My Dear Friends,
Let me share this wonderful success story of a Dalit an 8 year old lad from Wadala Slum ended up as a chief economist of Reserve Bank of India, then as a Vice Chancellor of Pune University (still serving in this capacity)
YES, it is the inspirations & motivations of his father as well as his unending quest to learn, study more and more fetched him these top honours.
Let us Salute this noble hard working gentleman who has shown what determinations and dedications can fetch if we have the willingness & self interest to excel in this world.
He is none other than Dr. Narendra Jadhav & his elder brother too inspired to become an IAS officer and served as a Municipal Commissioner at Mumbai.
Jadhav's unique success story has often been cited as a sterling example of how education can unchain and transform when seemingly nothing else can.
The street and the slum taught the young boy to be resilient but it was the all-consuming emphasis placed on education by his semi-literate father, a Dalit worker with the Bombay Port Trust that set him on the road to success.
Jadhav like any other dalit kid had his schooling in a municipal primary school & private secondary school, with his initial goal to become gangster and changed himself for settling with a peon’s job, later changed his idea to become a teacher, and also the desire to become a writer…with all these oscillating thoughts & poverty Jadhav informed his brother about his goal to become a writer, for which his elder brother warned him that writers always ends up with poverty & starvations.
At this juncture Jadhav’s father intervened & advised his son to hear his view.
Jadhav’s father simply said
"Don't listen to what others tell you to become.
They may tell you to become a doctor, barrister or engineer.
But follow your inner voice and do what you want.
I really don't care what you choose for yourself, as long as you're at the top, wherever you are.
Don't ever be mediocre.
Even if you're a thief, make sure you're an internationally acclaimed one."
These golden advices changed his dreams & landed up in serious attentions to study.
Jadhav was able to score a topper in Sanskrit (a language always dominated by Brahmins & dalits had been denied due to their predominate tongue access to Sanskrit language) in his SSC, then went on to finish his BSc in statistics & economics with distinctions at Ruia’s Collage Mumbai, and after completing first year MA in economics from Mumbai University got selected as a probationary officer in State Bank of India and continues his studies with a first class record which no dalit has achieved so for as well as served in his job at SBI.
After a 3 year stint with SBI, Jadhav moved on to secure a job at the age of 24 in Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai as their youngest researcher.
A few years into the job, he felt the need to study further. So, on a government of India scholarship, he headed for the University of Indiana, where he received a Ph.D in Public Finance.
He was awarded the Best International Student and won the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Economic Theory.
When Jadhav passed his SSC, he could barely speak in English, a language he has now consummately mastered. "Of course it was hard for me to switch from Marathi to English. But then, life is hard. You can't use your background as an excuse for incompetence. And there's no substitute for hard work. The fact that I lived in a slum and studied at a Marathi-medium school did not come in the way of my higher education abroad," he says.
His classmates at Indiana, where he headed the Indian Students Association, were shocked when he told them he wanted to return to India after his Ph.D. "At that time, no Indian who went abroad to study returned home. Most of them were from rich families who would settle abroad and then complain of how they were subjected to racism. And here was I, from a down-trodden family in India, turning my back on over a dozen job offers to return home instead.
" Seven days after his got his PhD; Jadhav was back saying "because I believe there can be no substitute for your motherland. My commitment to my own people was so strong that I would not been happy anywhere else".
As a tribute to thehis father who himself was uneducated, yet lived fearlessly and overcame caste and class barriers, Jadhav wrote 'Amcha Baap ani Amhi,' a book on his father's life that has been translated into many languages.
Once, while Jadhav was at Indiana, his father fell critically ill. He rushed back to see him, only to be reprimanded. "Don't waste your time in the middle of your studies. Come back when you've finished your degree. I won't die until then."
He kept his word. He died three years after his son returned to India as Dr Narendra Jadhav.
Such dedicated persons who come above caste barriers and succeed shows the world as
“Hard Work Never gets wasted & always pays its dividends & fruits to the society”
Subbu
Courtesy : News article from TOI.
Close
dear subbu,
jadhav's story is
inspirational fo all of us..
tahnks for writing about him in your blog...
Reply | | Report Abuse
My dear Ashulec,
Thanks for the kind visits and glad that this blog inspired our sulekhites.
Motivations and inspirations are boosters to self will & hard work, hence let us share such legends true stories of success.
Subbu
Reply | | Report Abuse
Thank you our dear Smitaji for sharing this wonderful informations, It's good to see that both of you had the oppertunity to work together at ICICI.
Glad to see such worthy informations like our sulekhites had the occasion to meet some of the legends.
As you said Dr.Jadhav's Auto biographical marathi book explaining the wonderful inspirations & motivations from his father to succeed in professional life.
We do reciprocate our sincere admirations for this couple Mrs & Mr.Dr.Jadhav.
Thanks for the kind visits & inputs.
Subbu
Reply | | Report Abuse
My dear Vish Shankarbhai,
Thanks for sharing this wonderful news that both of you joined together as probationary officers in SBI, and glad to see your feedbacks.
We are lucky to have friends like you with us here to share some inspiring moments.
Good to know about our Dr.Jadhav's professional skills & his joining Vice Chancelor ship at Pune University has deprived us to see him as the future Governor of RBI.
Well, the students are lucky to have him as VC and his inspirations & motivations can help them up to come in exciting professionals.
Thanks for the kind visits to my cyber space too.
Subbu
Reply | | Report Abuse
Vow ..may his truibe increase ..i needed to read this today ..it is really highlr motivating
Reply | | Report Abuse
Yes, his story is truly inspiring. He has written an autobiographical book in marathi that someone flicked from me before I could read, which is all about his journey to success, and the huge influence of his father on his own thoughts and decisions. Truly great men, both of them.
His wife is a wonderful woman too, she used to work in ICICI when I was working there too.
Thanks for writing about Dr, Jadhav on Sulekha.
Smita
Reply | | Report Abuse
PF,
Dr. Jadhav and I joined SBI as probationary officers to geather. He is undoubtedly gifted and extremely bright. I would expect that he becomes either RBI governor or finance minister of india. He has incidentally also had a stint at IMF and has worked with the Dr Manmohansingh when he was with the rbi
vish
Reply | | Report Abuse