Shri Valjibhai was born in Jetpur, Saurashtra on 4th December 1892. He began his schooling there at the tender age of seven. He went to middle school at the famous Alfred school in Rajkot and also at Vakaner. He was greatly influenced by Bangabhang and Swadeshi movement since 1905. In 1908, he entered the matriculation year. He started writing a diary in which he wrote about boycott, self-rule and motherland.
In 1908, an important event occurred. Khudiram Bose was arrested for throwing a bomb at the Collector in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Valjibhai and his patriotic friends started an agitation in the school due to which he and eight other peers were rusticated for a year. He therefore gave his matriculation (board exam) a year later and stood tenth in the entire Bombay region. It is evident Valjibhai was a true lover of the nation since his early years.
Thereafter he joined Gujarat College for a year and won the first prize for English, the Hulingz Award. His college principal Mr. Robertson, who was very fond of him, was immensely pleased.
There is another incident from that time which is worth noting. Sir Valentine Chirol, an Englishman who had been accused of defamation by Lokmanya Tilak, was giving a guest lecture at Valjibhai’s college. In his speech, he praised the British Rule and also said that one should not protest against the British. After seeking Sir Chirol’s permission, Valjibhai narrated a story. He said, “Once a hunter saw something moving in the jungle and thought to himself, let me kill this animal for my meal. In order to get a better aim, he went closer and realised that it might not be an animal but a human being. Going closer, he saw it was his own brother who had returned from out of town. He threw down his gun and embraced him.”
Valjibhai explained that the relation between Britain and India was similar. In order to improve relations, they needed to come closer and live as equals. This would not be possible whilst the British ruled as emperors and Indians faced slavery. It was important that India first gained independence and then established a voluntary and healthy relationship with the British. He also added that while one can appreciate the contribution of the British, one should not forget that the Indian civilisation was more ancient and well-established before the British. It had also contributed a lot to world history and civilisation.
Valjibhai later studied in Elphinstone College in Mumbai and completed his BA there. He stood first in Sanskrit and received the Bhau Daji Prize for it. After he finished his Bachelor’s degree, Valjibhai’s Gujarat College Principal Robertson, who was a Professor of English, appointed Valjibhai as his assistant.
In 1915, Gandhiji established Kochrab Ashram in Ahmedabad. Valjibhai went to his Ashram to meet Gandhiji, expressing his wish to join him. Gandhiji thought, here was someone with a good job and family, why would he leave all of this for the freedom struggle. To put him off, he said come and meet me at 4 am the next day when I grind grains in the “chakki”. Gandhiji was surprised to see Valjibhai awake and ready the next morning. Seeing his keenness, Gandhiji agreed to let him join the Ashram.
Initially, Valjibhai stayed at the Ashram and worked in the college. In 1915, sometime around Christmas, there was a Congress session to be held in Mumbai. Valjibhai was keen to attend but government employees were not allowed to go to these meetings. So he discussed his views with Gandhiji and resigned from his job. He wrote his resignation letter according to Gandhiji’s advice and sent it across. From then he devoted all his services to Gandhiji completely.
Valjibhai travelled to Sindh with Gandhiji and also heard his famous speech at the inaugural ceremony of Benares Hindu University.
Valjibhai taught at Ahmedabad Tutorial High School and Benares Central Hindu College. After shifting to Sabarmati Ashram, he took classes in Gujarat Vidyapeeth. He also taught students at home. He left a deep impact on his students. He was deeply concerned about carelessness and errors made while studying. He would keep correcting his students patiently till they got it right. He was most particular about grammar, spelling and the correct usage of words. He derived great pleasure and satisfaction from teaching.
In May 1921, Valjibhai joined the editorial department of Young India publication. In 1922, a case was filed against him for an article on Gandhiji. This case became famous for Gandhiji’s unparalleled replies to Justice Brumsfield’s accusations. Gandhiji and Shankarlal Banker went to jail. Valjibhai sought Gandhiji’s permission and later became the publisher of Young India. In June 1922, he was sentenced to prison for 18 months as he was office bearer of the publication. The magistrate said “I cannot grant him a lesser sentence as he has shown no remorse or is not affected by the fact that I had previously sentenced Gandhiji and Banker for his article”.
During his stay in Sabarmati Jail, Valjibhai received many books from Principal Robertson. Whenever he was put in prison, Valjibhai would spend his time reading and studying. He read religious books such as the Bible, Quran and Gita. He learnt Bengali and Urdu in order to read literature of those languages. He also read Sanskrit, Pali and Ardhamaghadhi a lot, and was interested in Persian writings.
While reading, he took notes of the passages he liked or wrote a précis of it in his notebook. This pattern continued till the very end.
In 1925, Gandhiji established Akhil Hind Gorakshamandal. Valjibhai was appointed the Secretary. Gandhiji mentioned in Young India why he was selected, “Of all the names in the list before me I felt Valjibhai was the most deserving candidate. He is a pundit of English and Sanskrit. He is also fond of animals and believes in goraksha (cow protection). I believe that he will give his preference for ‘cow protection’ for all his life.”
Valjibhai travelled to Pune and other places to learn about goraksha. He read books on cattle preservation, dairy and the leather industry. He also wrote articles in English and Gujarati on the same. He answered Gandhiji’s queries with unparalleled research, depth and analysis on various subjects. He was assigned the duty of putting across Gandhiji’s ideas and views, which he did with great expertise.
Gandhiji respected Valjibhai’s scholarship, knowledge and command over language. It is said that in Sabarmati and Sevagram Ashram, in case Gandhiji wished to know about something, he would summon Mahadevbhai. Mahadevbhai has mentioned that in case he or Gandhiji could not recollect something, they could always rely on Valjibhai. This was because there was no one as well-read or with a better memory as Valjibhai.
Even after Gandhiji’s demise, Valjibhai ensured that his legacy lived on. Ten years prior to his passing away, Gandhiji told Valjibhai, “Your true test will be after my death”. This came true. After 1948, Valjibhai wrote excerpts from Gandhiji’s autobiography and also short notes of his views on various subjects close to Gandhiji.
He wrote ‘Uttarkand’, in which he compiled Gandhiji’s views on different issues and presented them before the public. He also published books on Gandhiji’s favourite topics, of the most noteworthy are ‘Rajkatha’, ‘Draupadi’s clothes’, ‘Kathakusumanjali’, ‘Ishucharit’, ‘Buddhacharitamrit’, ‘Glances at Islam’ and ‘The Shastras on Untouchability’.
Besides these, he borrowed excerpts from his vast reading material and took down his thoughts and presented them in book form, creating great literature accessible to everyone in Gujarati. He read the complete ‘Ramayana’ and created ‘Ramkatha’ in brief for the ordinary reader. Panchtantra was put forth as ‘Tantrakatha’. His varied articles were also compiled in book form, of which ‘Nived’, ‘Saji le Shringar’, ‘Arogyamanjari’, ‘Sundarvan’, ‘Amraram’ and ‘Deepmala’ are most significant.
VG Desai Family 