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{{Infobox person
| name = Ratilal Chandaria
| image = 
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|10|24}}
| birth_place = [[Nairobi]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|10|13|1922|10|24}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], India
| other_names =
| occupation = Industrialist
| known_for =
| spouse = Vijayalakshmi
}}
'''Ratilal Chandaria''' (1922-2013) was an industrialist and philanthropist of [[Indian people|Indian]] origin who resided in different parts of the world. He worked to modernize the [[Gujarati language]].

== Life ==
He was born on October 24, 1922, to Premchandbhai and Punjibai. He studied in [[Nairobi]] and later moved to [[Mombasa]]. He came to [[India]] with his parents when [[World War II]] started. He left to study and joined the family business thereafter. He married Vijayalakshmi in 1943 at [[Jamnagar]], India. He went back to Nairobi in 1946 and expanded his business activities. He travelled extensively in Africa and Europe and turned his family business into an industry. He moved to [[Dar-es-Salaam]] in 1960 and later to [[London]] in 1965. He lived in [[Geneva]] for a while and later moved to [[Singapore]] in 1975.<ref name=dna>{{cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/ahmedabad/report-gujarati-lexicon-founder-ratilal-chandaria-no-more-1903908|title=Gujarati Lexicon founder Ratilal Chandaria no more|work=[[Daily News and Analysis]] |place=Ahmedabad |date=2013-10-15|accessdate =2014-02-25}}</ref><ref name=ioj>{{cite web|url=http://www.jainology.org/2346/chandaria-r-p-obituary/|title=Obituary: Shri Ratilal Premchand Chandaria|work=Institute of Jainology|date=2013-10-16|accessdate =2014-02-25}}</ref><ref name=ix>{{cite news|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/gujaratilexicon-founder-ratilal-chandaria-passes-away/1182733/|title=GujaratiLexicon founder Ratilal Chandaria passes away|work=[[The Indian Express]]|date=2013-10-15|accessdate=2014-02-25}}</ref>
He died on October 13, 2013, in [[Mumbai]]. It was a day of [[Dusshera]], the same day he was born, according to the [[Hindu calendar]].<ref name=dna/><ref name=ioj/><ref name=ix/>

== Philanthropy ==
He extensively worked for the development of the Gujarati language, his mother tongue. He spent 18 years developing a Gujarati dictionary. He founded [http://www.gujaratilexicon.com GujaratiLexicon], Digital Bhagwadgomandal and other initiatives to digitise and contemporise Gujarati. GujaratiLexicon is the largest Gujarati language resource portal in the world, while ''Bhagwadgomandal'' is a landmark encyclopedia and lexicon of Gujarati digitised by GujaratiLexicon which is archived in the US [[Library of Congress]] and [[British Library]] Catalogue.<ref name=dna/><ref name=ioj/><ref name=ix/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/bhagwadgomandal-goes-online/articleshow/4356926.cms?referral=PM|title=Bhagwadgomandal goes online|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=2009-04-04|access-date=2014-02-25}}</ref>

He cofounded the Institute of Jainology, a UK-based institute specialising in the study of [[Jainism]] in 1985 with Nirmal Sethia. He served as chairman until 2012.<ref name=ioj/> He served in many social, cultural and religious institutions like [[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]], Indian Gymkhana, and the International Forum of Overseas Indians.<ref name=dna/><ref name=ioj/><ref name=ix/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.gujaratilexicon.com/ GujaratiLexicon], Gujarati language resource portal
* [http://www.bhagvadgomandal.com/ Digital Bhagwadgomandal]
* [http://www.jainology.org Institute of Jainology]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandaria, Ratilal}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Gujarati language]]
[[Category:Indian industrialists]]
[[Category:People from Gujarat]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian philanthropists]]

Ratilal Chandaria - Revision history

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