Indore: Bringing Marathi community together for a noble cause, Shankar Rao Jadhav leads Kshatriya Maratha Samaj since last 16 years and has brought positive changes in the society. With a belief that unity is needed for bringing a change, he has led people in the community towards philanthropy.
Talking about his life, Jadhav said, “I have always been into social work and after retiring from my responsibilities, I could give it all my time.” He wanted to bring changes in the society, which he dreamed about.
“I had a vision about the society, where evils like dowry and poverty don’t exist,” Jadhav said. Growing up in a developing city, he had been in touch with people from different levels of society.
“I had seen people, who suffered because they could not afford education,” Jadhav said. He explained that most people around him could not uplift themselves in social stature.
“These people were skilled and smart, but they did not have the resources to study or start a business,” Jadhav said. After completing his duties for his family, he wanted to bring changes that would transform the society by educating people.
“I helped in running and founding Chhatrapati Shivaji School since last 22 years,” Jadhav said. He elaborated that school sanctions education for merit students who need scholarship. “Even merit is not a compulsion in the school, as we can see that someone needs help and is willing to study,” Jadhav said. He explained that the school has been educating thousands of kids.
“Education is the sword that can fight many social evils like domestic violence, dowry and others,” Jadhav said. He explained that most people stay away from alcohol, violence and other social problems, if they rise from a community.
Working against dowry and problems in marriages, Jadhav has been organising ‘Parichay Sammelan’ and group marriages. “We want to empower women to freely choose their spouse consciously,” he said.
Talking about the reason for his feelings for girls, Jadhav talked about his daughters. “I have four daughters, who have been a gem to me,” he said.
However, he noticed that most people do not empower their daughters. “Despite the progressing society, most daughters do not get their right and ‘Parichay Sammelan’ is a way to do it,” Jadhav said.
Explaining how underprivileged people benefit from these gatherings, Jadhav said, “Ideally, people should select their life partner based on their choice and not family pressure.” In these gatherings, people choose to meet and know the person based on their common interests and not social status.
“In order to further help people and equalise everyone, we advocate and organise group marriages,” Jadhav said. He has been able to organise more than 600 marriages in the community.
Keeping culture and literature of Marathas alive, Jadav organises Maratha Literature Festival every year. “Initially, we had to inflict interest in people, but over time, we have been able to bring up Marathi writers and speakers,” he said.
