Son of 1st Olympic Medallist Demands Padma Shri For Father

Ranjit Jadhav, son of wrestling great Khashaba Jadhav, on Wednesday sought the country’s highest civilian honour ‘Bharat Ratna’ for his late father.

His father, the first Indian to win an individual medal at the Olympics (1952, Helsinki), did not even get a Padma award, Ranjit Jadhav said, noting that likes of TV producer Ekta Kapoor have got these awards.

Khashaba Jadhav died in 1984

His father was given Arjuna Award only in 2001, Ranjit told PTI from the family’s native village Gokuleshwar in Satara district of western Maharashtra.

“For the past 19 years, I have been trying my best to ensure that the great wrestler gets Bharat Ratna, or at least a Padma award, posthumously. My father died in 1984 and after 17 years was awarded with the Arjuna award,” he told.

“My father won an Olympics medal in 1952. If your look at the list of award winners from 1954 to 1984, several sports persons got Padma Shri, some got even Padma Bhushan, while few got all three (including Padma Vibhushan). However, there was no Olympian among them barring hockey wizard Major Dhyanchand and few other hockey players,” claimed Ranjit.

“After the 1952 Olympics, India had to wait for 44 years to get an individual medal in Olympics. This underlines the greatness of my father,” he said.

“Ekta Kapoor was given Padma Shri this year. What was the social significance of giving the award to her?” he asked.

The demand for Bharat Ratna for his father was raised in Parliament by some MPs in the past, but the Union government turned a deaf ear, he alleged.

MPs from Maharashtra should convince the Centre to honour his father posthumously, he said.