Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta was born in Karachi on 7th January 1886 into a wealthy and well known Parsi family. His childhood was a happy one, and from a very early age it was evident that the child had a deeply spiritual nature. He was intensely compassionate and his deep love for animals led him to become a vegetarian at the age of 13 after witnessing the agony of a cow begin pulled to the slaughter house. After completing his education Jamshed entered his fathers business. He was known for his hard work and honesty, and earned the deep esteem of the mercantile community both in India and abroad. As a young man he was elected as councillor of the Karachi Municipal Corporation. He displayed such a profound civic sense and concern for the welfare of the people of Karachi, that within a few years he was elected as the President of the Corporation.

He served in that capacity for 12 years and after partition became the first mayor of the city. He turned Karachi into a large well planned modern city, the cleanest in the sub-continent with broad clean roads (which were washed every night!) good sanitation, shady trees, parks, schools, libraries, hospitals, clinics and maternity homes; co-operative housing and co-operative banking, veterinary service and water troughs for animals, are just some of the amenities the citizens of Karachi (both human and animals) enjoyed.

Jamshed joined the Theosophical Society after hearing a lecture by Mrs Annie Besant (who was then the International President of the Society) while he was on a visit to Bombay. From that day onwards the Theosophical Society had in Jamshed an ardent and tireless worker. He started a study group in Karachi which met at the Theosophical Society every Saturday and this tradition continued up till his death in 1952.

Parsis, Muslims, Hindus and Christians all were his brothers and he encouraged all communities to work together for the betterment of their city. Harmony and tolerance permeated the atmosphere, and the different communities celebrated each others festivals together in a spirit of fraternity and goodwill. With his passing, the city of Karachi lost its greatest citizen, one who made brotherhood a living reality in his life and in the life of the citizens of Karachi.