Jamshed Mehta, the mayor of Karachi (Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta)
Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta (7 January 1886 – 1 August 1952) was a Pakistani politician. He was the first elected Mayor of Karachi from 1933 to 1934
On the night of 21 September, the ship arrived in Karachi. Baba and the mandali were met by Pilamai, Baba’s maternal aunt Banu Masi, and Merwan and Homi, her two sons who had been at the Meher Ashram school. The most distinguished among the few others waiting to receive them was the President of the Municipal Corporation of Karachi, Jamshed N. R. Mehta. Pilamai invited Baba to her house and he went there at 11:30 P.M., accompanied by Buasaheb and Vishnu.
(LM Page: 1092 Year 1929)
Baba and the mandali were driven back to the ship in the morning on Sunday, 22 September 1929, and they left Karachi the same day, amidst a loving farewell. During Baba’s brief visit, Jamshed Mehta established a closeness with Baba and was to become a significant contact. He was a friend of Mahatma Gandhi and it was through Mehta’s influence that Gandhi eventually came to meet Meher Baba
(LM Page: 1092 Year 1929)
On April 30th, (1931) Jamshed Mehta, the mayor of Karachi, came to see Baba. Baba praised his sincere efforts and sympathetic treatment of the poor and needy, and admired his selfless service in other areas as well. Baba explained to him:
I am very pleased with your sincere work and selfless service, particularly in the cause of the really poor and needy. You render it with a sense of renunciation, even at the cost of sacrificing your own interests. I know all about your activities in the cause of service to others, and they are unique and most praiseworthy. You are sincere and selfless as very few persons in the world in your position could be.
In spite of all these sincere humanitarian efforts in the cause of service to others, God-Realization is far, far away. The ego will not die so easily. It is most difficult for the ego to disappear, and disappear it must before God-Realization is possible.
Even in the noblest aspirants and the sincerest workers for the good of humanity, the thought that “I did this” or “I have done that” exists. Although they might not say this openly to others, the thought persists in their minds. This very thought that “I have done this service” is so destructive that it nullifies all the service rendered and robs it of all value and worth.
Jamshed Mehta was highly impressed with Baba’s explanation and his heart accepted the truth of the Master’s words. To Mehta’s surprise, Baba visited the slums of Karachi and Manora with him that evening.
(It was on Jamshed Mehta’s suggestion that Gandhiji’s first meeting with Meher Baba took place on the ship S.S. Rajputana.)
(LM Page: 1221 Year 1931)
The mayor of Karachi, Jamshed Mehta, again came to see Baba. He told Baba that he found himself surrounded by difficulties with no immediate solution. Baba stated:
That is not bad news; that is very good news! You are lucky to have so many hardships. The fact is there are no hardships, because everything in the world is one big zero! I see and experience this every moment.
(LM Page: 1927 Year 1931)
Meanwhile Jamshed Mehta, who was an acquaintance of Gandhi (and a Baba lover), cabled Gandhi on board the ship, strongly urging him to meet Meher Baba. At nine o’clock on Tuesday, 8 September, Mahatma Gandhi came to Baba’s cabin with his secretary Mahadev Desai. After Gandhi was introduced, he looked at Baba and said, “I have read much about you and wanted to see you one day when God willed it; but I never expected it to be so soon.”
(LM Page: 1241 Year 1931)
Referring to Jamshed Mehta, Gandhi remarked, “He is the most honorable person in Karachi. He is most worthy. I will telegram him tonight that I have seen you, Baba Saheb, and will ask him why he did not inform me earlier so that I could have spared more time to meet with you. When will such a time come again?
“I received your monthly magazine Meher Message in Yeravda Prison [when incarcerated there]. At the time, due to all the confusion, I had no time to read it and only glanced at it cursorily; but from that time after reading it, I wished to meet you one day. Now that day has dawned and the meeting has taken place. I am most happy. Tomorrow I will surely bring back the case to you and accept whatever you select for me to read from what you have written.”
(LM Page: 1943 Year 1931)
Jamshed Mehta with the poet Rabindranath Tagore and others. — Public Domain Photo
Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta (7 January 1886 – 1 August 1952) was a Pakistani politician. He was the first elected Mayor of Karachi from 1933 to 1934, and is still remembered as the “Maker of Modern Karachi” (Baba-e-Karachi). He was also a notable figure in the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association.
A commemorative postage stamp of Rs. 3 was issued by the Pakistan Post Office on 7 January 1988. Jamsheed Memorial Hall, named after him, is located on M. A. Jinnah Road, Karachi.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1113332
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