Gujarat Law Society has been going ahead since last eight decades bearing the torch of knowledge. Eight decades back, the doyens of the city with the vision of higher education came together and established Gujarat Law Society with the ideal of value based education. With lofty ideals of dedication and integrity, we move ahead to achieve the goal, and to our deep satisfaction, our academic march has been a saga of success and fulfillment. It has been an epic of an ever widening horizon.
As its name indicates, the Society was established with the specific purpose of imparting legal training. Before 1927, then bilingual Bombay State, legal education was imparted by Government Law College, Bombay and Law College in Poona. Sir LallubhaiAsharam Shah, a Judge of the Bombay High Court and a native of Ahmedabad suggested to apply to the Bombay University to grant affiliation to a Law College in Ahmedabad. The University granted affiliation and the first institution of its and in Gujarat came into existence and was named after him “Sir L.A.Shah Law College”. Since then it has remained the first and foremost Law College in Gujarat and has become synonymous with the “Law College”.
Leading luminaries like the first Deputy Prime Minister of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the First Speaker of Lok Sabha Shri Ganesh Vasudeo Mavlankar and the eminent industrialist Sheth Shri KasturbhaiLalbhai were the founding fathers of the society. Over the years the society has had the benefit of the guiding vision of Men of eminence and experience like Shri ChimanlalSetavlad, Shri Motilal Setalwad, Shri H.V.Devetia, Justice Shri P.N. Bhagwati, Justice Shri J.C. Shah, Shri J.M. Thakore, former Advocate General of high Court of Gujarat, I.M. Nanavati and Shri K.R. Sant, H.H. Bhagwati. At present, the society has the privilege of sterling services of such pillars of modern Gujarat as Shri S.N. Shelat, Ex-Advocate General, Shri Deepak Navnitlal, Shri Sudhir Nanavati, Shri Devang Nanavati, and Prin. N.R.Shah and Dr. B.H. Joshi. These illustrious personalities have put the society on a sound footing by their dynamism, saquacity and pragmatic approach. The Financial fabric of the society was strengthened by munificent donations by philanthropists like Shri CharandasHaridas, Shri MahendraKanaiyalal, Shri I.M. Nanavati, Shri C.U.Shah, Shri Deepak Nanavati and Dr. Pramod Mehta.
With generous donations the society started offering Higher Education in Arts and Commerce faculties. An Arts Section was opened in 1953, as part of the Law college in 1956, by the genereous donation of Sheth Shri CharandasHaridas, “HaridasAcharatlal Commerce College” was started, which has been the leading institution in the faculty of commerce in Gujarat State. In 1958 a Law College was established in the city campus of the society and was called the City Law College and in 1961 another law college “new Law College” was started in the city campus. The city Law College was renamed “I M Nanavati Law College”. Both the colleges were established by the Munificent donations by Late Shri I M Nanavati. City Arts and Commerce College was established in the Lal Darwaja Campus in 1961 and was bifurfcated in 1966 and after the generous donation of Shri C.U.Shah, a Bombay based industrialist, both the institutions were named after him as “C.U.Shah Arts College”, “C.U.Shah City Commerce College”. Shri C.U.Shahalso offered donation to G.L.S. Mahila College which was established in 1966 and it was renamed “Smt. SadgunaC.U.Shah Arts College for Girls”. The same donor offered generous donation for Pre Primary and Primary English Medium Schools and the institutions are named after him “C.U.Shah primary School” and “C.U.Shah Preparatory School” Sheth Shri MahendraKanaiyalaldonated a handsome amount in 1963 for English Medium High School and higher secondary school and the School was named after him “M.K. High School and Higher Secondary School”.
G.L.S. is always ready to meet the challenges of the coming century. Gujarat is always at the forefront of industrial development of the nation. There are hundreds of industries and business organizations spread all over the State, along with a host of multinationals. The availability of trained managers is the prime need to day. Against this backdrop, the G.L.S. Institution of Business Administration established in 1997, is the first step in the direction. A three year Full time professional course for the Degree of B.B.A. has started to meet the human resources requirement and will bridge the deman d, supply gap by offering the Business and Industry Sector, well trained management Professionals. G.L.S. also started M.B.A. Programme as well as I.T. Programme. This august society has the singular distinction of running 38 institutions of high academic standard with an enrolment of 38,000 students which is more than that of some universities.
G.L.S. has also put up an impressive 3 storeyed building consisting of Assembly Hall, Conference Room, Office Complex, Executive Chambers and Air conditioned Auditorium hall. It is unique of its kind in any educational complex in Gujarat State.
Our mission continues. To meet the challenges of 21stCentury, G.L.S. is all set to start various ambitious plans Technical education at school level, 5 year Degree course in Law, Diploma in Law, and in very near future, there will be a landmark in our path of progress, an institute of information Technology under the direction of a well known U.S. Company, which will further expand the frontiers of the G.L.S. to International Level.