Chapter I

Introduction to Leadership

1.1 Definition:

Leadership is defined as ‘the process in which an individual influences the group of

individuals to attain a common goal’. The goal is attained by mutual cooperation and

cohesive behavior. A leader infuses a sense of positivity and directs others to reach the

specified goal.

1.2 Evolution:

Leadership styles have evolved over time, with a prominent shift from the autocratic and

directive leadership of the twentieth century to a more participative and democratic style of

the new generation. In a global study involving 389 leaders from 28 countries, The Centre for

Creative Leadership (CCL) found that 83% of the leaders surveyed believe that the definition

of effective leadership has changed in the past five years. These changes to leadership styles

can be attributed to a combination of issues including a shift in people’s attitudes as well as

advances in technology. There is an imperative for leaders of organizations, including HR

Managers, to plan ahead and adapt to the movement of these evolving trends to ensure the

best outcomes for their organizations. The move has shifted from Authoritarian leaders who

believed in top-down management, strict rules and exact orders, to a progression into white

collar careers with more individualized thinking and individual ownership over tasks. It was

here that participative leadership styles settled in, and this style is now one of the most

common leadership styles in contemporary society. Changes in leadership styles can be seen

across Asia-Pacific too as a Harvard Business School Professor explains that, “As Asian

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companies seek access to world capital markets, they will move toward professional

managers who will employ leadership styles more akin to those now used in the United

States”. The participative style of leadership management is where the group is central to the

decision making process, and not the leader alone. The work environment is more flexible

and managers feel at ease in regards to drawing on the knowledge of experienced followers.

Today’s leaders speak in terms of “open” dialogue and “collaboration,” and indeed if you ask

the great leaders of today they will invariably point to their close collaborators and mentors

as being part of the leadership.

1.3 Rules of a success leader:

Whether a leader is operating in the West or in India, these are someof the thumb rules when

it comes to successful leadership:

The six most important words: "I admit I made a mistake."

The five most important words: "You did a good job."

The four most important words: "What is your opinion."

The three most important words: "If you please."

The two most important words: "Thank you,"

The one most important word: "We"

The least most important word: "I"

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1.4 Characteristics:

Proactive vs. Reactive: The exceptional leader is always thinking three steps ahead.

Working to master his/her own environment with the goal of avoiding problems

before they arise.

Flexible/Adaptable: How do you handle yourself in unexpected or uncomfortable

situations? An effective leader will adapt to new surroundings and situations, doing

his/her best to adjust.

Good Communicator: As a leader, one must listen...a lot! You must be willing to

work to understand the needs and desires of others. A good leader asks many

questions, considers all options, and leads in the right direction.

Respectful: Treating others with respect will ultimately earn respect.

Quiet Confidence: Be sure of yourself with humble intentions.

Enthusiastic: Excitement is contagious. When a leader is motivated and excited about

the cause people will be more inclined to follow.

Open-Minded: Work to consider all options when making decisions. A strong leader

will evaluate the input from all interested parties and work for the betterment of the

whole.

Resourceful: Utilize the resources available to you. If you don't know the answer to

something find out by asking questions. A leader must create access to information.

Rewarding: An exceptional leader will recognize the efforts of others and reinforce

those actions. We all enjoy being recognized for our actions!

Well Educated: Knowledge is power. Work to be well educated on community

policies, procedures, organizational norms, etc. Further, your knowledge of issues and

information will only increase your success in leading others.

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Open to Change: A leader will take into account all points of view and will be willing

to change a policy, program, cultural tradition that is out-dated, or no longer

beneficial to the group as a whole.

Interested in Feedback: How do people feel about your leadership skill set? How can

you improve? These are important questions that a leader needs to constantly ask the

chapter. View feedback as a gift to improve.

Evaluative: Evaluation of events and programs is essential for an organization/group

to improve and progress. An exceptional leader will constantly evaluate and change

programs and policies that are not working.

Organized: Are you prepared for meetings, presentations, events and confident that

people around you are prepared and organized as well?

Consistent: Confidence and respect cannot be attained without your leadership being

consistent. People must have confidence that their opinions and thoughts will be heard

and taken into consideration.

Delegator: An exceptional leader realizes that he/she cannot accomplish everything on

his own. A leader will know the talents and interests of people around him/her, thus

delegating tasks accordingly.

Initiative: A leader should work to be the motivator, an initiator. He/she must be a key

element in the planning and implementing of new ideas, programs, policies, events,

etc.

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1.5 Objectives of study:

To provide the knowledge and skills necessary for participants to overcome the

barriers faced by women who desire to advance in leadership.

To build on and promote the talents and traits that women naturally possess that

benefit the leadership process.

1.6 Mission:

This Women's Leadership Project seeks to educate, inspire and empower women to be

leaders of tomorrow.

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Chapter II

Profile of Sindhutai Sakpal

2.1 About (Sindhutai Sapakal ) Mai:

“Mai” Sindhutai Sapakal Mother of Orphan children. She has devoted her life for the

cause of orphan children. this is not a change of a day or two, it came after tremendous

struggle and up and down in her life.

Her father Mr. Abhimanji Sathe was shepherd, who was anxious for his daughter’s

education. He sends her to the school on pretext of grazing cow, much against of her

mother’s wish. At the age of ten she got married with Mr. Shrihari Sapakal who was 30 years.

It was an end to her education.

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Life keeps moving “Mai’ became mother of three sons. A new turn took place in her

life when she was pregnant for fourth child. Forest Department used to collect dug and

auction it, they were keeping cash with themselves. Sindhutai demanded the right of the

women’s that department should pay money for the dug Collected from the Women this

raised eyebrows of the landlords, they took action and she was refused shelter at her husband

and parents house.

At this crucial stage she gave birth to baby girl at mid night all alone, no one was

there to take care of her and the baby. All miseries, frustration and depression crowded her.

All alone she saw the real picture of the world. One needs specially women, support for her

survival. The situation brought turning point in her life.

Her hunger started her journey by singing at roadside , begging ,crying and loosing

confidence at every step. Her journey took her to a Adivasi (tribal) village called Chikhaldara

in the District of Amaravati. Here too she fought for the existence of the villagers ,she started

the work in the remote area but today is known personality.

Those miseries inspired her to build orphanages (ashrams), Institutes/hostels for

development and protection of women. In 1998 she gave shape to her dream by establishing

‘Saptasindhu’ An Ashram for development of widow, deserted women and orphan child. She

thought of establishing various schools & colleges.

She is rewarded by more than 172 awards for her work by various well known

institutes which Includes:

Savitribai Phule Puraskar’ by Government of Maharashtra.

Punyashlok Ahilyabai Holakar Puraskar’ by Government of Maharashtra.

FIE Foundation Award.

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‘Mai’ is giving personal attention to each child as mother. Even today she goes door

to door for collecting donation & inspire people to donate generously. Institutes and donors

provide food, clothing & shelter to inmates of Organisation. The inmates are orphan children,

deserted women, widow, broken family members and victim of criminal families in the

backward areas.

In her journey of 35 years 'Mai' has groomed more than 1000 children, now a step

ahead she is proud to have 175 sun-in-laws and 36 daughter-in-laws.

At present there are above 350 inmates under motherly shelter of Mai. Inmate’s age at

the time of admission varies from day one to one or two or three months. Organisation takes

special care of the small children by keeping Grihamata (day & night) till age of four.

Organisation takes responsibility of providing nutritious food to the children.

Organisation tries to fulfill all the basic needs of children as well as provides books,

reading material, teaching aids for their education. School going children are given admission

onto Government schools and organisation keeps superiorly control over them. Various

activities are conducted to develop Moral and Social health of the inmates. Special health

camps are organized voluntarily by various Clubs time to time, like ‘Rotary Club’, ‘Lions

Club’, ’Medical Club’. Organisation do conduct Cultural programs on the occasion of various

festivals as Dipawali, Ganesh Festival, Makar-Sankaranti etc. every year for social

development of children.

Organisation is proposed to built a Dream Home for the Orphan children & Deserted

women.

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2.2 Journey:

She was born on 14 November 1948 at Pimpri Meghe village in Wardha district Maharashtra

to Abhimanji Sathe, a cowherd by profession. Being an unwanted child, she was nicknamed

'Chindhi' (torn piece of cloth). Her father was keen on educating Sindhutai, much against the

wishes of her mother. Abhimanji used to send her to school under the pretext of cattle

grazing, where she would use 'leaf of Bharadi Tree' as a slate as she could not afford a real

slate because of financial reasons. Abject poverty, family responsibilities & an early marriage

forced her to quit formal education after she passed 4th grade.

2.3 Marriage & Early Work:

At the tender age of 10, she got married to Shrihari Sapkal alias Harbaji, a 30 year old

cowherd from Navargaon village in Wardha District. She bore 3 sons by the time she turned

20. She put up a successful agitation against a local strongman who was fleecing the villagers

on collection of dried cow dung used as fuel in India and selling it in collusion with forest

department, without paying anything to the villagers. Her agitation brought the district

collector to her village and on realizing she was right, he passed an order which the

strongman did not like. Stung by the insult at the hands of a poor woman, he managed to

convince her husband to abandon her when she was beyond 9 months of her pregnancy. She

gave birth to a baby girl on 14 October 1973 in a cow shelter outside their house that night,all

by herself and walked few kilometers away to her mother's place, who refused to shelter her.

She had to set aside the thought of suicide and started begging on railway platforms for food.

In the process, she realized that there are so many children abandoned by their parents and

she adopted them as her own and started begging even more vigorously to feed them. She

decided to become a mother to anyone and everyone who came across to her as an orphan.

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She later donated her biological child to the trust Shrimant Dagdu Sheth Halwai, Pune, only

to eliminate the feeling of partiality between her daughter and the adopted ones.

2.4 Contribution towards work:

She has devoted her entire life for orphans. As a result she is fondly called 'Mai’(mother).

She has nurtured over 1050 orphaned children. As of today, she has a grand family of 207

son-in-laws, 36 daughter-in-laws and over 1000 grandchildren. She still continues to fight for

the next meal. Many of the children whom she adopted are well-educated lawyers and

doctors, and some, including her biological daughter, are running their own independent

orphanages. One of her children is doing a Ph.D. on her life. She has been honoured with

over 273 awards for her dedication and work. She used award money to buy land to make a

home for her orphan children. Construction has started and she is still looking for more help

from the world. Sanmati Bal Niketan is being built in Manjari locality at Hadapsar, Pune

where over 300 children will reside.

At the age of 80, her husband came back to her apologetically. She accepted him as her child

stating she is only a mother now! If you visit her ashram, she proudly and very affectionately

introduces him as her oldest child! In person, she comes across as an unlimited source of

energy and very powerful inspiration, with absolutely no negative emotions or blaming

anybody.

A marathi film 'Mee Sindhutai Sapkal' released in 2010, is a biopic inspired by the true story

of Sindhutai Sapkal. The film was selected for world premiere at the 54th London Film

Festival.

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2.5 Operating Organizations:

Sanmati Bal Niketan, Bhelhekar Vasti, Hadapsar, Pune

Mamata Bal Sadan, Kumbharvalan, Saswad

Mai's Ashram Chikhaldara, Amravati

Abhiman Bal Bhavan, Wardha

Gangadharbaba Chhatralaya, Guha

Saptsindhu’ Mahila Adhar, Balsangopan Aani Shikshan Sanstha, Pune

2.6 Awards:

2014 - BASAVA BHUSANA PURASKAR-2014,Awarded from Basava Seva

Sangh Pune.

2013 - The National Award for Iconic Mother ---- (first recipient) [4]

2012 - Real Heroes Awards,given by CNN-IBN & Reliance Foundation.[5]

2012 - COEP Gaurav Purskar, given by College Of Engineering, Pune.

2010 - Ahilyabai Holkar Award, given by the Government of Maharashtra to

social workers in the field of woman and child welfare [6]

2008 - Woman of the Year Award, given by daily marathi newspaper Loksatta

1996 - Dattak Mata Purskar,Given by Non Profit Organization - By Sunita

Kalaniketan Trust (In the memories of - Late Sunita Trimbak Kulkarni ), Tal -

Shrirampur Dist Ahmednagar. Maharashtra Pune.[7]

1992 Leading Social Contributor Award.

Sahyadri Hirkani Award (Marathi: सह्याद्रीची हिरकणी पुरस्कार)

Rajai Award (Marathi: राजाई पुरस्कार)

Shivlila Mahila Gourav Award (Marathi: शि�वलीला महिला गौरव पुरस्कार)

Chapter III11

Articles

Interview of Sindhu Sapkal :Telecasted on IBM Lokmat 28 march 2010

- Sunday, March 28, 2010

I haved watched the interview of Sindhu tai Sapkal telecasted on IBN Lokmat

SindhuTai Sapkal, a brave woman who fought back inspite of all adversities and now

has a numerous awards to her credit.She runs four ashrams for the basic rights of the

underprivileged children which includes education.

It is difficult to believe that this woman once contemplated suicide when she was

unable to feed her daughter. She used to make a living by begging in the train after she was

disowned by her husband and family. Hunger made me speak

Q.1) How did you begin social work?

I first went to Chikhaldara begging for bhakri (bajra roti) in 1975. Unable to feed myself and

my two-year-old daughter, I had almost decided to commit suicide. I was standing under a

tree when suddenly its stem caught my attention; I noticed that it had been badly axed, but it

was still giving me shade. I almost screamed, 'No I will not die'. I decided to take care of the

orphaned children of Adivasis. It is common among them for a man to desert his wife for

another woman; the woman then remarries, sometimes abandoning the children. Initially I

took care of the children in return for some kutki [a kind of rice], dal and buttermilk.

Q.2) You speak so well at public meetings?

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When I used to beg at railway stations, initially I would only sing. Later I thought if I started

speaking I could earn more. I used to be so hungry. My hunger taught me to speak and the

pain within me taught me to sing.

Q.3) Who are your idols?

I draw inspiration from saints like Sant Gadgebaba, Rashtra Sant Tukdoji Maharaj and

Bahinabai Chaudhari. Among the gods, I like Lord Krishna. I don't like Ram, I have an

ongoing feud with him because he deserted Sita. I also like Veer Savarkar.

Q.4) Have any children run away from your ashrams?

Fortunately not. Even when I convinced people to adopt my children, they did not stay with

them, because they call me Mai and know that a mother cannot be replaced. The children

have been very cooperative. Whenever I brought home new kids, I told the others they might

have to drink dal instead of eating it, since it would be more diluted. But they never

complained. Many children are married now. Today I can proudly say I have 36 daughters-in-

law and 177 sons-in-law. I have always been more protective of girls.

Q.5) Would you like to return to your husband?

I cannot be a wife again. But if my husband comes to me as a child, I will serve him. I am not

angry with him, he was not educated, it is not his fault. Had my husband not abandoned me,

all this work would not have happened.

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CHAPTER IV

Conclusion

There goes an old adage, “Education is one of the surest ways to escape from

poverty.” Many individuals have taken this route in their odyssey of life and SindhuTai

Sapkal was no exception. But, reality in life compelled Sindhutai to give up her education

after fourth standard and settle down for an early marriage at the age of 12 to a man more

than twice her age.

Her passion towards the discipline of reading continued even after her marriage but

her partner in marriage was of the opinion that his wife was trying to demonstrate that she

was more educated than him.

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Bibliography

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