Baba Adhav passed away at the age of 96 on Monday, December 8. As one of the most effective organisers of workers from the poorest and most unorganised sections of society, he became widely respected during his lifetime. The impact of the struggles he helped lead and motivate remains extensive. His high personal integrity, deep commitment to workers’ rights, and openness to practical and innovative solutions earned him respect across ideological lines.
His initiatives were often designed so that their demands were realistic and implementable, which increased the likelihood of acceptance by government authorities. His emphasis on low-cost community kitchens providing healthy food for workers was one example of this practical approach. Beyond specific initiatives, he was widely admired for his lifelong commitment to building a society based on equality, justice and dignity, particularly for communities historically subjected to discrimination. Although firm in his convictions, he was personally gentle and approachable. During a visit to Pune to interview him for two booklets and several articles, I found him warm and welcoming.
His wife, Sheetaltai, a trained nurse, supported his work for decades; she once jokingly referred to him as her “non-earning husband.” For some years, he practiced as an ayurvedic doctor before giving up his medical work to pursue social causes full-time. His grounding in traditional medicine may have helped sustain his physical strength into his nineties, as he continued to take part in prolonged fasts for issues he considered important.
Unorganised workers form the bulk of India’s workforce, yet most face serious difficulties in securing social security and fair working conditions. Neglected by the state and by larger trade unions, they often endure exploitation, poor health conditions and extreme insecurity. A few initiatives across India have attempted to mobilise these workers, but some of the most sustained and successful efforts were led or inspired by Baba Adhav.
He began organising head-loaders (hamals) in 1952 at the age of 22. Sustaining this work for nearly seven decades and linking it to broader national efforts was a remarkable achievement. Models developed in Pune and surrounding areas influenced similar initiatives elsewhere.
In 2011, he received The Times of India’s first Social Impact Award for Lifetime Contribution for “decades of selfless work to secure labour rights and social security for lakhs of people in the unorganised sector.” Earlier, The Week magazine named him “Man of the Year” in 2007 and referred to him, half in jest, as “Coolie No. 1” for his efforts to secure dignity and rights for head-loaders.
If recognition came late, jail terms came early. Over six to seven decades of activism, he was jailed 53 times, the last being in 2008. Despite repeated imprisonment and harassment, he sustained and expanded his work for over 70 years. He did so without accepting government or foreign funding, relying instead on workers’ participation, local contributions and cooperative structures.
A distinguishing feature of his work was the emphasis on innovation. To provide social security to head-loaders, he and his colleagues devised a levy on payments made to workers. The funds were then used for provident fund, gratuity, bonus, insurance and other benefits. His work also extended to women who cleaned grain, scrap-collectors gathering used lubricating oil, rag-pickers, domestic workers, vendors, rickshaw drivers and several other marginalised groups. Many of these small and large unions—referred to as panchayats—were established in Pune and later expanded to other towns and districts.
These unions helped improve wages, living conditions and social security. Among head-loaders, earnings increased significantly, over 400 houses were built, a school offering free quality education was established, and an IT training unit for senior students began functioning. Workers received provident fund, gratuity and health insurance, and a demand for pensions has emerged. Their union also played an important role in implementing an ILO resolution limiting the weight lifted by head-loaders to 50 kg, reducing health risks.
Unions established later, such as those of rag-pickers, have also secured major gains: reduced police harassment, better prices, decline in child labour, access to education, group life insurance, and health coverage from the Pune Municipal Corporation. The SWaCH cooperative has linked improved livelihoods for waste-pickers with environmental benefits through composting and recycling. The KKPKP union also hosts the secretariat of the Alliance of Waste Pickers.
Unions of domestic workers, street vendors and rickshaw drivers achieved notable progress. For vendors, local authorities developed policy guidelines complementing the 2007 national policy, helping them protect their livelihoods and resist extortion. Domestic workers are pressing for improvements in the new legislation and have accelerated registration. The rickshaw drivers’ union campaigns for recognition of their work as a public utility and for social security through a dedicated board. An umbrella platform, the Angmehanti Kashtakari Sangharsh Samiti, supports various unions.
Alongside unions, cooperative credit societies played a crucial role in enabling workers to avoid high-interest loans from private moneylenders. These societies offered affordable loans, encouraged savings and created a sense of ownership that strengthened repayment and financial discipline. Over the years, new cooperatives were set up for different worker groups, saving millions of rupees for low-income families and enabling them to invest in housing, education and small businesses. A community kitchen and the SWaCH cooperative became additional examples of social-enterprise initiatives that combined livelihood improvement with environmental benefits.
Baba Adhav often emphasised that improvements in living conditions must be accompanied by enhanced dignity and social respect, which in turn requires broader societal change. His inspiration came from the work of Mahatma Phule, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji and others, whose teachings he tried to interpret for contemporary needs.
Nitin Pawar, closely associated with his work, notes that limiting Baba Adhav’s contribution to organising unorganised sector workers would overlook his much wider engagement. During the 1972 drought, he worked to end discriminatory access to village water sources. He fought long campaigns for nomadic and denotified tribes and advocated pensions for devadasis. After giving up his medical practice, he helped establish public-spirited hospitals. He supported Hamid Dalwai’s reform efforts within Muslim and Bohra communities. During the Emergency, he resisted slum demolition and was jailed for 14 months. As president of the PUCL and through other platforms, he worked on civil liberties issues. He also helped create a rehabilitation policy in Maharashtra for families displaced by development projects.
Women played a central role in his vision of social change, and unions of domestic workers, rag-pickers and vendors are today dominated by women workers.
A socialist, satyagrahi and satyashodhak—one committed to seeking truth—was how he described himself. He remained active in national campaigns for social security and universal pensions even in his later years. His wife, Sheela, supported his wide-ranging activities for decades. Baba Adhav will be remembered as one of India’s most respected social activists, whose legacy blends mass mobilisation with social-enterprise solutions.
---
The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril, Man Over Machine, When the Two Streams Met and Protecting Earth for Children
Comments