"Mother Of Orphan Children"- Sindhutai Sapkal Dies At 73

PM Modi expressed his condolences on the demise of Ms. Sapkal

Pune: A huge loss for the nation as the renowned social worker Sindhutai Sapkal, fondly known as ''the mother of orphan children", passed away following a heart attack in a private Pune hospital, doctors said.

The Padma Shri Awardee, Ms Sapkal took her last breath at the age of 73 today. She was one of the humblest women who always wanted to help the nation and most importantly work for the orphans.  

Ms. Sapkal had been admitted to the Galaxy Care Hospital in Maharashtra's Pune. While speaking on the demise of the social worker Ms Sindhutai, Dr Shailesh Puntambekar, Medical Director of the hospital said "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."

She was born on November 14, 1948, in the Wardha district of Maharashtra, Sapkal was forced to drop out of school after she had passed the 4th standard. She received the Padma Shri Award last year.

At as young as age 12, she was married to a 32-year-old man. After she gave birth to three children, her husband abandoned her while she was pregnant. At one point, as her mother and the village where she had grown up refused to help her in her plight, Sapkal had to resort to begging to raise her daughters.

Despite that, she overcame these circumstances and soon started working for orphans' welfare. She almost raised over 1,050 orphan children. Also, she can boast of having 207 sons-in-law and 36 daughters-in-law.

In addition to the Padma award, Sapkal has received more than 750 awards and honours in her lifetime. She has used the award money to further build shelters for orphans.

Her life has been an inspiration to many. In 2010, a Marathi biopic on her life, Mee Sindhutai Sapkal, was released and selected for the world premiere at the 54th London Film Festival.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and loss via his tweet, he gave a tribute to the social worker and wrote, "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," said the Prime Minister.