Santokben Jadeja
Encyclopedia
Santokben Jadeja, popularly was known as "Godmother", & probably the only famous case of a lady heading an underworld enterprise in India. Her area of operations have been in and around Porbandar
. Though now marginalized by the Bharatiya Janata Party
; once she was a key player in the Mafia operations of Porbandar
.
community, who was an ordinary mill worker at Maharana Mill. But became a gangster and don when he killed the local gangster Devu Vagher, who was hired by mill owner to break the strike.
Till 1986 Santokben was playing the role of a home maker and a mother when under the influence of Pandurang Shastri
of the Swadhyay movement her husband Samran had bid farewell to arms and crime. But in December 1986, her husband was shot dead by Kala Keshav gang owing to old rivalry. This brought Santokben in to forefront, who decided to go back to old way of his spouse, to get even.
She was an MLA from 1990 to 1995 as a candidate of Janata Dal
and was close to Chimanbhai Patel
She was alleged to be behind the murder of 14 people who, she believed were responsible for her husband's murder.She was arrested for giving shelter to the persons, who raped two girls.
She generally hailed from Kutiyana
town in Porbandar
district.
She also lived in Kadach, near Porbandar before she became GODMOTHER.
She was in the news in 2008 when her daughter-in-law was shot dead by unknown assailants.
She died of a heart attack in Porbandar, Gujarat on Thursday, Mar 31, 2011 night.
film, Godmother
(1999), where her role was essayed by Shabana Azmi
, who later won the National Film Award for Best Actress
.
Porbandar
Porbandar is a coastal city in the Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama...
. Though now marginalized by the Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
; once she was a key player in the Mafia operations of Porbandar
Porbandar
Porbandar is a coastal city in the Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama...
.
Early life
She was married to Samran Munja Jadeja, a leader of MerMers
The Mer population of Kathiawar region in Saurashtra also known as the Maher, Mihir, Mair or Mehr are a community of people who have evolved from the Kshatriya Rajput varna within Hinduism. They are believed to be of Indo-Aryan descent, and have a rich and diverse history involving many battles,...
community, who was an ordinary mill worker at Maharana Mill. But became a gangster and don when he killed the local gangster Devu Vagher, who was hired by mill owner to break the strike.
Till 1986 Santokben was playing the role of a home maker and a mother when under the influence of Pandurang Shastri
Pandurang Shastri Athavale
Shastri Pandurang Vaijnath Athavale , also known as Dada-ji , which literally translates as elder brother in Marathi, was an Indian philosopher, spiritual leader, social reformer and Hinduism reformist, who founded the Swadhyay Movement and the Swadhyay Parivar organization in 1954, a...
of the Swadhyay movement her husband Samran had bid farewell to arms and crime. But in December 1986, her husband was shot dead by Kala Keshav gang owing to old rivalry. This brought Santokben in to forefront, who decided to go back to old way of his spouse, to get even.
She was an MLA from 1990 to 1995 as a candidate of Janata Dal
Janata Dal
Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress, and the Jan Morcha led by V. P...
and was close to Chimanbhai Patel
Chimanbhai Patel
-Education:He born on 3 June 1929 in Chikodra village of Sankheda Tehsil in Vadodara district. He was elected the first president of student union of The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in Vadodara in 1950. He has done Masters in Economics from that university.-Political career:He has been...
She was alleged to be behind the murder of 14 people who, she believed were responsible for her husband's murder.She was arrested for giving shelter to the persons, who raped two girls.
She generally hailed from Kutiyana
Kutiyana
Kutiyana is a city and a municipality in Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat.-Geography:Kutiyana is located at . It has an average elevation of 30 metres . Kutiyana town is spread over almost 2km range...
town in Porbandar
Porbandar
Porbandar is a coastal city in the Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama...
district.
She also lived in Kadach, near Porbandar before she became GODMOTHER.
Operations during height of influence
Her period of operation started during the 1980s and lasted for about a decade, until she was made to relocate to Rajkot.Moving into backseat
She had planned to contest the 2002 assembly elections from her native place, Kutiyana in Saurashtra. However, she later vacated the seat for the Congress party's candidate. The subsequent defeat of Congress, BJP's action of further marginalization and arrest for the murder of a BJP councilor in August 2005 put her deep into the backseat.Last years
In 2007, she came into the news again with the killing of Navghan Arsi, the son of Arsi Jadeja, the brother-in-law of Santokben.She was in the news in 2008 when her daughter-in-law was shot dead by unknown assailants.
She died of a heart attack in Porbandar, Gujarat on Thursday, Mar 31, 2011 night.
In popular culture
She was the subject of a HindiHindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
film, Godmother
Godmother (film)
Godmother is a Hindi movie directed by Vinay Shukla released in 1999, and ostensibly inspired by the life of Santokben Jadeja.-Cast:* Shabana Azmi - Rambhi* Milind Gunaji - Veeram* Nirmal Pandey - Jakhra* Govind Namdeo - Kesubhai...
(1999), where her role was essayed by Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India of Pune, she made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and...
, who later won the National Film Award for Best Actress
National Film Award for Best Actress
The National Film Award for Best Actress is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actress who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry...
.