriculation examination of the University of Bombay, in the year 1880 A.D. at an early age of 16 years. Shri Virchand was a scholar and had a great thirst for knowledge. He made up his mind to go in for higher studies. In the same year, he entered the Elphinstone College in Bombay. In 1884 A.D. Shri Virchand graduated and took his degree of B.A. of the University of Bombay with honours. Probably he was the first graduate amongst the Jainas.
After graduation, Shri Virchand had signed articles of clerkship with Messrs. Little & Co., Solicitors and started reading for Solicitors' examination
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