Rising above all odds to design a checkered career dedicated to the service of the nation

Rising above all odds to design a checkered career dedicated to the service of the nation

Prod Dr Narendra Jadhav adresses the young entrants at WeSchool on Day 2 of Foundation Fortnight

The second day of the Foundation fortnight brought none other than Prof Dr Narendra Jadhav , an Indian economist, bureaucrat, writer and educationist, a member of the Rajya Sabha to address the young entrants at WeSchool. He has previously served as member of the Planning Commission of India and the National Advisory Council. He had worked with International Monetary Fund (IMF) and headed economic research at the Reserve Bank of India.

Dr Jadhav held the audience spellbound as he shared the story of how a young boy from a family that was considered as belonging to a ‘lower’ cast, became the role model for the disempowered millions in our country. As a growing lad, life was indeed very bleak for Narendra and his elder brothers as there was no hope, nobody to handhold and guide them to a life of opportunities leading prosperity . ”I grew up in an area infested by gangs, skirmishes between them were common daily affairs and naturally I dreamt of becoming a gangster when I grew up. But the adversities in the environment taught us a lesson to be strong, that we were on our own, and we had to help ourselves for survival . My second dream was to become a peon, as that seemed like a guarantee of a permanent job and secure life. As I began to attend school, I wanted to become a teacher and later on an author.”

Born to semi-literate parents who were busy struggling for the day to survival,the children would have got lost in a life of abuse and crime but they ,were encouraged by the father Damodar Runjaji Jadhav ,as semi-literate Class IV employee of the Bombay Port Trust ,not only to study but to become the best, achieve excellence in whichever field they chose. ”Become the best, go to the top of the ladder. You want to become a gangster? A thief? Then become the best one that there is. Everyone must look up to you.”

“This was the turning point in my life as his words kept seeing through my psyche, it became my life force.” The life story of Dr Jadhav unfolded in his own words , a great story of change, courage, progress, and of hope for all those hitherto kept outside on the social fabric on independent India by the rigid orthodox social norms and taboos.’Amcha Baap anee Amhee’ an autobiography based on the jottings by his Father, was published under the leadership of Dr Jadhav and his brothers ,not only tells the story of emergence of members of one family fired by the thoughts of his father but also inspired by the philosophy of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, to break the shackles of narrow casteism and rise above all odds to take up their rightful places in the society. And his treatise on ‘Re-Emerging India’ have become the backdrops of our social and political vision

Dr Jadhav served in the Reserve Bank of India for 31 years, taking voluntary retirement in October 2008, from the position of Principal Adviser and Chief Economist. In the RBI, he steered a team of 120 career economists and played a significant role in macroeconomic policy-making in India especially after the macroeconomic crisis in 1991. He worked for four and half years at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), first as Adviser to Executive Director for India and briefly as a Consultant to the Independent Evaluation office of the IMF. He later on worked as Chief Economic Counselor for Afghanistan (2006) .As he was working in Afghanistan, an opportunity to serve as the Vice Chancellor of a University of Pune emerged and he decided to return to India to serve the cause of education, a subject close to his heart.

“I gave up my hefty salary package in Afghanistan and decided to return to India as there is no substitute to parents and to motherland.”]He served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pune from 2006 to 2009. Subesquently , He was appointed to the Planning Commission by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the second UPA government. As Member, Planning Commission, Dr. Jadhav’s Sectoral responsibilities include Education, Labor-Employment-Skill Development, Sports and Youth Affairs, and Social Justice and Empowerment. In April 2016, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President of India.

A celebrated public, Dr Jadhav is recipient of as many as 63 National and International Awards for his contribution to the fields of economics, education, literature, culture and social work. These include four Honorary D Lit Degrees and the title of the Commander of the Order of Academic Palmes by the Government of France.

Dr Jadhav’s dream of becoming a writer not only came true but shot to fame with ‘Amcha baap anee amhee’ , the biographical novel translated in English as ‘Untouchables’ a runaway best seller with combined sales exceeding 5,00,000 copies, which has also been translated into as many as 20 languages (French, Spanish, Korean, Thai ,as well as in most major Indian languages). The book has received several awards including the coveted Sahitya Academy Award for its Punjabi Version. The book is being translated into Japanese, Chinese, and several European languages. He is seen as a prolific writer with 11 books and over 100 research papers to his credit. He has been a recipient of as many as 25 national and international awards for his contribution to the fields of economics, education, literature, culture and social work.

Dr Narendra Jadhav is an inspiration for the youth who aspire to break various the glass ceilings in the upper dome of the financial, academic and literary communities in the national as well as international arena.