Ratansinhji Mahida Memorial Award to honour contributions to tribal education

Vadodara: Ratansinhji Mahida from Rajpipla established 72 educational institutions, primarily benefiting the tribal population. Despite opportunities to enter politics, he chose to dedicate his life to serving his people. However, with only 37 of these institutions still operational and concerns about his legacy fading, an award is being instituted in his honour.
Mahida started working for the tribal communities in Narmada district in 1957. He worked for the royal family of Rajpipla and had close ties with the family. The scions of the royal family also contributed to his mission, donating four of their palaces for educational institutions—institutions that continue to exist today.
The initiative for the award was taken by Ratansinhji's granddaughter, Virajkumari Jadeja, who approached Manvendrasinh Gohil, the scion of the Rajpipla royal family. The Lakshya Trust, which has been floated by Gohil, is also supporting the cause.
Together, they instituted the Ratansinhji Mahida Memorial Award, which will be given for the first time on April 12, 2025. The awards aim to recognize the contributions of tribal individuals who have achieved excellence and persons whose work uplifts tribal communities and aligns with the values Ratansinhji stood for.
"Educational facilities were non-existent when Ratansinhji started work in 1957. His initiatives included ‘ashram shalas' in tribal areas as well as colleges in Rajpipla," said Jadeja. She added that late Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were keen for him to join them and use his expertise for the govt, but Ratansinhji insisted on working for tribals and education in Rajpipla.
Jadeja, however, rued the fact that many of these institutions do not exist today. She added that when she returned to India in 2018 after spending several years in Japan, she realized that the remaining institutions were also struggling with various issues. She even took legal action to protect them.
"While we will continue fighting for these institutes, I also felt that something positive should be done to keep his memory alive and carry his work forward," she said, adding that this is how the idea of the award came about.
The first recipients of the award include Prof. Madhukar Padvi, the first vice chancellor (VC) of Birsa Munda Tribal University in Rajpipla. Jadeja noted that she joined an ‘ashram shala' at the age of four. Another awardee is Prof. Prasanna Sree, the first tribal woman VC in the Andhra region.
The award ceremony is expected to be attended by chief minister Bhupendra Patel, union minister for tribal affairs Jual Oram, and actor, director, and former MP Nitish Bharadwaj.