Mahatma Gandhi’s great-granddaughter Nilamben Parikh passes away

Mahatma Gandhi’s great-granddaughter Nilamben Parikh passed away on April 1, 2025 at her residence in Navsari, Gujarat. She was 92 years old. Known as Mahatma Gandhi’s great-granddaughter, Nilamben Parikh was much more than her lineage. She dedicated her life to the service of tribal women and was also a writer.
Nilamben Parikh was a strong advocate of Gandhian principles. She was deeply involved in social work, especially for the upliftment of tribal women. She founded an organization called Sukpath to educate and empower tribal women, teaching them valuable skills to help them achieve financial independence. She continued this work for several decades before retiring about 30 years ago.
Despite her failing health in later years, Nilamben Parikh was admired for her inner strength and commitment. He was also known for his devotion to wearing khadi. His cousin Tushar Gandhi said, “He spent his entire life teaching in tribal areas. Although he was physically weak, his moral strength shone through his personality. He was gentle but strong in his faith, and he was always kind.” He added that their significant age gap inspired him to be seen as an elder brother in the family.
Nilamben Parikh also made her mark as a writer. Of the five children of Harilal Gandhi and his wife Gulab, Ramiben’s daughter was the eldest.
Harilal was Mahatma Gandhi’s eldest son, and their relationship was strained. Nilamben Parikh was inspired to write a book after watching the Marathi play “Gandhi vs. Gandhi”, which explored the complex father-son relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and Harilal. In her book “Gandhi’s Last Jewel: Harilal Gandhi”, she shared her perspective on their troubled relationship, which was later adapted into the Hindi film “Gandhi Mai Father” in 2007.
Another book by Nilamben Parikh, “Jan Raho Tyan Mehekta Raho”, is a collection of letters written by Mahatma Gandhi to his daughters-in-law, which contains many of Mahatma Gandhi’s messages.
Nilamben Parikh’s son Dr. Sameer Parikh, an ophthalmologist in Navsari, said, “My mother was not sick, but she had stopped eating for the past few days due to her age. She died without any pain or suffering.”
Sameer Parikh said – My parents, Nilamben and Jogendrabhai, left Mumbai in 1955. My mother graduated from Mumbai. After that, both of them decided that they should spend their lives in the countryside. Both of them initially lived in the countryside of Saurashtra. At that time, he also participated in Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan movement. He lived in a village in Odisha for a few months. Then in 1962, my parents came to Gujarat. After that, Nilamben started a school in a village in Tapi district. Mother started working only for women from the tribal community.