Natwar Thakkar (1932 – 7 October 2018), popularly known as Natwar Bhai, was an Indian social worker who worked in

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

. He came from

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

but migrated to Nagaland for social work at the age of 23. He founded the Nagaland Gandhi Ashram at Chuchuyimlang village in the Mokokchung district of Nagaland. Because of his efforts to spread Gandhian philosophy in Nagaland and his social work, he was known as "Nagaland's Gandhi".

Early life

Thakkar was born in 1932 to a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

-speaking family in the coastal

Dahanu Dahanu (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �əɦaːɳuː is a coastal town and a municipal council in Palghar district of Maharashtra, Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is located 110 km from Mumbai city and hosts Adani Power’s ...

town of the then Bombay Presidency of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(today part of the

Palghar district Palghar District (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːlɡʱəɾ is a Districts of Maharashtra, district in the state of Maharashtra in Konkan Division. The headquarters of the district is the town of Palghar. Other major cities in the ...

state). Inspired by Gandhian social reformer

Kaka Kalelkar Dattatreya Balkrishna Kalelkar (1 December 1885 – 21 August 1981), popularly known as Kaka Kalelkar, was an Indian independence activist, social reformer, journalist and an eminent follower of the philosophy and methods of Mahatma Gandhi. B ...

early in his life, Thakkar went to Nagaland, the North-Eastern state of India, at the age of 23 in 1955, desiring to foster "goodwill and emotional integration through voluntary social service" among the people of Nagaland, using Gandhian principles.

Work

Thakkar established the "Nagaland Gandhi Ashram" in the Chuchuyimlang village in Nagaland in 1955. At that time, the Naga rebels and the

Indian army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

were constantly at "war" and hence the militants considered any "Indian" as a "spy" and they warned villagers not to shelter or aid Thakkar. Thakkar assisted residents in "various development and income generating activities", including

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as '' Melipona'' stingless bees are ...

, gur production, oil ghanis, a

biogas Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...

plant, a mechanised carpentry workshop, and

Khadi Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi as Swadeshi movement, ''swadeshi (of homeland)'' for the freedom struggle of India and the term is used throughout the Indian sub ...

sales outlets. Apart from popularising Khadi, he has also started a vocational training centre for school drop-outs and physically disabled children. During his stay in Nagaland, he was attacked and threatened by

insurgents An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well ...

several times and warned to leave the state.

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

, the then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

, had encouraged Thakkar to stay in the village and to continue his work; Nehru also allotted funds to promote his initiatives. Thakkar acted as an intermediary between the army and villagers and tried to strengthen bonds by personal talks and discussions. Villagers also appealed to militants not to harm Thakkar. Due to Thakkar's efforts, an extension centre of

National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

was started in Chuchuyimlang village in 2006. It is a government-funded institute equipped with the latest technology. Acknowledging the efforts of Thakkar, villagers donated of land to the "Nagaland Gandhi Ashram" for construction of the "Mahatma Gandhi centre of Social Work (MGCSW)". The

Tata Institute of Social Sciences Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is a multi-campus public university in Mumbai, India. It is Asia's oldest institute for professional social work education and was founded in 1936 in the then Bombay Presidency of British India as the S ...

has shown interest in becoming associated with this institute.

Personal life

Thakkar married Naga Christian Lentina Ao in 1956. They had two daughters and one son. Thakkar was rushed into a private hospital on 19 September 2018 due to complications in recovering from a fever. He was admitted to an intensive care unit but his health later declined and he developed kidney failure and low blood pressure. Thakkar died at the hospital in

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

at 7:10 am on 7 October 2018. He was survived by his wife and children, who were at his bedside when he died.

Awards

Thakkar was honoured with numerous awards, including: *

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

Award (1999): India's 4th highest civilian award, awarded by the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

. *Diwaliben Mehta Award (2001) *

Jamnalal Bajaj Award Jamnalal Bajaj Award is an Indian award, for promoting Gandhian values, community service and social development. Established in 1978, by the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation of Bajaj Group, it is given annually in four categories, and usually pres ...

(1987) * Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration (1994): It is an award accorded by

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. *Meghalaya State Mahatma Gandhi Award (1996) *Karmayogi Award (2015): It is awarded by NGO ''My Home India''. It was awarded to Thakkar by

Bhartiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Since 2014, ...

President

Amit Shah Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the 32nd Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Minister of Home Affairs since May 2019 and the 1st Ministry of Co-operation, Minister of Co-operat ...

. *"Lifetime Service to Naga People" award (2009): A special award given by Chuchuyimlang village to Thakkar to honour his contribution for welfare of

Naga people Nagas are various Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups native to northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the Indian state of Nagaland ...

. Thakkar donated 100,000 Indian rupees of Award money to set up a senior citizens' retreat in the village. *Bhagwan Mahaveer Award for Community & Social Service in 2022.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thakkar, Natwar 1932 births 2018 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work Social workers from Nagaland People from Palghar district Gandhians Gujarati people