Sindhutai Sapkal, the Padma Shri awardee applauded for her unmatched contribution to society, passed away on January 4, 2022, due to a heart attack at around 8 pm in Pune. Fondly called ‘Mother of a thousand orphans’, Sapkal had adopted and made a difference in the lives of many orphans.
“She had undergone a hernia surgery one-and-a-half months ago and recovery was very slow. Today she died of a heart attack around 8 pm,” said Dr Shailesh Puntambekar, medical director of a private Pune hospital where Sapkal was admitted was quoted by news agency PTI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences for Sapkal in a Twitter post: “Dr Sindhutai Sapkal will be remembered for her noble service to society. Due to her efforts, many children could lead a better quality of life. She also did a lot of work among marginalised communities. Pained by her demise. Condolences to her family and admirers. Om Shanti.”
The Unmatched Legacy Of Sindhutai Sapkal
Sapkal had suffered greatly in her formative years, and her life’s journey of overcoming those obstacles have inspired women across the nation and the world. Her mother discouraged her to get educated but her father used to send her to school without her mother’s knowledge. She was then married off to a 32-year-old man at the age of 12 years. Forced to be a child bride, she gave birth to three daughters and when she was pregnant for the fourth time, her husband beat her up and left her to die. She gave birth to the baby girl in that state, in a nearby cowshed.
When she had nowhere to go, she started begging in trains and on the streets in order to be able to feed her daughters. It was then that she met several orphaned children, and even in such poverty, she adopted them. She used to feed them, even though she didn’t have many resources herself.
Recognising her philanthropic work, in 1970 her well-wishers helped her set up her first Ashram in Chikaldara, Amravati. Sapkal formed her first NGO, Savitribai Phule Girls’ Hostel in Chikaldara as well. She has also fought for the rehabilitation of 84 villages that were displaced due to a tiger conservation project.
Sapkal founded around nine non-profit organisations that continue to contribute immensely to our society. She has received several hundreds of awards, the money from which she used to invest in land, to build homes for orphaned children. Her life’s work has transformed the lives of so many people, and through the NGOs she founded, continues to do so.
For her unmatched contributions to society, Sapkal received recognition (and more than 270 awards) from national and international organisations. Apart from receiving the Padma Shri in 2021, she also received the Nari Shakti award (the highest civilian award in India for women) in 2017.
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