Jabbar Patel named for top Maharashtra varsity award
Kolhapur (Maharashtra) Renowned film-maker Jabbar Patel has been named for the prestigious 'Principal R.K. Kanbarkar Award' instituted by Shivaji University, Kolhapur, an official said here on Tuesday.
The award, named in memory of the late Principal Kanbarkar, carries a cash prize of Rs 150,000, a citation, a memento and a certificate, said Vice Chancellor Devanand Shinde.
Addressing mediapersons here, Shinde said the award would be presented to Patel, 75, at a special function on April 13 at the university.
Born in Pandharpur, Solapur district, on June 23, 1942, Patel became a qualified doctor but decided to pursue a career in theatre and films, starting with experimental plays, writing and directing them right from college days.
He is credited with taking Marathi theatre and films to a different level with creations like the "Ghashiram Kotwal", an adaptation on Vijay Tendulkar's similarly titled play, which attracted record audiences through the years and is ranked as a classic in Modern Indian Theatre.
Later, he directed-produced several acclaimed films like "Samna", "Jait Re Jait", "Sinhasan", "Umbartha", "Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar", "Ek Hota Vidushak", "Yashwantrao Chavan - Bakhar Eka Vadalachi", "Mukta", "Musafir" and many others.
He also took part in many dramatic competitions and came in contact with top actors and founded the experimental group, 'Theatre Academy', besides acting in several plays himself.
Patel is also credited with making several documentaries and short-biographicals on various eminent personalities.
The late Kanbarkar, who served as the Vice Chancellor of SUK from 1980-1983, was a prominent social and academic figure in this erstwhile royal city of the Chhatrapati rulers of what is now Maharashtra.
After his demise in 2015, his wife Shalini Kanbarkar created an endowment of Rs 2.50 million to the SUK to set up the award which would be presented to eminent personalities from different walks of life or organisations.
The first recipient was eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna C.N.R. Rao in 2016, followed by the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha in 2017 and Patel for this year.
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Congress cites Maniben Patel's diary entries, asks Rajnath to apologise for Babri claim
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday shared diary entries of Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter from a book to rebut Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's claim that India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, and demanded that Singh apologise for spreading "falsehoods".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, claimed the defence minister was spreading falsehoods to “improve his relationship” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Here is Maniben's original diary entry in Gujarati on pages 212-213 in the book ‘Samarpit Padchhayo Sardarno’ by CA R S Patel 'Aaresh', published by Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society, 2025,” Ramesh said on X, sharing screenshots of the relevant pages from the book.
“There is a huge difference between what is contained in the original diary entry and what Rajnath Singh ji and his fellow ‘distorians’ are propagating,” Ramesh said.
“The Defence Minister must apologise for the falsehoods he is spreading, simply to improve his relationship with the PM,” he claimed.
The Congress had earlier termed Singh's claim that Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds a “lie” and “WhatsApp university story”, and said the defence minister should not walk in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's path.
Addressing a gathering at Sadhli village in Gujarat's Vadodara district last Tuesday, Singh said Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel didn't allow his plans to succeed.
The BJP had cited a book by Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter to double down on Singh's claims, and said the first prime minister also said he felt "repelled" by some of the temples in south India despite their beauty.
“The source of what Rajnath Singh said is the 'Inside Story of Sardar Patel, Diary of Maniben Patel'," BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi had said at a press conference at the party headquarters while responding to media queries on the issue.
Trivedi claimed that on Page 24 of the book, it is written that Nehru also raised the question of the Babri mosque, but Sardar Patel made it clear that the government could not spend any money on building a mosque.
