The district of Kutch is located in the western corner of the Gujarat
State of India on west coast. Kutch has got Arabian sea on the west
side and shares border with Pakistan. The area is actually part of desert
known as Great Rann of Kutch (great desert of Kutch). The area is in
highly seismic zone and is prone to natural calamities like cyclone
also. However, the area has always been inhabited by people of Kutch
known as Kutchis. After partition of India in 1947, thousands of people
living in Sindh province (now in Pakistan) were displaced. On the request
of Mahatma Gandhi, the king of Kutch gave a piece of land for settlement
of Sindhis displaced from Sindh. This area was developed near Kandla
Port and is called Gandhidham-Adipur.
Revered Kaka Shri Prabhudas S Tolani was born on 25th August 1893 at
Larkana, Sindh (now part of Pakistan). He was one of the richest Zamindars
(landlords) of Sindh province. Gandhidham-Adipur being in a remote corner
of India, there was little facility for higher education the twin towns
till late 1950s. Revered Late Kaka Prabhudas S Tolani, came to this
region with a mission to spread higher education among the people of
Kutch. Although he had lost almost entire wealth in Sindh in aftermath
of partition of India, he came to Mumbai in 1949 and built up a thriving
construction and shipping business. But it was his determination that
he would dedicate all his earnings to the development of education.
He started this by taking over a small private engineering college and
starting other new colleges with only 12 students in late sixties at
Adipur and setting up Gandhidham Collegiate Board along with the Maitri
Mandal. That small college was expanded by Kaka P S Tolani with his
own resources into a polytechnic. Soon after in 1967 courses in mechanical
and electrical were added at the polytechnic. In 1968 separate buildings
for polytechnic and arts college were added and a science college was
started. In 1970 Kaka brought more resources from his own earnings and
added new laboratories and workshops to polytechnic. Then there was
no looking back. Kaka kept pouring his own money most generously into
higher education facilities at Adipur, Kutch. |