49 years old Dr. Shrikant Jichkar is a highly educated person from India with 20 post-graduate University Degrees to his credit. Began as a Medical Doctor (MBBS and MD ) he did his Law (LL.B.) with Post-graduation in International Law (LL.M.) and his Masters in Business Administration (DBM and MBA) and in Journalism (B.Journ). He did his Masters in ten subjects. M.A. (Public Administration ; M.A. (Sociology) ; M.A. (Economics); M.A. (Sanskrit); M.A. (History); M.A.(English Literature); M.A. (Philosophy); M.A. (Political Science) ; M.A. (Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology); M.A (Psychology). He got his D. Litt (Doctor of Letters) in Sanskrit , the highest of any Degree in a University. Most of his Degrees are with First Merit and he has obtained 28 Gold Medals. Between 1972 and 1990 he has written 42 University Examinations each ever summer and every winter. Limca Books of Record list him as the most qualified person in India.
In 1978 he wrote the IPS (Indian Police Service) examination and got into it, resigned, wrote the prestigious IAS (Indian Administrative Services) examination in 1980 and got into it, resigning in four months to contest his first general election.
In 1980 he was elected to Maharashtra Legislative Assemble becoming the youngest MLA in the country at 25 and subsequently became a very powerful government Minister holding 14 portfolios at a time. After 12 years in the Maharashtra Legislature he was elected to the Indian Parliament in 1992 where he was MP till 1998. In 1999 he lost the election to the Loksabha by a slender margin on 3000 votes in an electorate of 1.4 Million voters.
He rose in politics as a student and youth leader. He has worked on several important committees of the State and Central Government , including the Parliamentary Standing committee on Finance; Patents committee; the Planning Board; Resources Mobilization Committee; Taxation Reforms committee , High Power committee on Irrigation and on Transport.
In 1992 he was appointed as a One Member Committee to found the Sanskrit University in Maharashtra which he founded known as the Kavi Kulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, of which he was elected the first Chancellor. He is currently doing the work of setting up the Arsha Vijnana Gurukulam on 400 acres of land in a forest near Nagpur in India, which is a center for the study of the Vedas and Vedanta. He is also doing the work of preserving the now remaining 11 living shakhas or branches of the Vedas.
He was first associated with Swami Chinmayananda who made him the first President of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra and he traveled all over the country to establish the centers. He was then associated with Pujya Swami Dayananda since 1969. He is presently the National Co-ordinator of the AIM for Seva a movement for service in remote areas. The Sankaracharya of Kanchi has recently felicitated him with special honours for his work among Adivasis on the occasion of the Kanchi Acharyas Peetharohan Golden Jubilee. He is associated with Pujya Sri Sri Ravishankar of Art of Living, as his devotee. He is also co-ordinating the work of the Dharma Samstha Pramukh Sabha, a council of the Mahatmas and religious leaders in India. He is presently the president of Maharashtra State Marathi Encyclopedia Production Board.
He is one of the great ritualists in India being an Agnihotri who has established and maintains the three sacred Vedic fires and has himself performed the very rare Agnishtom and Vajapeya Somayajnas which have got him the title of ‘Dixit’ and ‘Somayaji’
He has travelled all around the world representing India and leading Indian delegations on several forums including the UNO, the UNESCO etc. He has one of the biggest personal libraries in India with 52,000 books. He travels all around India speaking on economic topics and giving religious discourses.
In 2000 he suffered from a very deadly type of Cancer for which he was treated in the US for a year and is now totally Cancer free.
Source : http://shrikantjichkar.com/milestones.htm
