She turned her own abandonment into a lifelong vow to shelter the abandoned. On her birth anniversary, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis paid tribute to Padma Shri Sindhutai Sapkal — revered across Maharashtra as Maai (mother) — honoring the woman who gave thousands of orphaned children a home, a name, and a future.

Fadnavis posted his tribute on Saturday, 14 November 2026, writing in both English and Marathi: 'अनाथांची मायमाऊली, वात्सल्यसिंधू' — 'the mother of orphans, an ocean of affection' — offering 'crores of salutations' on her birth anniversary. The hashtag #वात्सल्यसिंधू ('ocean of affection') trended briefly among Maharashtra's social media community, reflecting the depth of her legacy in the state's public memory.

From Outcast to 'Mother of Orphans'

Sindhutai Sapkal's story is one of Maharashtra's most extraordinary social chapters. Abandoned by her own family, she transformed personal grief into radical compassion — taking in orphaned and destitute children from across the state and raising them as her own. Over decades, she sheltered and rehabilitated thousands of abandoned children, founding shelter homes that became a model for grassroots child welfare in India.

Her work earned her the title 'Mother of Orphans' — not from any government gazette, but from the children and communities she served. The Government of India recognised her with the Padma Shri in 2021, one of the country's highest civilian honours, cementing her place among India's foremost social reformers.

Maharashtra's Tradition of Honoring Its Reformers

Fadnavis's tribute is part of a consistent pattern in Maharashtra's political culture — one where leaders across the spectrum publicly commemorate the birth and death anniversaries of reformers, saints, and social workers who shaped the state's ethos. For a state whose identity is woven through figures like Savitribai Phule, Mahatma Phule, and Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Sindhutai Sapkal occupies a living, modern place in that lineage of service.

It is also worth noting that 14 November is Children's Day in India — marking the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru — lending Fadnavis's tribute to a champion of orphaned children an added resonance on a day the nation dedicates to its youngest citizens.

Sindhutai Sapkal's model — built not on institutional funding but on relentless personal will — continues to inspire child welfare advocates and policymakers who look at grassroots care as a complement to state-run schemes. Her name remains a benchmark for what individual conviction can build.