Sindhutai Sapkal

Quick Introduction

About Sindutai Sapkal

Sindhutai Sapkal was an Indian social reformer; she was also considered a social worker and was particularly known for her work in fostering orphan children. She was born on 14th November 1948 and died on 4th January 2022. She won the most prestigious award in India, the Padma Shri Award, for her contributions to social work. People gave her the title of 'Mai' which means "mother" or the "mother of orphans". Her contributions are still highly noted and she is considered the most prominent figure in India.

Sindhutai Sapkal was born in Pimpri Meghe village in Wardha district. Her father Abhimanyu Sathe was a cowherder by profession. She was always considered an unwanted child in her family and she never got the love that she deserved from her family. Sapkal was considered a piece of rag by her family which is called "Chindhi" in the Marathi language.

She belonged to a poor family and her father forced her to marry early. Because of such circumstances, she quit her education, and somehow, she passed the fourth standard. Sapkal got married at the age of 12 to a man who was 20 years older than her. After marriage, she came to Nawargaon village in Wardha. At the age of 20, Sapkal was left alone with a girl child. She faced poverty a lot in her life and because of poverty, she begged for food, where she analyzed that there were a lot of children who were begging for their survival. As an abundant child, she was able to feel the grief of orphans very easily. She started adopting children and feeding them on her own. However, it was very difficult for her to feed all the children she adopted. She inspired herself to become the mother of all the orphans she met in her life. She gave her daughter to a trust in Pune, to detach the feeling of partiality with the adopted children. She wanted to give her best to all the children who were all alone in the world.

Sapkal had also fought against the inconvenience suffered by the Adivasi villagers. Her efforts for the Adivasi villagers, who were evacuated because of a Tiger Preservation Act, were noted by the forest management department and so the proper arrangements were made accordingly. Because of her efforts, the officials of the government decided not to displace the villagers and they agreed that instead of displacement, they would make arrangements on different sites.

At the inauguration of the Tiger Project Act, Sapkal met Indira Gandhi, the prime minister of India. There, she raised her concern regarding the necessary compensation for people injured by wild animals. The prime minister agreed on her point and immediately ordered compensation. During these days, Sapkal also observed that many orphan tribal children were facing tough days. These situations triggered her to take a step toward her mission. In 2010, a Marathi film "Mee Sindhutai Sapkal" was made by "Anant Mahadevan", and was based on the biography of Sindhutai Sapkal. Notably, the movie was selected at the 54th London Festival for world premiere.

Orphanages

As we have discussed, caring for orphans became Sindhutai Sapkal's life's mission. People started identifying her as a hope for orphans and titled her 'Mai', which means "mother". She achieved many awards for her greatness. Sindhutai Sapkal looked after about 1,500 orphan children and made a grand family for herself. She is recognized as the mother of 49 daughters-in-law and 382 son-in-laws. She received more than 700 awards for her deed and always used the award money to buy the land for building new orphanages. She had created many orphanages and various organizations working on her principles.

She mainly established the organizations in her birthplace, Pune, Maharashtra. They are:

• Mother Global Foundation
• Sanmati Bal Niketan, Bhelhekar Vasti, Manjiri Hadapsar
• Saptsindhu' Mahila Adhar, Balsangopan Aani Shikshan Sanstha
• Savitibai Phule Mulinche Vasatigruh
• Vanvasi Gopal Krishna Bahuuddeshiya Mandal
• Mamta Bal Sadan, Kumbharvalan near Saswad (started in 1994)
• Abhiman Bal Bhavan
• Gangadharbaba Chhatralaya
• Shree Manshanti Chatralaya

Awards

Sindhutai Sapkal received more than 700 awards in her lifetime. Most recently, she was honored with the most prestigious award in India, i.e., Padma Shri award, for her social work. She was awarded with Padma Shri in 2021. Earlier in 2017, Sapkal was awarded Nari Shakti Puraskar by President Ram Nath Kovind. In 2016, Sapkal was awarded with honorary doctorate by Dr. D.Y. Patil College of Engineering, Pune and she also got a Social Work of the Year award from the Wockhardt Foundation the same year. Before this, in 2014, Sapkal got the Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize. In 2013, Sapkal received two awards: first the Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice and second the National Award for Iconic Mother.

Sapkal was awarded with Real Heroes Awards by CNN-IBN and Reliance Foundation. College of Engineering, Pune awarded her with COEP Gaurav Puraskar in 2012. Earlier in 2010, Sindhutai Sapkal was awarded with Ahilyabai Holkar award by the government of Maharashtra for the category of social workers in the field of women and child welfare. In 2008, she received the Women of the Year award from Daily Marathi. Sapkal was honored with many other awards such as Dattak Mata Puraskar (1996) by an NGO Sunita Kalaniketan Trust, Sahyadri Hirkani Award, Rajai Award, and Shivlila Mahila Gaurav Award.

Death

Sindhutai Sapkal died due to a heart attack on 4th January 2022 in Pune, Maharashtra. She died at the age of 73. However, she has set an inspiration for others to help and support children who have no one else to take care of them.

An Inspiration Model: Sindhutai Sapkal

Sindhutai Sapkal was a social worker; she had contributed to raising more than thousands of orphans. She had successfully settled many NGOs and raised many orphan children. Many of the students who were raised by her were successful and became doctors and engineers. A lot of organizations used to work under her, including orphanages and NGOs. She is counted in the list of one of the great social workers of India. Due to such steps taken towards humanity by Sindhutai Sapkal, she received many awards and she always used the award money for the welfare of children. The circumstances had taught her a lot about good and bad deeds.

Sapkal was unable to get an education but she always tried to help students study and succeed. She belonged to a very poor family, where her parents were unable to afford a slate for her to write. As we discussed, Sapkal completed her studies till the fourth standard, and then looked for her career and chose the path to become a social worker for the welfare of the deprived. In the interviews, she shared a lot about her previous experiences. She once shared that she had even lived in crematories, where people often spotted her and called her a ghost. She had spent most of her nights without food and always begged for a living. Under such circumstances, giving birth to a child was very difficult for her. She even tried to get from her mother and father, but they threw her out of the house. At the time of delivery, she remained in the cow shed and gave birth to a girl child on her own; she was all alone, as there was no one to take care of her.

Sapkal once said that during these difficult days of her life, she thought about other orphans; she found them equal to herself because they too were abundant in the world. Her observation came to a conclusion that became the motive of her life. Then, she became an angel for orphans throughout her life and thus tried to provide shelter to all the children who came into her life. Undoubtedly, Sapkal was a prominent personality in India. Her organizations and Orphanages are still working on her principles.