Natwar Thakkar
| Natwar Thakkar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1932 (age 84–85) Dahanu, Bombay Presidency, British India |
| Residence | Chuchuyimlang, Nagaland, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Philanthropist, Social activist |
| Organization | Nagaland Gandhi Ashram |
| Known for | Social work in Nagaland |
| Movement | Gandhian movement |
| Awards |
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Natwar Thakkar (born 1932), popularly known as Natwar bhai, is a Gandhian social worker from India who works in the Indian state of Nagaland. He belongs to the Maharashtra state of India but migrated to Nagaland for social work at the age of 23. He founded the Nagaland Gandhi Ashram at Chuchuyimlang village in the Mokokchung district of Nagaland. Because of his efforts to spread Gandhian philosophy in Nagaland and his social work, he is known as "Nagaland's Gandhi".
Thakkar was born in 1932 to a Gujarati-speaking family in the coastal Dahanu town of the then Bombay Presidency of British India. Today it is part of the Palghar district of Maharashtra state. Inspired by Gandhian social reformer Kaka Kalelkar early in his life, Thakkar went to Nagaland, the North-Eastern state of India, at the age of 23 in 1955, desiring to foster "goodwill and emotional integration through voluntary social service" among the people of Nagaland, using Gandhian principles.
Thakkar established the "Nagaland Gandhi Ashram" in the Chuchuyimlang village in Nagaland in 1955. At that time, the Naga rebels and the Indian army were constantly at "war" and hence the militants considered any "Indian" as a "spy" and they warned villagers not to shelter or aid Thakkar. Thakkar has assisted residents in "various development and income generating activities", including beekeeping, gur production, oil ghanis, a biogas plant, a mechanised carpentry workshop, and Khadi sales outlets. Apart from popularising Khadi, he has also started a vocational training centre for school drop-outs and the physically-handicapped children.
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