‘He was a fighter… he fought for social change, for constitutional values, for equality’

The workers carried sonchapha, his favourite flower and placed it near his body. Those who had once marched with him now walked with his body for one last time as they recalled how Baba Adhav spent his life fighting for their dignity and equality. His wish for no religious rites was met with by his family, including wife, both sons and grandchildren as they stood by as he was cremated with full state honours.

For many, his loss was deeply personal. One of his sons, Aseem said, “To me he was a Mahatma. He rejected awards from the government. He lived and breathed Phule’s ideology. He was always restless, like a whirlwind, and now he is finally at peace.” Aseem said he was fortunate to have been Baba Adhav’s son.

“But he was everyone’s Baba. That was his identity. He gave every bit of his body to people. Even in his last days he was working,” he said, adding that Baba’s karyakartas would keep his flame alive and thanked the medical staff who cared for him, especially Dr Abhijeet Vaidya, “who is like an elder brother to me and a son to Baba.”

His close associate Nitin Pawar, who worked alongside him for many years, called him a fighter in every sense. “If I have to choose one word, it would be fighter,” he said. “He fought for social change, for constitutional values, for equality. He challenged untouchability and the devdasi system. He faced lathis and jail time. He stood by satyagraha all his life.” Pawar said.

Baba was a true product of the Phule, Shahu and Ambedkar thought. He believed that science and truth must guide society. Even last year, at 94, he sat on a fast protesting the Ladaki Bahin Yojana, which he believed worked like a legal bribe. “He built organisations for every kind of worker. Garbage pickers, coolies, rickshaw drivers, house maids, glass pickers. He worked to rehabilitate people who lost land to dam projects. Maharashtra has special laws because of him,” Pawar said.

Many who worked with him say that even age could not slow him down. Harun Mujawar, a Rashtra Seva Dal karyakarta who knew him for 40 years, said Baba never took a single step back from work. “There will not be a man like him in a hundred years,” he said. “Two days before he passed away, he was asking us about the Phule lecture series we organise. He was like water. He could blend with anyone from any strata. Workers of all kinds found dignity because of him. Each worker will feel his absence.”

Among the many organisations shaped by his guidance was the Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Sanghatana. Rajeev Dhade, a member, said Baba’s leadership changed their lives. “He helped us build this organisation. Workers were disrespected earlier. He changed that. He gave us direction. His loss has left many of us feeling orphaned,” he said.

Women workers also remember him as the one who turned their struggles into recognised rights. Medha Thatte, general secretary of the Molkarin Sanghatana in Pune, recalled the case of a maid who was suddenly removed from work. “She had demanded gratuity but the employer refused because there was no such rule for unorganised workers. Through a committee he led, Baba helped create provisions. She got her due and he urged workers to fight for their rights,” she said.

Political leaders across the spectrum acknowledged his legacy. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said a great “sangharsha yodha” had been lost. “He lived the ideology of Shahu, Phule and Ambedkar. He worked for all workers,” he said.