Gaganvihari L. Mehta

Gaganvihari Lallubhai Mehta came to diplomacy from business and economic planning. An Elphinstone College graduate, he spent two decades managing the Calcutta branch of the Scindia shipping company, which his father had helped establish. He led the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Indian Tariff Board, served in the Constituent Assembly, and joined India's first Planning Commission. ¹

As ambassador to the United States and Mexico from 1952 to 1958, Mehta worked on the financing of India's development. In September 1957 he accompanied Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari in talks with John Foster Dulles and Douglas Dillon about the foreign exchange shortages threatening the Second Five Year Plan. Mehta explained that he had already discussed assistance with Dillon, who had advised waiting until Congress completed action on pending foreign aid legislation. ^{2, 1}

His American service also brought him into direct contact with racial segregation. During a stop at Houston's airport in August 1955, a restaurant supervisor moved Mehta and his secretary into a separate dining room after mistaking them for Black Americans. Mehta initially understood the move as a courtesy. Once the reason became public, Dulles and Houston's mayor apologized; Mehta said he would have left had he understood that discrimination was involved. ³

After returning to India, Mehta chaired the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India from 1958 to 1971, working with H. T. Parekh in its development. His other appointments included the leadership of Hindustan Shipyards and the National Shipping Board and the chairmanship of IIT Bombay's board of governors. ¹