Shantilal Muttha

Founder & National President - Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana, Pune

Shri Shantilalji Gulabchandji Muttha is a role model in three wings - Social Service, Disaster Management, and Permanent Rehabilitation through Quality Education.

Born on 15 August 1953, Shri Shantilalji Muttha spent his early childhood in an ashram shala. While at school, he motivated his friends to earn while they learned and started taking his team to do part-time job as wadhpi (food server) for serving food in social functions, particularly in marriages. He undertook a 3,000 kms long Padayatra during 1986-87 and made an in-depth study of the socio-economic problems of the masses. To muster hands to fulfill his mission, he formed the Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana (BJS), a parent organization of more than 1,000 village and city units across India with lakhs of like-minded people. Today BJS is an exceptional NGO with a strong foundation of the largest network of social workers rendering services to needy masses of all communities. With the help of his rank and file, Shri Muttha organizes gigantic relief camps during calamities, to provide food, medical aid, clothing and shelter to thousands of sufferers at a time.

Pioneered Mass Marriages (Samuhik Vivaha) Movement - 1988 : While doing the above job, as wadhpi (food server) for serving food in social functions, particularly in marriages, his tender mind was put off by the phony opulence of weddings. Therefore, while in college, he made it a mission to awaken people against extravagant weddings, but soon realized that his word had no impact, as he was a non-entity in the society. He therefore decided to earn status in the society to help translate his dreams into action. He entered construction industry, went from rags to riches within a decade and then spearheaded the movement from 1985. On 7.1.1989, a record mass marriage of 625 couples from diverse religions was organized under one roof at Pune, without sacrificing religious rites and thus promoting national integration.

Plastic Surgery Medical Camps (annually ongoing from 1990) : Through BJS, Shri Muttha regularly organizes free Plastic Surgery medical camps for the needy. Inviting Dr. Sharadkumar Diksheet, a prominent plastic surgeon of USA, he has been conducting plastic surgery operations at more than 25 locations in Maharashtra.

Peace March during Riots - 1993 : In 1993, after the demolition of Babri Masjid, communal riots rocked several cities. Shri Muttha organized a "Peace March" from Pune to Nagpur comprising of religious heads of Hindu, Muslim and Jain religions and many other dignitaries from the society successfully appealed to restore communal harmony.

Building future for earthquake-hit orphans - Latur, Maharashtra - 1993 : During a massive earthquake across Latur district in 1993, Shri Muttha began a hostel-cum-school at Wagholi Educational and Rehabilitation Center (WERC), Pune, and re-built lives of nearly 1,200 earthquake-hit orphans from standard 5, who had lost everything in the quake, and educated them till graduation.

This ultra-modern rehabilitation centre continues to offer shelter to orphans even today. Hon'ble President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam visited WERC, Pune and gave donation from his personal account.

Malnourished children of Melghat (Maharashtra) - 1996 : Nearly 400 malnourished children from the tribal area of Melghat of Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, were brought to WERC, Pune in 1996 with the belief and hope that these children would educate the tribals and bring about a radical change in the area.

Jabalpur Earthquake - 1997 : Nearly 50 children were again brought from Jabalpur 1997 to WERC, Pune to rebuild their lives.

Gujarat Earthquake - 2001 : Under his stewardship, the BJS built 368 schools buildings with 1,004 classrooms in 267 villages in just 90 days and handed them over to the Gujarat Government.

Tsunami on East Coast - 2004-05 : In 2004-05, Shri Muttha with his team rushed to provide rescue, relief and rehabilitation programs in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry and then got totally involved in permanent rehabilitation projects in Andaman & Nicobar.

Schools and PHCs and Education in Tsunami-hit Andaman and Nicobar : Shri Muttha raised permanent, quake-resistant structures in Andaman & Nicobar, including 11 school buildings, 30 Primary Health Sub-Centers and 4 Primary Health Centers - the only structures erected by any NGO in the islands after the Tsunami.

He then started a mega project of the Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana (BJS)-Educational Quality Improvement Programme (BJS-EDUQIP) there, being implemented during 2005-08 in nearly 400 schools at no cost to the Government.

Jammu & Kashmir Earthquake - 2005 : Responding to the call of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Shri Muttha donated all the temporary school structures erected in Gujarat for the benefit of Jammu & Kashmir earthquake-affected people and transported them to POK border from Gujarat in a record time of one month to provide shelter to 15,000 earthquake victims before the advent of winter.

Rehabilitation of 500 Jammu & Kashmir earthquake-hit orphans : BJS also attempted to provide educational rehabilitation to 500 orphans of Jammu & Kashmir. The train, carrying the orphans, was flagged off by Chief Minister Shri Gulam Nabi Azad in presence of Hon. Smt. Sonia Gandhi and the orphans were brought to Wagholi Educational and Rehabilitation Center at Pune. Teachers and social workers were also called from Jammu & Kashmir so that the children got their education according to the syllabus of Jammu & Kashmir Board.

Enhancement of Quality in Education : As a true visionary, he felt an immense need to bring about a metamorphosis in the quality of education in a developing country like India. In particular, state-run schools where the maximum student population is from impoverished class, there was a dire need for enhancement of quality of education. Therefore, with the help of an expert professional team, he developed R & D Wing in the office of BJS and evolved the BJS-Educational Quality Improvement Programme (BJS-EDUQIP).

He provided and applied this programme in the schools in the most backward area of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where it generated miraculously positive results.

The tremendous success of BJS-EDUQIP prompted Education Department of Goa Government to execute the same programme in about 1,700 state-run schools in Goa State. The same programme is being implemented in all the 550 Navodaya Vidyalayas all over India.

The programme, supplied by him to all these schools free of cost, has proved a boon for thousands of students from underprivileged classes. Now his aim is to implement such a marvelous programme through over a million schools in India so that there would be maximum utilization of brain-power of budding citizens of India thereby ensuring rich intellectual asset for tomorrow's India.

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Address : Muttha Chamber II, Senapati Bapat Road, Near Chaturshringi Temple, Pune-411016
Phone No. 020-66050000, Mobile : 0-98-2302-9252
Website : www.bjs-eduqip.org, www.bjsindia.org & www.fjei.org, E-Mail : sgmuttha@fjei.org 

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