Har Bilas Sarda

Har Bilas Sarda (1867–1955) was an Indian academic, judge, and politician. He is best known for having introduced the Child Marriage Restraint Act.

Early life

Har Bilas Sarda was born on 3 June 1867 in Ajmer, in a Maheshwari family. His father, Sriyut Har Narayan Sarda (Maheshwari), was a Vedantist who worked as a librarian at the Government College, Ajmer. He had a sister who died in September 1892.

Sarda travelled extensively in British India, from Shimla in the north to Rameswaram in the south, and from Bannu in the west to Calcutta in the east. In 1888, Sarda visited the Indian National Congress session in Allahabad. He attended several more meetings of the Congress, including those at Nagpur, Bombay, Benares, Calcutta, and Lahore. He also played an important role in organizing Dayanand's Birth Centenary functions in Mathura, in 1925. He was General Secretary of the group that organized a function for the semi-centenary of Dayanand in Ajmer in 1933. Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive Maharana Kumbha Maharana Sanga Maharaja Hammir of Ranthambhor

He wrote research papers for The Indian Antiquary and the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Rai Sahib, for his services in garnering support for the British government during World War I Dewan Bahadur (1931), for his work in the Legislative Assembly