Barbour Scholar Spotlights

The Barbour Scholarship program was originally endowed by Levi Barbour in 1917 to support female graduate students from Asia and the Middle East.

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Kapila Khandvala

March 5, 2025 | By Marc Williams

Black and white photo of a woman wearing a traditional Indian saree with a floral border. She has a bindi on her forehead and is looking at the camera. Other figures are partially visible behind her.

Kapila Khandvala (1930) served as secretary of the Bombay Women’s Association, a branch of the All India Women’s Conference. She was elected as a delegate to represent Bombay at the conference held in Hychrasad. Kapila actively served her country through flood relief work, distributing cash, tools, and clothing to the needy. She also helped to ration cloth in India, because the situation had become so serious that people were without clothes and committing suicide for shame. Through personal calls and meetings, Kapila provided books and slates for the needy, along with enrolling 40,000 children in school. In addition, she was influential in obtaining milk at a nominal price for children, mothers, and the sick. Kapila also served as Secretary of the Municipal Schools Committee for Bombay, the first woman to hold this important position.