IAS officer with 20 degrees, cracked UPSC twice, was called India’s most educated man, later resigned from IPS, tragically died due to… his name…
You are never too old to learn; learning is a lifelong experience. Learning knows no age and knows no time. A person’s quest for learning experience and development is not based on how many years you have been on the planet, but on the wisdom you gain, the experiences you have, and how you make sense out of those experiences. Well, India’s most educated person had 20 degrees, cleared UPSC twice, later resigned from IPS, died tragically due to…; his name was…
Born in a Maharashtrian family on 14 September 1954, Shrikant Jichkar is considered the most educated person in Indian history. He is known as India’s most accomplished scholar due to the sheer number of qualifications he possesses.
Shrikant Jichkar came from a Maharashtrian family and is said to have begun his academic journey with a degree qualifying as both an MBBS and an MD at Nagpur. Between 1973 and 1990, he acquired 20 University degrees in different fields, including medicine, law, journalism, business management, and Sanskrit literature. He has even stated he took part in 42 university exams within this time, and was awarded many gold medals for his academic achievements.
Most people do not know that Shrikant Jichkar was the youngest Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in India. After pursuing an MBBS and MD from Nagpur, he did not stop there. Jichkar was always hungry for knowledge, for which he pursued degrees in as many fields as possible, including Public Administration, Sociology, Economics, Sanskrit, History, English literature, and other subjects dedicated to Philosophy, Political Science, Ancient Indian History, Culture, and Archaeology. Jichkar, through academic success, became one of the most educated men in the whole country.
Shrikant Jichkar was an extraordinarily bright student who did well academically and won many gold medals. Going by the media reports, Jichkar sat for 42 university exams and obtained 20 degrees between 1973 and 1990, a remarkable achievement that few can match. In 1978, he cleared the esteemed UPSC exam and was selected into the Indian Police Service (IPS), marking the start of his fruitfully considered journey as a public servant.
In 1980, Shrikant Jichkar decided to take a big leap and resigned from the Indian Police Service (IPS) to re–pass the UPSC exam and obtain a place in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) instead. His aspirations of being in public service transcended the bureaucracy before long, as he went into politics a short time later and was elected to the Legislative Assembly as an MLA, becoming a minister with responsibility for fourteen different portfolios, exemplifying his unique multitasking and leadership capabilities.
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