Malji bhai Desai

Maljibhai Devjibhai Desai is a Gandhian social worker and chairman of the Gandhi Ashram at Zilia, a charitable trust whose 11 institutions serve poor families across north Gujarat. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of public affairs, from Gujarat ^[1].

A shepherd’s son

Desai was born on 1 January 1938 into a family of herders in Lanva village, Patan district ^[2]. He could study only up to intermediate arts, but has spent his life getting boys and girls of Patan district into school ^[2]. As a young man he was appointed rector of a hostel for Dalit students at Mansa, and stayed on despite objections from his family and community ^[2].

Schools and khadi

In 1964 he founded the Gandhi Ashram at Zilia, which provides schooling and higher education for children from marginalised communities ^[2]. He has set up more than 30 educational institutions in Gujarat ^[2]. He has served as president of the Gujarat Nai Talim Sangh, which promotes Gandhi’s model of education, and chairs the Khadi Gramodyog Mandal at the Sabarmati Ashram ^[2].

For about 22 years he was a director of Dudhsagar Dairy, one of the largest dairies in Asia ^[2]. He has worked on relief after droughts, the Surat floods, the Machchhu dam disaster and the 2001 Kutch earthquake, and has served as an elected representative from the panchayat to the Gujarat assembly ^[2]. He received the Darshak Award for education in 2009 ^[2].