#history
Lady Meherbai Tata and the Jubilee Diamond.
Meherbai, born on 18 October 1879, was the daughter of Dr Hormusji J Bhabha, the first person from the Parsi community to do his post graduate studies in England.
Mehru studied in the Bishop Cotton School Bangalore as her father was appointed Principal of the Maharaja’s College Mysore. She became an accomplished tennis player and played in several international tournaments abroad including Wimbledon.
Dorabji Tata was the eldest son of Jamshedji Tata, the founder of the Tata industrial empire. Dorabji fell in love with the beautiful 16 year old young girl Meherbai, and the couple got married on 14 February 1898.
A diamond, double the weight of Kohinoor was mined in South Africa in 1897. The 245.35 carat diamond, the largest at the time, was cut in Antwerp and became famous for its rare colour and clarity.
The diamond was named the Jubilee Diamond in honour of the Golden Jubilee of the ascension of the throne by Queen Victoria of England.
The precious stone was exhibited in the Paris exhibition in 1900. Sir Dorabji bought the diamond for 100,000 pounds, a phenomenal prize at the time, as a gift to his beloved wife.
Lady Meherbai wore the precious diamond, set in platinum, on special occasions.
Lady Meherbai Tata, the first Indian woman to drive a car, was actively involved in the efforts for women emancipation. She played a leading role in getting the Sarada Act passed in 1929, which prohibited child marriage. She travelled all over the world with her husband as a leader of the All India Women’s Conference.
Unfortunately Meherbai was diagnosed with leukemia and died in a hospital in Wales England on 18 June 1931. The couple didn’t have any children.
Sir Dorab Tata set up, in 1932, the Lady Meherbai Tata memorial trust to fund research in leukemia and other blood disorders. He also instituted the Lady Tata Endowment Trust to provide scholarships to meritorious girls to do their postgraduate studies in reputed institutions abroad.
The Jubilee Diamond, the sixth largest diamond in the world today, was sold to raise additional funds for the two Lady Meherbai Tata trusts.
Today the various Tata Trusts own the majority of shares in the various companies of the Tata group and the entire income is spent for philanthropic activities.
– Joy Kallivayalil.
