ओं श्रीगुरुभ्यो नमः।
oṁ śrī gurubhyo namaḥ|
Dr Shrikant Jichkar was a man of staggering academic, professional and spiritual achievement. Looking at his achievement one may be pardoned for thinking it to be incredulous. Limca Book of Records lists him as the most qualified person in India. It is indeed sad that the world could not benefit from a man of such calibre due to his untimely demise at the age of 50 on June 2, 2004.
Some of his achievements are listed below.
Bachelors Degrees
– Medical Doctor (MBBS)
– Law (L.L.B.)
– Journalism (B.Journ)
Masters Degrees
– Medicine (MD)
– International Law (L.L.M.)
– Business Administration (MBA)
– Public Administration (M.A.)
– Sociology (M.A.)
– Economics (M.A.)
– Sanskrit (M.A.)
– History (M.A.)
– English Literature (M.A.)
– Philosophy (M.A.)
– Political Science (M.A.)
– Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology (M.A.)
– Psychology(M.A)
Doctorate
– Sanskrit (D. Litt – Doctor of Letters)
Spiritual Achievements
– Was associated with Swami Chinmayananda who made him the first President of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra.
– Was associated with Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati since 1969.
– Served as the National Co-ordinator of the AIM for Seva (www.aimforseva.org) a movement for service in remote areas.
– Was felicitated by the Sankaracharya of Kanchi with special honours for his work among Adivasis on the occasion of the Kanchi Acharyas Peetharohan Golden Jubilee.
– Was associated with Pujya Sri Sri Ravishankar of Art of Living, as his devotee.
– Was coordinating the work of the Dharma Samstha Pramukh, a council of religious leaders in India.
– Was a nitya Agnihotri, Ahitagni and Somayaji.
– Performed the Agnishtoma, the first Somayaga.
– He was an avid student of the Vedanta Sastra.
Other Professional Achievements
– IPS (Indian Police Service) in 1978
– IAS (Indian Administrative Services) in 1980
– Rose in politics as a student and youth leader.
– Was elected to Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 1980 becoming the youngest MLA in the country at 25. Subsequently became a government Minister holding 14 portfolios at a time.
– Was elected to the Indian Parliament in 1992 after 12 years in the Maharashtra Legislature and served as MP till 1998.
– Worked on several important committees of the State and Central Government, including the Parliamentary Standing committee on Finance; Patents committee; the Planning Board; Resources Mobilization Committee; Taxation Reforms committee, High Power committee on Irrigation and on Transport.
– Was appointed as a One Member Committee in 1992 to found the Sanskrit University in Maharashtra now known as Kavi Kulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University. He was elected the first Chancellor.
– Served as the president of Maharashtra State Marathi Encyclopedia Production Board.
– Travelled around the world representing India and leading Indian delegations on several forums including the UNO, the UNESCO etc.
– Had one of the biggest personal libraries in India with 52,000 books.
Arsha Vijnana Gurukulam 